Tartans?

[Wumpy]

With wearing the kilt and having so many various tartans available , how do u make sure that the tartan you ordered is the proper one. It seems that every mill has there own variation on the traditional or modern etc. Is this true? I want to wear my authentic heritage kilt but there is so many subtle differences it is hard for a new comer to tell the difference.

[Steve Ashton]

The answer to your question is that there is no "proper" Tartan. There is no "Authentic Heritage Tartan".

The naming of Tartans is actually a fairly recent thing. Prior to the late 1700's - early 1800's the names we use today were not written down or associated with any particular design.

Tartan tells the world - Who am I, where do I come from, how did I get here. You pick the design that does that job the best in your mind. If you find a Tartan that has your name and you like that one, great. Wear it with pride.

Today there are Tartans for everything and anything. There are Tartans which carry the name of Highland Clans and Scottish families. There are Tartans which represent areas or regions. The country of Canada has its own official Tartan as do all of the Canadian Provenience. Washington State has an official Tartan. There are Tartans for companies, clubs, organizations. The supermarket chain Safeway has a Tartan. Harley Davidson Motorcycles has a Tartan. Hello Kitty has a Tartan.

As the weaving of Tartan is a commercial enterprise weavers have come up with ways to sell more fabric. You may see names like "Modern", "Ancient" "Weathered" & "Reproduction". In many cases these are all the same Tartan with different shades of colors.`
I like to describe these color variations in a way that people can understand. Right or wrong my explanation goes like this.
Modern are - As dyed with modern aniline dyes. The colors are usually deep and vivid.
Ancient are - A simulation of what the Tartan may have looked like if dyed with natural dyes. (Even though they are actually dyed with modern dyes)
Weathered are- Another simulation of what the Tartan may look like if left out in the sun and faded for 40 years.

What makes it a Tartan is the pattern of colored lines. When the design is registered (perhaps a better word would be listed) the colors are denoted with letters. Green is "G". It does not always specify what color of Green.
If you run across the word "Dress" you will probably find that one of the background colors has been changed to white. This is to create a lighter, more feminine Tartan, more like a ladies dress. "Dress" does not necessarily mean "Dressier" or more formal.

In the end it comes down to what design do you feel best represents you to the world. Let's say your name is Dave. And you happen to find a listing for a Dave Tartan. The description says "For anyone who is named Dave." There are two versions, a dark version called 'Modern Dave Tartan' and a lighter, more faded version, called 'Ancient Dave Tartan'. If you like the lighter one better than the dark one, it is still the Dave Tartan.

Another example, I personally do not wear any Clan Tartans. My people are not from the Highlands of Scotland. You can be 100% Scottish and not be part of a Highland Clan. I wear the X Marks the Scot Tartan 'cause it is the Tartan for this forum and I am very proud of what we here have built. I wear the HBC Tartan 'cause you cannot live in Canada without knowing the importance of the Scots and The Hudson's Bay Company to this country. I wear the USMC Dress Blue Tartan 'cause I served in the Marine Corps. I wear the Isle of Skye Tartan 'cause it is just so pretty. It is like standing in a field of heather. And I wear the official Tartan of my adopted City. The Victoria, City of Gardens Tartan. This is where I have chosen to live. Each of these is part of who I am.

[OC Richard]

What Steve said.

There has been a recent explosion in the number of tartans available. Now many if not most US states have tartans. There are tartans for many regions and cities in Scotland. There are tartans for every County in Ireland, and for many regions and countries around the world. There's a vast number of "fashion tartans" which don't have any connection to anything- they're only purpose is to look nice.

Up until fairly recently picking a tartan was a straightforward matter; you consulted the various lists of Clans and Septs and tried to find your name.

The authenticity of such lists has been questioned in modern times, but still each Clan maintains lists of surnames which are considered part of the Clan.

Here's the vast list of Clan Donald (MacDonald)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...of_Clan_Donald

People who couldn't find their name anywhere would wear tartans such as Caledonia or Black Watch etc.

In any case the starting-point is your own surname, if you want to select a tartan in the way of the last 150 years or so. If that suggests nothing you can go with regional or "district" tartans, fashion tartans, or whatever you like.

Here's the Washington State tartan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_state_tartan

I'm disappointed a bit. I would have expected wide swaths of lime green and vivid blue.

[Tarheel]

Steve or Richard have offered great and thorough examples for tartan choices. I can bring the point of fabric weight to the discussion. The different wool weights will have pros and cons that you must consider in order to provide the best kilt for you.

There are options of synthetic tartan materials but I feel that is not the direction you intend to pursue.

Please keep us updated as the hunt unfolds.

[Taskr]

Hi Wumpy,
Welcome.
All good points thus far and there will be more as others weight in.

To your inquiry on proper and variations.

For a special project we had the Alberta tartan woven since it was not commercially available. The mill in the UK used the registry(ies) so the sett was accurate and to base the colours. Then they applied a bit of artistic influence to make the colours a bit richer than what we usually see in the Alberta sett. It looks great and gets many compliments.

In a special weave project, you get to choose yarn samples to arrive at what you want. For commercially available cloth it is similar. But, rather than yarn samples the mills provide swatch samples and so you choose the cloth you prefer from a piece of woven cloth. If you are very lucky the vendor might have a bolt of the cloth in the weight you are seeking (was so lucky, only once).

So, why did I bother going through all of that up above since its all pretty well known? Well, it was background for this: A reputable mill is going to weave the tartan respecting the registered sett and to the colours they find most accurately representing what is registered - that is whether it is special weave or commercially available. A reputable kilt shop/maker is going to source their tartans from reputable mills. Most shops prefer a particular mill - which is good business sense and reflects the quality they want to portray. Therefore, from a reputable vendor you should have the confidence that the tartan you are selecting is "proper".

Might you tell us which heritage kilt you are planning on? A lot of us like to go tartan hunting on the registry