State Tartans

[sathor]

Dumb question, perhaps, but I recently was looking online at the Ohio tartan, and thought it an interesting 'patriotic' colored tartan. Looking online, including the STA list the Ohio State tartan which is really different, and has a green in it.

So, are there more than one Ohio tartan, or is one really supposed to be for Ohio State University? Is this oddity normal across the board for state tartans?

[Tattoo Bradley]

You'll sometimes see multiple tartans featuring the same "name." I'm not sure as to the status of the Ohio State tartan. But, what makes a tartan official is a governing body adopting the tartan as official. In the case of a US State Tartan, that would be the state government. Have a look here at the district tartans.

[sathor]

on that one, the Ohio doesn't look as bad as some of the computer generated previews, but being custom woven, that would at least double the time and cost of a kilt, right?

[Highlander31]

on that one, the Ohio doesn't look as bad as some of the computer generated previews, but being custom woven, that would at least double the time and cost of a kilt, right?

There are mills who specialize in short custom runs (Islay Woolen Mill for example.) The time involved is dependent on the particular mill and how busy they are at the time of receipt of your order. I know Celtic Craft Centre will charge an extra $100.00 for custom tartan.

[arrogcow]

You can always try what is being done with the X-marks tartan, put it out there and see if there are enough people interested in getting a run done to keep the cost down. A couple of us have tried over the years to get a KY tartan run, but still not enough interest. There are about 15-20 OH members here and they may be interested.

Adam

[macwilkin]

You can always try what is being done with the X-marks tartan, put it out there and see if there are enough people interested in getting a run done to keep the cost down. A couple of us have tried over the years to get a KY tartan run, but still not enough interest. There are about 15-20 OH members here and they may be interested.

Adam

Or contact individual kiltmakers like Matt or Barb for small-batch runs of a particular tartan. Yes, you pay a bit more, but it's worth it. That's how I got my Iowa state tartan kilt.

Regards,

Todd

[Cerebite]

When I got my Colorado from Scotweb last winter they either had the cloth on hand or were ready to weave or could quickly do the small lot.
Despite being a "custom weave" and predicting 8 -12 weeks to deliver I had the kilt in my hands in three weeks from ordering.

Yes there is obviously a premium on the price per yard but there were no additional fees [loom set up, expedition, etc.] applied.

[EagleJCS]

A couple of us have tried over the years to get a KY tartan run, but still not enough interest. There are about 15-20 OH members here and they may be interested.

Adam

Adam,
If you haven't already, you might try contacting the Kentucky United Pipes and Drums in Lexington, KY and find out who they used. They adopted the Kentucky tartan as their band tartan. I don't believe they're going to order any more any time soon, but you could get on the list of those interested when/if they do. If they get a critical mass, they may go ahead and do the ordering for the group.

[arrogcow]

Some of us have tried that too. Supposedly we will be notified the next time they are ready to order (and a couple of their members are members here as well).

Thanks
Adam

[fluter]

Dumb question, perhaps, but I recently was looking online at the Ohio tartan, and thought it an interesting 'patriotic' colored tartan. Looking online, including the STA list the Ohio State tartan which is really different, and has a green in it.

Comparing the one on Scotweb and that on district-tartans.com---they appear to have the same thread count.

The one on Scotweb has two green stripes placed prominently, and they show up very green. That may be a computer-generated image. On district-tartans.com, the green is more muted, but still green. It runs across the right edge and the lower portion of the swatch photo.

If you happen to get a custom weave, try to go through an experienced kiltmaker who does it often (Matt, Barb T., Steve of FK). They can specify the colors to your preference. No doubt Scotweb can, too, given swatches to approximate what you want, or some precise guidance.

Matt (M. A. C. Newsome) specializes in the 4-yard box pleat kilt, and a custom woven 4-yard is sort-of affordable, well, depending on whether you can afford it. At least, it's more reasonable than spending $600 for the wool alone, and you get a unique heirloom garment.

If enough people go together, the wool can be woven double-width, so the wool cost is halved. That's the great attraction in pooling resources, as we did with the Carolina tartan last year.