Laws, Patents and Puppies

Well, the past few days have been interesting. As a new crafter, I know almost nothing and have been going into this all blindly. A former coworker suggested that I make taggie blankets, and after making a couple, I thought they were so cute! Like I mentioned before, I found out that a lot of people don't do the loops. So, I learned how to heat seal my ribbon. It's super easy, as it turns out...you just pass the end of the ribbon super quick through a candle flame. It seals the ribbon quickly and easily without chemicals. Well...this turned out to be a futile effort because, after looking around on Etsy and doing more research on why people don't do loops, it turns out that the Taggie Blanket "inventor" is super, uber aggressive with her patent, and will come after anyone who makes a product with ribbon sewn between two pieces of fabric. I read numerous accounts of people who were taken off of Etsy or were sent cease and desist warnings even though they modified their product to comply...like only having one loop per side, or having no loops. By the sounds of it, there were patterns and products that were similar back in the 70's, but this woman has somehow managed to bully everyone into not using ribbon whatsoever. I noticed that there are people on Etsy who still sell these products, but from what I read last night (with thoughts of all the money I had spent on this project going down the drain), they will find you, and they will come after you. So I have taken them off my site...no sense risking it. *sigh*

On a similar note, I posted my sewing services on a forum and got a big shock...all children's products must be government tested before being sold. Well, after about, oh, an hour of going, "Wait, what did I miss?!?!" and frantically searching the internet (more thoughts of all my money going down the drain and my time being wasted) I found the law, which states that all natural and synthetic fabrics, including ribbon and polyester stuffing, do NOT need to be tested, because it has been proven that they do not contain lead. Also, it is only childen's pajamas that need to have fire protection and testing. It was a stressful last two days, but I learned one thing...do my research, and above all...remain calm.

I found a use for the fleece and ribbon though! My animals! I think my dalmation turned out pretty cute. He has some details on his paws, and his ear are tacked down, though I will probably fiddle a bit with that design element. Unfortunately, the shelter didn't pick up on my donation idea, but the girl I had been talking to was very sweet and agreed to keep posting my little stuffies on the facebook page. :) I also put up some flyers around my apartment building and have been seeing some increased views on my site. I'm hoping someone decides to buy one soon!