Kilt colours, ancient, modern etc.

**bjproc** · 13th February 08, 06:57 AM

yesterday i went into strathmore wollen mill to see about designing a tartan for my family name.

i kind of had an idea of what i wanted, mainly a green tartan, like a hunting colour.

well, going into the shop and getting shown all the tartans they have in stock kind of put my head in a tizz. i've been more drawn to the ancient/old colours, but think that it's a new tartan, should it be more in the modern colours?

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 13th February 08, 07:33 AM

Design your tartan how you want it. Later on down the road you can have it woven in modern, ancient, weathered, muted, etc., colors. The color schemes are just that -- color schemes in which your various tartans can be woven. They do not create or define a completely different tartan. For instance, the well known Black Watch tartan is normally woven in dark shades of bottle green, black, and navy blue. We call this the modern color scheme. But that same tartan can be woven in a lighter green, black, and light blue. We call this the ancient color scheme.

"Modern" and "ancient" in this case have nothing to do with the age of the tartan, but the colors in which it is woven. I have an article that explains this in detail which you may want to refer to.

http://albanach.org/colors.html

**Maclachlan** · 13th February 08, 07:44 AM

Originally Posted by bjproc

yesterday i went into strathmore wollen mill to see about designing a tartan for my family name.

i kind of had an idea of what i wanted, mainly a green tartan, like a hunting colour.

well, going into the shop and getting shown all the tartans they have in stock kind of put my head in a tizz. i've been more drawn to the ancient/old colours, but think that it's a new tartan, should it be more in the modern colours?

House of Tartan has an online tartan weaver that might help you decide.

**bjproc** · 13th February 08, 07:57 AM

thanks Matt, that link explaines a lot,

i was thinking there was quite a difference with the colours/threads, i was mistaken. it still got me a bit confused lol.

**Amoskeag** · 13th February 08, 08:29 AM

Modern dies, made from chemicals (methyl-ethyl-badstuff), are much more vibrant and bright. Ancient dyes, made from vegetables(ground up mullberries, grapes,lawn clippings?) are much more subtle and "muted". If you want your tartan to look like it was dyed before the early 19thC, go with ancient. If you want it to look like it was dyed yesterday, go modern.
Now to further confuse things. We have "weathered" which is a tartan woven to simulate stuff that has been worn outdoors for a while, sort of like pre-washed jeans. Then there is "hunting" which is the tartan pattern woven in darker colors so as to not scare the game; sort of camo. Lots o' options

Bob

**McGurk** · 13th February 08, 08:36 AM

Design a tartan in the colours you like at the moment.

I might suggest that, when you register it, register it as (name) or (name) Hunting/ancient/weathered depending on which hues it most closely resembles. Then, if your tastes change later, it'll make it much simpler to explane a you want it woven in a differant set of hues, rather then trying to design a whole new tartan.

**pdcorlis** · 13th February 08, 08:40 AM

Matt's advice and wisdom are - as always - spot on. BTW I'm a sucker for "ancient" colors...

**Tartan Hiker** · 13th February 08, 08:46 AM

And play around with the online tartan design generators if you haven't already done so. They are loads of fun. I did my avatar ("LSU tartan") using

http://www.tartansauthority.com/Web/...signerpage.asp

**bjproc** · 13th February 08, 08:50 AM

thanks for all the advice, it's all taken note.

i've been mucking about with the tartan maker here http://www.weddslist.com/cgi-bin/tar...g.pl?source=rb as i find it a bit easier to change colours/thread counts to my taste, i've got a few saved & i'll show them to heather at strathmore to show her what i'm kind of looking for.

it's going to be a mainly green tartan, so now a bit unsure to call it by my name or name hunting

, thanks McGurk

this site is a wealth of info.

thanks guys

**bjproc** · 13th February 08, 01:14 PM

another question, i know it's my choice, but a bit of advice would be great.

strathmore are suggesting the W60 (13 ozs /yard) for me & are saying the W100 are mostly for pipe bands

will this be heavy enough?

T7 Sample length approx. 8 metres
T7 Quality Minimum quantity 30 metres
11/11.5 ozs / yard (full piece 61 metres)
350 gms / metre

W60 Quality Minimum quantity 30 metres
13 ozs /yard (full piece 50 metres)
405 gms / metre

W100 Quality Minimum quantity 30 metres
14/15 ozs / yard (full piece 50 metres)
435/465 gms / metre