Tartan copyright question

**mclean** · 29th January 13, 07:09 PM

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** · 29th January 13, 07:14 PM

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** · 29th January 13, 07:18 PM

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.

**TheOfficialBren** · 29th January 13, 07:20 PM

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** · 29th January 13, 07:28 PM

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 ;)

Click image for larger version.

Name: photo(3).jpg
Views: 10
Size: 98.9 KB
ID: 9610

**piperdbh** · 29th January 13, 07:38 PM

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** · 29th January 13, 07:46 PM

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!

**piperdbh** · 29th January 13, 08:01 PM

Since the original question has been answered, do you mind if we talk about shirtmaking? In particular, what pattern do you use? I use the McCall's 2447, and after about the 5th shirt the tissue was wearing out, so I transferred it to poster board. I lay my washed and ironed fabric on the floor, position my pattern pieces on it, then trace the outlines with a Sharpie. It's much easier than pinning a paper pattern, and the line is easy to see.

**mclean** · 29th January 13, 08:26 PM

Of course!

I actually took a ... well, possibly copyright infringing method ... to developing my pattern. I had an old, hole rife and threadbare brooks brothers shirt that I took apart with a seam ripper to figure out how it was constructed, made a basic pattern from that, and then took my measurements and adjusted the collar, collar stand, yoke and sleeve length to fit me better. Another similar yet clever method copying (that doesn't require dismantling a shirt, but does require adding seam allowances) is one that David P. Coffin uses in the youtube video "David Page Coffin Shirt Making Lesson, Threadbanger". His book, "Shirtmaking," is quite good, by the way, if a touch obtuse in sections. I also really like Mike Maldonado's shirt making lessons. He has several sample videos on Youtube, and some free videos, as well as a few very reasonable shirtmaking courses. I got one that's 3 hours for $25 when I started that really taught me the sewing techniques I needed to construct the shirt (sans pattern instructions). He also has great resources for constructing some more esoteric shirt design elements.

It's a fun hobby, albeit one that I get some odd looks from my girlfriend for

Edit: I must say, I agree 1,000% the poster board is totally the way to go!

**mclean** · 29th January 13, 08:29 PM

By the by, the MacLean tartan appears to be pre 1815, and the STA site does not have any copyright info listed at the moment (lawyer letter pending), so I will take that as a, well, it's probably OK for personal use, maybe?