Who puts whom in a corner?

You have probably seen them. Those cute infant-toddler shirts with quotes, phrases, and images inspired by popular culture. You can buy those shirts everywhere from CafePress, on-line retailers, shopping malls, and even street corners. I am sure no one ever thought some of those phrases would be trademarked. If you follow the link, you will find that Lions Gate is going after people who print a quote from their movie on t-shirts. The defendants are producers of baby t-shirts and products.

The case will be difficult to prove. The phrase that can't be said has been "borrowed" by various companies since the movie came out 20 years ago. Lions Gate sells approved merchandise with the phrase that can't be said. But until now, they have failed to adequately defend their own trademark. After 20 years, is the trademark valid? I did a quick search for it at the USPTO and couldn't find it. Was it ever registered?

If Lions Gate wins this case, can you imagine other movie studios going after people for similar things? If you can't say the phrase that can't be said, how many other phrases can't be uttered? Maybe CafePress should be nervous - so many of their baby products are inspired by movie utterances.

Ethics aside, this case illustrates a danger to the freedom of speech. Who knew a common phrase could be trademarked? Should we be concerned when we use the word Apple or ask where the beef is?

Let's take another tack. The movie studios are benefiting from essentially free advertising. Think about all of those babies wearing shirts with the phrase that can't be said. Their parents will remember that movie and perhaps want to see it again through video purchases or rentals. Perhaps movie studios have a right to protect their intellectual property, but at what cost? Are they willing to risk losing free advertising and potential customers? Apparently they are.

The color purple for children's clothes

For years I have heard rumors about the color purple and children's clothing, and more specifically girls dresses. Specifically the rumors suggested that purple was associated with death. That children who pass away are buried in purple in certain countries. Sales of purple dresses seemed to lag behind other colors, and some retailers refused to carry the color. If you shop the market you will probably not see much purple in the infant/toddler range.

Purple is an odd fashion color. It seems to run through the fashion cycle rather quickly. Either you love it or hate it. Of course a designer must consider the shade and intensity and other such things. And yet one hot color combo for girls is orange and purple. I haven't figured it out.

Read more about the color purple at Wikipedia and Sensational Color.

Careful - This Bib is Patented

I have seen a few children's accessory designers make this bib. I can't say for sure if they have made it exactly, but there is enough similarities that caution should be advised. There are a few children's apparel/accessory products that have been patented. I don't generally like the idea of patenting these kinds of products because they are usually so simple. With a quick search I found over 200 patents on bibs and related items and some of them are extremely simple products. If you do register a patent, you also must be willing to defend it legally. This bib is patented by Nancy Sell with the bib being sold at Wal-Mart.

Other things to consider with patents. They take time and money to prepare. This bib was "invented" in 1993 and the patent filing wasn't completed until 1996. There are some interesting related inventions of a coat and an apron that had similar pockets.

This style of bib is called a "crumb catcher". It has a folded pocket on the bottom that is secured with strategically placed snaps. The bib is made of a vinyl type material on the face and a fuzzy fabric on the back.





Here is a close-up of the folding used to create the pocket.

I haven't decided if this was really worth going through the process of obtaining a patent. It is interesting enough that I traced it off for further study and that is when I noticed the label with patent info. If you do patent a design you must include the patent info on a label. Anyway, if you do make a "crumb catcher" bib, just make sure it doesn't violate this patent.

Are you a draper or a drafter?

In design school the teachers always told us that some students are natural drapers and some are natural drafters. Some students work better with a pencil and paper and others work better with a piece of fabric on a form. I leaned toward the pencil and paper because I prefer to work with numbers. Draping was was more difficult because it seemed less precise. My brain couldn't wrap itself around the concept of turning a drape into a pattern.

Over time draping has become less difficult, but still a challenge. I am getting a good draping exercise by making a slip cover for my old couch. Newer couches have the over-stuffed arms that curve. My couch doesn't have this and I couldn't find a slip cover to fit. A custom cover is $$$. Why not do it myself (with help from a library book on slipcovers)?

I am draping the cover with a "muslin" of green broadcloth and an old sheet.


I just draped the arm and will be moving onto the deck next. This couch has the added difficulty of being a sleeper sofa. We would never have bought a sleeper sofa in a million years but it was given to us and so we use it.

This is the fabric for the couch, a great buy from Wal-Mart. Wal-mart carries upholstery fabric and the price is usually great. BTW, that is our gold rocker. Isn't it lovely?! Unfortunately, the style is too difficult to slipcover and will have to be re-upholstered by a pro.

Toddler Sweater Update

I started this sweater project over a year ago and it is still not finished. I finally blocked the pieces -- I doubt it was helpful when the sweater is made of synthetic yarn. One thing I noticed during the blocking process is how different the pieces looked from regular toddler patterns. There are several things I noticed that made me wonder...

The front piece has a t-shirt, boxy shape. The shoulder length looks too narrow and the front neck drop and width too big. I need to take measurements to see what toddler size this compares too.









The back piece has no curve on the back neck. It is straight. I imagine a back neck curve is difficult to achieve in a knitted sweater. I wonder if this is typical in knitted garments? I don't knit enough sweaters to know. It could account for why the front neck is so big.








The sleeve shaping seems fine, although they do bow out on the sides.











I have read books on knitwear design. One of these days I will draft my own basic knitwear design and try to knit up a sweater. In any event, all that's left on this sweater is to sew the pieces together and knit the neckband. I still haven't decided on the embellishment. Any ideas?