Craft Proof, explained ♡
Making a pattern takes time: planning, working up the sample, checking the instructions and taking photographs. We know how frustrating it is when someone else copies those photos and presents the work as their own. Craft Proof is one way we’re trying to make the original listing easier to find.
Designers photograph a printed, pattern-specific QR card with the actual finished piece and submit the picture for review. Scanning the card points to the official Loop Darling listing. The card may make quick cropping less convenient, but it cannot stop copying or prove who owns a design. You can try the example below without an account.
Try a sample card
Generate a sample card and scan it yourself to see the unverified demonstration page. You can print it and try the placement shown below. This sample is not connected to a real pattern or designer.
Select “Generate sample QR card” to begin.
How to scan your sample QR
Viewing this on a computer? Grab your phone, open its Camera and point it at the generated QR card. Tap the link your phone detects.
Already viewing this on your phone? Generate the card and take a screenshot that includes the QR. On iPhone, open the screenshot in Photos, touch and hold the QR (or use Live Text if available), then open the detected link. On Android, open the screenshot in Google Photos, use Google Lens and tap the detected link.
The scan leads to a clearly marked unverified demonstration, not a real pattern listing or proof of ownership. Phone menus may vary by model and software version.
What designers submit
Make the actual project
Finish a physical sample and check the pattern instructions against it. Designers use the official Studio to get a code for that specific draft.
Take one photo with the card
Print the card and place it on the finished item (preferred) or beside it. Take another clear photo without the card blocking the stitches. You can keep your normal, unobstructed cover and shop photographs.
Let our team check the evidence
Approved designers submit the photos privately with their pattern, selling-rights declaration and any required AI disclosure. Our team reviews what was submitted; a printed code alone does not earn a badge.
Where should the QR card go on a finished item?
For the supporting Craft Proof photo, we recommend putting the printed card directly on the finished item, with the QR still readable and the item recognizable. Beside the item works too. You do not need to cover your main listing photograph with a QR card. The printed instructions are optional supporting material, not the main evidence.
On the finished garment
Here, the printed card rests directly on a finished knitted sweater. It overlaps part of the sweater without concealing its overall shape. You can also position it on a scarf, hat, shawl, bag or other finished handmade item.
Beside the finished garment
Here, the card sits next to a finished crochet cardigan. This can keep the item unobstructed, but a code beside the garment may be easier to crop away. Change the position for additional photos when practical.
These are illustrations of printed-card placement on finished garments, not authenticated project photographs. Generate and print the real sample card above to try it yourself.
You may include a QR code or a short Craft Proof explanation on the instruction sheet, or leave the sheet without one. That is optional supporting information—not a replacement for photographing the finished physical item with its printed card.
Why we prefer the card on the actual item
Designers have described their photos being reposted, their watermarks removed, and their patterns sold by other shops. We’re responding to that with a physical card, a link back to the original listing and a person reviewing the evidence—not with a promise that copying can be stopped.
- More difficult to crop cleanly: Removing a card from the middle of a sweater can mean cutting out part of the garment instead of trimming empty background.
- More work to edit: Digitally covering a card that overlaps distinctive stitches or shaping may require recreating that texture.
- Clearer source: A scan can point people to the intended listing, while the photographed physical card provides another detail for staff to consider alongside other evidence.
Someone can still edit or copy the image, including the QR itself. A scan identifies the intended Loop Darling listing; it does not make a different shop selling the same image legitimate or establish copyright.
For an official submission: Photograph a physically printed card with the real finished item. A QR pasted into a photograph afterward is not accepted. Include a clear, unobstructed detail photo too.
Craft Proof Reviewed means our team reviewed the submitted sample evidence. It does not mean every size was independently tested, or that copyright ownership has been proven. This public sample grants no badge.
Questions we expect designers to have
Will my evidence photos be put on the shop page? The photos submitted through Craft Proof are private review evidence, not automatically public listing images. Keep your normal product photographs however you prefer.
What if my pattern was published years ago? Invited designers can apply to bring earlier, physically made patterns into our founding collection. Those specific, reviewed legacy listings may be accepted without a newly printed QR photo during the soft opening. The same exemption will not apply to new submissions after that period closes.
What if someone copies the whole photo, including its QR? The code still takes the viewer to the official Loop Darling listing—not to a copycat shop. If you spot a suspicious listing, please tell us. We cannot take down other sites ourselves, but a clear source and review record can help people identify the original listing.
Does this mean someone else has knitted or crocheted my pattern? No. Maker Tested is a separate label used only when additional maker-testing evidence has been reviewed.
Want the actual requirements? Read the AI & Craft Authenticity Policy or our approach to AI. Real submission tools remain in the approved Designer Studio; this public page is an example, not an account or approval request.
Need help? Full Craft Proof guide · Understanding review labels.