The Anarchy Irony Hat...ahem, my Anarchy Irony Hat

 Debbie Stoller's
Stitch-N-Bitch Crochet:
The Happy Hooker

I was forced to take a look back at one of my creations. It is always a headache when someone decides to challenge the copyright. It is a gripe I have shared with Debbie Stoller. Now, I am being accused of not even creating the design or the pattern.

I went  back to look at the book this afternoon and found my name printed on page 123 with photos of the hat on page 122. They were just as I had left them when I last went through the pages. I always feel a bit giddy when I see these pages and it never ceases to just make me smile. Still, the printed pages offer no proof to a stubborn woman in England who has shut her eyes to this and insists on stealing a design and pattern and passing it off as her own creation.

However, I can't help but think that maybe the joke could be on her. Anyone can check the book out of the library or buy it themselves and either make or have someone make the hat for them for less than $5(acrylic yarn) or better yet, drop some hints and receive it as a gift. It has been a very popular gift for sons, boyfriends, husbands, nephews etc.. and I love that. Darest I say that I have noticed in recent years they don't do all that well on Etsy. Sort of one of those things that is out there for the taking so no need to purchase.

In fact, with not too much crocheting projects on my plate these days, I will be more than happy to make one for you, just email me :> There is no need to purchase it off Etsy for $30 from Jarg0n or any other seller, the fun is in making it yourself or receiving it as a gift. It is a tres easy pattern. My goodness, when I sold  it on my website years ago under the label One Tough Monkey,  I only asked $16 for it (included shipping and made out of mohair) and $20 for the waterproof wool version (included shipping to anywhere in the world).

When I submitted the pattern I wanted to share the design because I thought it was fun.  I didn't think it would become so popular with everyone. I have been pleasantly surprised over the years.  I spot it on Flickr.com from time to time or on someone's blog as crochet projects for loved ones, gifts in the making. While a lack of creativity and imagination has driven many so-called crafters to steal the designs of others, at the end of the day I am the one in the book, the original.  That is just too satisfying for words, no matter what my lawyer advises.

I can empathize with those I know who discover their creations copied and being sold on Etsy or at Claire's or Urban Outfitters. It is something you loved very much in the  hands of some stranger. The stranger just didn't work as hard as you did to come up with the finished product. They have no idea.

In the past I posted an entry addressing this very same issue. It was prompted by another woman in England who wanted to make and sell the hats there. She didn't ask very nicely. The design has been big in England. In fact, 25% of my sales were to England when I sold the hat online.  Purple Kitty Yarns offers an excellent and  concise explanation of copyright laws in regard to crochet patterns.

Taken from Debbie Stoller's
Stitch-N-Bitch Crochet:
The Happy Hooker