Hi Everybody–
In my search for a really good “manly” cabled scarf, I was just about to give up when I found cables in a sweater (designed for men) that I really like. 
Is it ok (would I not be breaking rules) if I lifted the cable pattern and changed a few things so it would work as a scarf?
Thanks!
Mornnen
I think this is fine. I don’t believe pattern stitches are copyrighted so that they can’t be used for other things. Knitters do this all the time.
If you’re lifting it for personal use rather than profit (as in creating your own pattern to sell or publish,) then it’s perfectly fine.
Even for publication the stitch pattern itself is not so much copyrighted as the item. In this case, the stitch pattern in a scarf for personal use, absolutely no question of a problem.