Tartan copyright question

[mclean]

Hello, all!

Been a long time since I've been aboard - over a year (eee!) - I hope that everyone is doing well.

Lately I've picked up a bit of sewing, and have gotten into the habit of replacing my old worn out
dress shirts with homemade ones, recycling the buttons, and turning the old ones into rags.

While looking around for fabric, I found a company that lets you print patterns on cotton, and I thought
it may be fun to make some tartan dress shirts. I know that there are a few companies that make some
tartans in cotton, and more that do a poly cotton blend, but I prefer 100% cotton, personally.

Here's the issue - they don't let you use copyrighted images - does anyone happen to know if historical
family tartan protected by copyright, to prevent you from printing them for your own use?

All my very best to you all!

W. McLean

[piperdbh]

No, they're not copyrighted, but some, such as Balmoral, are restricted, meaning you can't use them. I want to see what you come up with.

Can you tell us the name of the outfit that custom prints fabric? I'm a shirtmaker, too, and am interested.

[Steve Ashton]

Some Tartans are protected under Copyright such as Isle of Skye and Firefighters Memorial,

Your best source for Copyright information is The Scottish Tartans Authority and/or The Scottish Register of Tartans.

[Pleater]

A word of caution on printed patterns - be sure that you are going to get them printed squarely on the fabric.

I have some expensive heavy cotton which has owls on it - lining up the pattern is impossible as there is a half owl difference between one selvedge and the other.

The only thing the fabric can be used for is patchwork or motifs.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[TheOfficialBren]

I would caution that a tartan CAN be copyrighted under certain conditions. I. E. Corporate tartans. Burberry and Thompson Camel is a perfect example.

Experts, weigh in?


Oops! Steve beat me to it!

[mclean]

Thank you all so much for your kind replies - this is hugely usefull I will definitely check with the Scottish Tartan Authority Site just to make sure.

Piperdbh - the site is called Spoonflower, and it's a good deal for custom printed fabric (~$16 - yard with no minimum).

Here is the latest shirt I made - hehe - if it is OK re copyright, something tells me my girlfriend will not be so pleased to see several yards of tartan coming through the mail ;)

[piperdbh]

Well, I was wrong about the copyright thing, but here's a suggestion about shirtmaking: cut the tails square, not rounded. It's easier and faster that way, and you don't have to sew a rounded hem.

[mclean]

That is a very good suggestion - haha, I've done several with broadcloth and a rounded hem presser foot that does the job well, but with oxford cloth (which that one is), which is a bit thicker, I'll definitely be doing that Cheers!