Preview of The DaVinci Code Tartan

[Standard]

Cool tartan, and fantastic looking kilt. The offset of the gold line really makes for an interesting look IMHO. The tartan is truely unlike any that I have seen before. I really like the semi muted colours, I bet the wearer gets lots of good questions about this one. Looks like one I wouldn't mind having.

[Riverkilt]

Asymmetrical tartans mess my brain up...struggle to figure them out....seem out of order to me.

Know that's the point...but just can't wrap my mind around the concept well.

And, someday....I gotta read the book so I'll know what folks are talking about.

I'm sooo confused.

But contrats Steve on making it work. No way could I figure that out.

Ron

[scotchmaster]

Very cool...

[Aldisimo]

What a great palette, and what great workmanship! Do we know what the colors represent?

[The Wizard of BC]

This is from the Scottish Tartans Authority website.

Designed to commemorate Dan Brown's hugely successful book The Da Vinci Code and to highlight the role of Rosslyn Chapel - just six miles south of Edinburgh. The tartan is based on the Sinclair tartan - it was Sir William St. Clair (third and last Prince of Orkney) who founded the Chapel in 1446. The design is unusual in that it is not symmetrical and uses the 'mystical' Divine Proportion or Golden Section to position the gold line on the blue. Also called the Golden Mean this ratio (1.61803) occurs naturally in nature and has been used by artists stretching from Ancient Greece to Da Vinci and through to modern times. The blue and white are from the Scottish flag - the Saltire - and the white further represents the human spirit and the white dove that nested in Rosslyn Chapel in the year that that The Da Vinci Code film was released. Purple pays homage to Scotland's famous heather and the red represents the legendary Rose Line - an energy line on which the Chapel is said to lie. Red is also the colour of Mary Magdalene's hair in Da Vinci's iconic painting, The Last Supper. Finally, the green takes us back to the Chapel and over 100 green men - stone gargoyles whose mouths spout ivy and vines and who were pagan, pre-Christian figures of fertility and power. All these design elements combine to provide a truly unique memento of Scotland's part in the blockbuster film.

The Fabric is 13 oz. Wool.

I make no claims about the purported meanings of the Tartan and will not comment on the Book or the theories presented. IT'S A NOVEL!

You will notice that the back center color block is not centered as would normally be found on Kilts pleated to the Sett. There are two reasons for this. First, the customer wanted Side Slash Pockets in this Kilt. To do that we have to make the Deep and Reverse pleats very deep. And in this Kilt it took up a little too much fabric. We didn't have enough to center the back of the Kilt. So we went with something a little different.
The offset of the Green Stripe is of the same ratio that the Gold line is to the Green stripe. (1:1.61803) Yes, it's off center but so is the front. I think it looks interesting. Sort of like Japanese art where you purposely make things uneven or off-balance.

If anyone would like a Kilt from this Tartan I have enough for four more Kilts.

[Derek Conley]

Interesting history of the design. Overall, I like it!

[English Bloke]

I absolutely love that kilt. I couldn't wear it because the offset would drive me nuts! It is a lovely one though. Nice job Steve.

[Hamish]

This is a fascinating tartan (and an excellent kilt - well done, Steve), however it is not one that in any way screams, "You must have me in your Kollection!"

Like some others here, I just could not live with the off-set yellow line, but more than that, I just cannot come to terms with the very red brown base colour. Of course, I have not seen it 'in the flesh', but I do know the Sinclair tartan. To me it is almost maroon rather than brown and, whilst I like colours that are unusual, I do not find this one appealing at all. If it were a true brown, I could be very interested though. Sorry!

Take care,
Ham.