Came across this today:

Originally, the Scottish Tartan was a distinction of rank or position. It was not identified by weave but by the number of colours in the weave. If only one colour was used it depicted a servant, two, a farmer rank, three, an officer rank, five, a chieftain, six for a poet, and seven for a Chief. Eventually, clans or families adopted their own tartan, using a range of animal and earth colours which were frequently secret, only known to the weavers of the islands. They included yellows, blues, whites, greens, browns, reds, black and purple. Some say that a keen eye can identify the colour with a particular island, almost like a wine taster can identify the year and the vineyard

Chief's Dress Sett - worn by the chief and members of his/her family.
The Clan Tartan - worn by members of the clan.
The Hunting Tartan - Fall colours worn by members of the clan.
Mourning Setts - self explanatory.
District Setts - regional, worn by anyone in that region.
The Womens Sett - usually black and white colours.
The Royal Sett - The Royal Stewart, a free tartan which can be worn by anyone.
From: http://www.aldkiltmakers.com/ the Kilt Info section.

This is the description of this site's kiltmaker:
Meet Mrs Devine

One of the very few real kiltmakers left in Scotland, the company was started by one woman with a pride in her heritage and craft. With over 40 years of experience in her chosen trade, Mrs Devine now has over 20 employees; each trained to her own high standards. Taking 12 hours and 6000 stitches to complete a kilt means a lot of training is involved, a full 5-year apprenticeship.

The info seems, uhm, interesting...
Sherry