Tuesday, December 7, 2010

About my tutorials


With the festive season approaching 
and many of my dears
crocheting their decorations...

I have had a lot of e-mails asking about my free tutorials...


so I thought I would help out
and answer a few here...

You are most welcome to use my free tutorials...

You are more than welcome to borrow a image and post a link with it to my free tutorials...
You don't even have to contact me...But I do like to see every one's lovely work...

You can of course sell your finished product...even on etsy...

Changing my tutorial significantly and posting a tutorial on your site is also most welcome...

Things I find not ok...Are...
 This is more a blog etiquette thing...

Copy and paste my tutorial and posting it on your site...
I have only ever given one person permission for this...
and it was so it could be translated into another language 
so more people can benefit from some granny goodness...

Taking your own pictures of the "Grandma step- by- step Tutorial" and posting it...

Changing the pattern slightly and posting it as your own step-by-step tutorial...
eg of slightly : colour changing, adding a picot etc...
This doesn't mean showing these steps that you have come up with...
it means the whole tutorial from start to finish with a few added steps included... 
(did that make sense?)
I have always kept the original patterns very basic...
no colour changes,adding an extra row of dc(sc), or adding picots etc...
because I really want the patterns to be used by everyone...
including people who are only learning...
and by keeping it simple the finished product is achievable...

also if you are an advanced crocheter you can add these things quite easily without
a step-by-step tutorial...
and of course I always love seeing these as finished products...
and I do know a lot of my dears out there have done just that and they look amazing...
 and thank you so much for sharing your versions with me...

I do realize that many people can and have come up with some of my patterns without every seeing my tutorials or pictures...That's just the beauty of crocheting and trying new things out...
and if you have come up with a pattern that looks identical to mine without realizing it or every seeing mine till now...that's wonderful...
I would never want to upset anyone that has made a pattern from scratch
and it just happens to look like one that I did as well...

I do hope these last things haven't upset anyone...

I do believe though if you stick to the general blog etiquette rule
sharing links and pictures we can all
keep up the granny goodness...
and all enjoy the wonderful free things you can find on the internet...

P.s...Thank you MADE BY KATE for the lovely jute idea...
I'm loving it this year!!!

23 comments:

willywagtail said...

I think you have covered that issue very well. Taking into account the 'watershed theory' it is not fair to pinch other people's work. In fact I think you err more on the side of kindness than anything and people really should be better behaved than to blatantly copy. Cherrie

Tina said...

Well written Michelle and THANK YOU for being so kind with allowing us to use your patterns (linked and acknowledged back to you, of course). Happy week to you ~ Tina x

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more. Excellently and sensitively written and handled. Kudos to you Michelle! :)

Isadora said...

Fair enough, I hope everyone gets the message!
You are very generous by sharing your toutorials, people should be generous enough to follow those simple rules.

Killiecrankie Farm said...

Your pattern and sharing is most generous Michelle - your request is most valid and fair !

Nothing worse then plagarists who won't acknowledge someone elses skills and work, or claim false brillance.

CJ STITCHING AND BLOOMS said...

Hello Michelle, I thank you very much for your very detailed tutorial. As a beginner the visials really help me to understand the instructions better. I love you blog. It is very beautiful. Hugs Judy

Killiecrankie Farm said...

P.S. have linked your star tutorial to a new post :)
Loved the pattern !

Frances said...

Thank you for your generosity in showing us all how to crochet so many lovely things ... that star is a favorite of mine.

I very much appreciate your kindness in providing tutorials, and particularly love your methods of changing colors!

Best wishes to you in this season of giving.

Luisa said...

Yup that definitely covered it. I recently found your blog and love the granny goodness your spreading. I actually linked a couple of your posts onto my blog post today. I couldn't resist spreading the word.
Have a good day :)

YarnRoundHook said...

Well said, Michelle! I always (at least I think and hope I do) credit and link to the source of my crochet work, being unable to come up with anything innovative on my own!! I've a little grandma garland to share with you soon, once I've photographed it. Victoria

Katie Parker said...

Thank you for your generosity Michelle in sharing your patterns with us. I enjoy reading your blog and making your items (currently working on Grandma's English cushion, photos to follow)

I wish you a very Happy Christmas and look forward to reading your blog into the new year. My home will look very festive covered in jute stars courtesy of your pattern (I have made 27 so far!)

Best wishes
Katie x

Erica said...

As others have said, THANK YOU for sharing your patterns and allowing us the freedom to do more with them. I personally appreciate your guidelines!

Voie de Vie said...

Good on you for posting this friendly reminder! The blogosphere keeps its good karma when we all play by the same rules. :)

- said...

So clearly explained and understood. There are many people enjoying your free tutorials. I did one of your trees a while back (Oct. 7 post) and linked you. Thanks!

Michelle said...

Thank you all so much for your lovely words of kindness...
they have made me feel most warm and cared about...
Regards...Michelle...

Whydiss said...

Hi Michelle I have had your blog on my must see sites for over a year now. Thank you for all your efforts and I will keep spreading the word that your site is fantastic.
Merry Christmas!!!

Ellen Bloom said...

I LOVE the Grandma Tree. I just made a garland of them and posted them on Ravelry. I am "ellblo." Thank you so much for being generous with your knowledge!

annie said...

I have made lots of nanna stars with a bit of add on for the teachers this year and a garland of them for the house and a friend. She cried when she got it so I hope that meant she liked it not that my crochet is dodgy. Do you have a tutorial for those zig zag rugs. I have kind of worked one out but it's not as good as my Nan's was. Thanks so much for your cleverness and for reminding me of something I love and had forgotten about for a long time.

Beansieleigh said...

Just whipped up a bunch of trees, stars, and hearts, to put together a Christmas garland for my kitchen!.. If and when you can, I hope you'll take a peek!.. Thanks for sharing such fun patterns, and Happy Holidays to you!! ~tina

glor said...

What wonderful patterns and thank you so much for sharing them. Very easy to follow.

A Plain Path said...

Love these! Thanks for the tutorials. I made a tree and star tonight. They are on my tree and you can see pics on my blog.

Thanks again & Merry Christmas!!!

Carol said...

I don't have a blog but appreciate the free tutorials and the generosity of bloggers.
I imagine it is quite easy to end up with almost the same design. On one of my first visits to your blog was your post for the Little Granny bag. My immediate thought was "oh someone has seen my picture on Ravelry and copied my idea". Then I realised - yes, it is little, yes, small handles but mine is granny stripes, the central flower is added to mine (not part of pattern), yes it is lined and edged the same but mine has a zip. Like people say with a limited number of stitches people are bound to end up with very similar ideas!
Carol xx

annie said...

I don't have a photo but MMMc posted the star garland I made her on her Make Mine Mid Century blog...The Story of the Two Little M's. I know you like to see the descendants of your tutorial so there you go. Keep up the crochet campaign!
Annie