Colors in Tartans

[chewse]

I couldn’t seem to find this topic discussed in previous threads so I thought I would bring it up for my own education. I am a novice when it comes to traditional tartans and the history behind each pattern and color scheme used. I have noticed, however, there seems to be tartan colors that are more prevalent than others such as reds, greens and blues. There also seems to be colors not used or rarely used in tartans such as pink. Finally, it seems to me that many of the tartan patterns use the color black or white to “frame” in other colors within the tartan.

Is there an easy to read article or book that explains the patterns and colors make up in tartans?

[Tobus]

What specifically are you looking for? I think perhaps if you're hoping to find meaning in them, you won't find it. The setts seem to have been chosen by the tartan weavers purely from their sense of aesthetics, and most were assigned to clans on an almost random basis during the Highland Revival period in the 1800s.

I would guess that using black and white to frame in other colours was simply a choice made by whoever was designing the tartan in order to offer a more distinct pattern, or boldness to the sett, which minimizes the colours visually "running together".

As for the primary colours used, I would imagine that this was a function of economy. Green, blue, red, white, black, and yellow are primary colours which are fairly easy to dye consistently in large batches. Given the primitiveness (by today's standards) of the mills at the time, it would have made sense for them to stick with a narrow range of colours, and create the wide variations in tartans by altering the sett, rather than delve too far into different hues.

[Paul Henry]

I couldn’t seem to find this topic discussed in previous threads so I thought I would bring it up for my own education. I am a novice when it comes to traditional tartans and the history behind each pattern and color scheme used. I have noticed, however, there seems to be tartan colors that are more prevalent than others such as reds, greens and blues. There also seems to be colors not used or rarely used in tartans such as pink. Finally, it seems to me that many of the tartan patterns use the color black or white to “frame” in other colors within the tartan.

Is there an easy to read article or book that explains the patterns and colors make up in tartans?

The colours that were used in the older tartans were simply the ones that the weaver liked or was able to get hold of - often from natural dyes, so some colours were much harder to achieve, there was little or no symbolism or meaning involved then. Tartans when they are designed today often have a meaning attached to the colours, this is purely down to designer's will and ideas.
The bottom line is you don't need to find a meaning in something that never had it, so in truth you are not missing out on a part of tartan education!

[Paul Henry]

snip...
As for the primary colours used, I would imagine that this was a function of economy. Green, blue, red, white, black, and yellow are primary colours which are fairly easy to dye consistently in large batches. Given the primitiveness (by today's standards) of the mills at the time, it would have made sense for them to stick with a narrow range of colours, and create the wide variations in tartans by altering the sett, rather than delve too far into different hues.

It was only with the advent of artifical or chemical dyes that any standardisation of dye colours was possible, and that didn't really happen until the second half of the eighteenth century. Local weaver often had to cope with whatever colours and variations within the thread they could get .
True hard and bright reds that were colourfast were actually quite hard to create from natural dyes,and were often a bit more expensive than other colours.

[chewse]

I guess I'm not necessary looking for the mythical meaning behind tartan patterns (however it would really be cool if there was!) but more so the artistic reasons why certain colors and patterns were used over other designs and colors. Were the reds, blues and greens more appealing to the larger mass of people; were those colors cheaper in costs, etc. Why some colors are are matched with other colors...were contrasting colors more appealing than colors next to each other on the color spectrum. Things like this I curious about.

[Paul Henry]

I guess I'm not necessary looking for the mythical meaning behind tartan patterns (however it would really be cool if there was!) but more so the artistic reasons why certain colors and patterns were used over other designs and colors. Were the reds, blues and greens more appealing to the larger mass of people; were those colors cheaper in costs, etc. Why some colors are are matched with other colors...were contrasting colors more appealing than colors next to each other on the color spectrum. Things like this I curious about.

I think you might be trying to read too much into it, I supect the weaver picked colours that they liked, or simply that were available. After that it was simply a matter of artistic design, and they as craftsmen picked what colours and sizes of pattern that worked.

[chewse]

I think you might be trying to read too much into it, I supect the weaver picked colours that they liked, or simply that were available. After that it was simply a matter of artistic design, and they as craftsmen picked what colours and sizes of pattern that worked.

Maybe so....As a CPA, I often need to understand the reasons why something is done a certain way....Its that right side of the brain thing rather than the creative left side of the brain.

[rlloyd]

Like others have said, it was because of the dye availability. In a world before synthetic dyes, certain colors were much harder to come by. As an example, this is why even still today we associate the color purple with royalty...because the purple dye used throughout most of history was very expensive. Beyond that, the choice of color patterns and such would have in most, if not all, cases have been purely aesthetic. As another poster mentioned, specific tartans weren't associated with certain clans until round about 200 years ago...up until then, the weaver of a particular length of cloth would have just taken what colors they could get their hands on and designed a pattern that appealed to them.

[OC Richard]

I couldn’t seem to find this topic discussed in previous threads so I thought I would bring it up for my own education. I am a novice when it comes to traditional tartans and the history behind each pattern and color scheme used. I have noticed, however, there seems to be tartan colors that are more prevalent than others such as reds, greens and blues. There also seems to be colors not used or rarely used in tartans such as pink. Finally, it seems to me that many of the tartan patterns use the color black or white to “frame” in other colors within the tartan.

Is there an easy to read article or book that explains the patterns and colors make up in tartans?

If you want to delve into the underlying aesthetics and systems of tartan design, and a history (such as exists) of each individual design, the go-to book in my opinion is

The Setts of the Scottish Tartans

by Donald C Stewart FSA Scot

Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh 1950

2nd revised edition Shepheard-Walwyn, London 1974

He traces a large number of tartans back to their earliest known sources, be it an 18th century fragment, an 18th century painting, an early 19th century pattern-book, or one of several 19th century books on the subject.

He also does a bit of design analysis, for example the lovely bit on "the MacDonald motif".

You will learn many interesting things, such as how one tartan now in widespread use has a flawed design due to a slapdash early 19th century book illustration being slavishly followed by the weavers (who ignored the correct written thread-count which appeared in the same book), and how many of the tartans now in widespread use were concocted on the drawing-board of two English brothers who pretended to have an ancient document giving old tartan designs. When pressed to produce the document they did- literally- and though quickly shown to be a hoax the weavers were all to ready to put all of these bogus tartans into production.

[creagdhubh]

Superb wee book (and resource) indeed, Richard! I own a copy and do recommend it.

Cheers,