AI & Craft Authenticity Policy
Effective October 18, 2026. Applies to Marketplace pattern submissions and listing images.
Loop Darling welcomes technology that helps creative people work. Every pattern offered in our Marketplace must describe a physically completed project, with instructions checked by a human against that work. Our goal is accurate, honest listings—not a ban on AI.
Try the public Craft Proof QR example ♡ →
Anyone can print and scan this sample without a Loop Darling account. The example is not a real pattern submission or a verified listing.
1. Permitted AI assistance
- Writing, editing and organizing shop descriptions, customer messages and administrative work.
- Formatting and translating pattern documents, with human review of the final terms and instructions.
- Brainstorming, planning and drafting instructions, provided that someone genuinely made the project, checked the final pattern against it, corrected errors, and the creator has the necessary rights.
2. What is not permitted
- Offering an AI-generated pattern that has never been physically made or reviewed as though it were tested and ready to use.
- Using fabricated AI images to represent a physical finished product that does not exist.
- Misleading claims about material, sizing, construction, testing or authorship.
- Uploading work or images copied from another artist without the appropriate rights, whether AI is involved or not.
- Digitally pasting a QR card onto an image and describing it as a photograph of physical proof.
Ordinary photo cropping, lighting and exposure adjustments are welcome when they do not misrepresent the actual item. Illustrations must not replace required real-project evidence.
3. Physical completion and designer responsibility
Each listed pattern must relate to at least one physically completed version of the item. A designer, credited sample maker or tester may have made it. The seller remains responsible for accurate instructions and for telling customers which sizes or variations were actually completed or tested.
Photographs and finished samples do not establish ownership of the underlying design; sellers must separately confirm their publishing and selling rights.
4. Craft Proof QR requirement
Following the invitation-only soft opening, every newly submitted pattern must include a Loop Darling-generated QR card that has been printed and photographed physically on or beside the real finished sample. Placing it directly on the item is our recommended approach; beside it is also accepted. A photograph of a pattern sheet is optional supporting material, not a substitute for the finished-item photo. Keep the code readable and include an unobstructed detail photo of the project’s construction. Designers may use separate, unobstructed photos for their public listings. A permanent product link connects the QR card to the official Loop Darling listing.
- Begin a private listing in the approved Designer Studio and obtain the pattern-specific printable card. The public QR example is for practice and creates no real proof record.
- Photograph the real finished item with the physical card on or beside it. We encourage changing the position or angle between photographs to make casual reuse less convenient, while providing a clear, unobstructed detail photo.
- Submit the final instructions, selling-rights declaration and AI assistance disclosure.
- Respond to staff requests for more evidence. Only staff review can grant a Craft Proof Reviewed status.
Placing the physical QR card in different positions can help identify the intended source of a photograph and discourage simple copying, but it cannot prevent cropping, editing, image theft or pattern theft. A copied image may still contain a working QR that leads back to the original listing; that does not validate the site or seller who reused it. A digitally added QR overlay is not accepted as the required physical evidence. A QR does not establish copyright or prove that a photo is authentic. We may request new angles, a new proof challenge or other documentation when needed. Private submitted evidence is not automatically included in the public listing gallery. The submission workflow remains in beta; Craft Proof Reviewed status is granted only after staff examine evidence.
5. Founding Patterns ♡
We are inviting a small number of established designers to bring over previously published, physically completed patterns during our soft opening. Staff may approve an individual legacy import as a Founding Pattern ♡ without the newly printed QR photograph.
- Only invited, staff-approved legacy listings accepted during the soft-opening window qualify—not every pattern belonging to a founding designer.
- Completed-project evidence, accurate instructions, appropriate rights, AI disclosure and manual review still apply. A link to another marketplace alone is insufficient.
- A Founding Pattern label identifies an approved early import with the QR-card photo waived. It does not mean Craft Proof Reviewed or independently Maker Tested.
- Once the soft opening is formally closed, all new submissions from everyone—including founders—must meet the QR-photo requirement. Previously approved founding listings retain their exemption unless further review is warranted.
- Founding status is assigned by staff, never self-selected, and does not protect a misleading pattern from removal.
The soft-opening close date has not been set. We will publish it and communicate the switch before enforcing it.
6. Disclosure and review labels
Designers must disclose substantial AI assistance that generates core stitch directions, construction guidance, sizing or pattern instructions. Basic spelling, editing, formatting and shop copy do not need a separate pattern-generation disclosure.
Founding Pattern ♡ means an approved soft-opening import. Craft Proof Reviewed means staff have reviewed the physical QR-card photo evidence. Maker Tested means separate maker-test evidence has been reviewed. These have different meanings and are not warranties of perfect instructions or copyright ownership.
7. Reports, enforcement and appeals
We may reject, pause, request revisions to, unpublish or remove listings that fail these standards. We may request extra photos, publication history, corrected instructions or testing records. Deliberately falsified evidence and repeat offenses can result in seller restrictions.
To report a suspicious pattern, write to support@loopdarling.com with the listing link and a description of the issue. Designers can contact support to request review of a decision. Do not include unnecessary private information in reports.
Review reduces risk but does not guarantee an error-free pattern, that every variation has been tested, or that intellectual-property rights have been conclusively established.
8. Optional AI assistance in the Loopi app
Loopi may assist with organizing projects or understanding instructions. AI help is optional and does not replace the original pattern, the maker’s judgment, or the Marketplace verification process. The two contexts are governed by their appropriate terms and safety controls.
9. Changes
We may update these rules as the Marketplace grows. Material changes will be dated and announced before new seller requirements take effect. The Founding Pattern QR exception is limited to the documented invitation-only period.
Last updated October 18, 2026 · Learn about our approach · For designers · Contact support ♡