Im having some trouble.

[davidlpope]

Jim,

I can appreciate your predicament. My surname, Pope, also has been attached to one of the "Welsh" tartans. I choose not to wear that tartan because my Pope ancestors were English, not Welsh (frankly I'm not convinced that Pope is a very common Welsh surname, but maybe I'm wrong), and because it doesn't have any real connection to the Scottish culture that tartan is emblematic of. My humble suggestion is that you widen your search to consider other family names. In my case my maternal grandmother's surname is Hayes, which derives from the lowland Hay family. Since there's a tartan for the Hay surname and an active Clan Society, that's a better option for me (and incidentally results in more affordable tartan yardage).

Similarly, since Edwards usually (and specifically in your case) is a Welsh surname there really isn't any connection between that surname and tartan, kilts, or Scottish highland culture. That doesn't pose a problem if your desire is to simply own a kilt that is made of tartan that has your surname attached to it. But it's good to be aware that the Edwards tartan (and the other "Welsh" tartans designed by the Welsh Tartan Center) were created "from whole cloth" in the sense that they are simply fashion tartans which have been attached to Welsh surnames. This is similar to the way that House of Edgar designed fashion tartans and then attached them to the different Irish counties. Once again, there's absolutely nothing wrong with this and some of the newly designed tartans are quite attractive. I just wouldn't want you to plunk down several hundred dollars on a kilt based on the assumption that your Edwards tartan dates back to the 19th century and has a shared lineage with Scottish tartans, etc.

Who knows? A quick search using a "sept finder" or Black's Surnames of Scotland may reveal that your mother's family is tied to MacDonalds, Campbells, or Stewarts. If that's the case you won't be an "orphan" if you start attending Highland Games and you'll have a wide variety of affordable Scottish tartans to choose from.

Just an idea...

Cordially,

David

[MacKay71]

Big Mikey beat me to it. Check with Matt! And welcome!

[billmcc]

...I was just hoping to find mabye a US maker that wouldnt cost so much or at least get bolts of fabric and try to make my own.

Welsh tartans are not made in the US. Welsh tartans in wool are only made by one mill in Whales, so it is not cheap. Scotweb sells the Edwards tartan for $61 per meter (double width).
See here: http://www.scotweb.co.uk/tartan/Edwa...chterm=Edwards

Alexis Malcolm Kilts will make you a 5-yard kilt in the Edwards tartan for $375.
See here: http://www.alexismalcolmkilts.com/1089/1234.html
More info about Welsh tartans here: http://www.alexismalcolmkilts.com/1089/6417.html

[JimE]

Hey everyone, Thank you so much for all the advice. It has been very helpful.
I posted a couple of pics of myself in the photo album, go check them out.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

David has some good advice. If your intent is to wear a tartan connected with your family roots, you should be aware that these Welsh family name tartans are recent inventions and that the Welsh did not have a tradition of wearing family tartans.

As modern commercial designs, these tartans are all owned and copyrighted by the Welsh Tartan Centre in Cardiff, Wales, which is the company responsible for creating them. This means that you can only obtain those tartans from the Welsh Tartan Centre or those retailers carrying their products.

As all the tartan will be coming from the same source, you are not likely to find much variance in the price or product availability.

[RockyR]

David has some good advice. If your intent is to wear a tartan connected with your family roots, you should be aware that these Welsh family name tartans are recent inventions and that the Welsh did not have a tradition of wearing family tartans.

As modern commercial designs, these tartans are all owned and copyrighted by the Welsh Tartan Centre in Cardiff, Wales, which is the company responsible for creating them. This means that you can only obtain those tartans from the Welsh Tartan Centre or those retailers carrying their products.

As all the tartan will be coming from the same source, you are not likely to find much variance in the price or product availability.

Ditto... Matt beat me to the explanation.

[Paul Henry]

Just thought, DC Dalgeish do the Welsh National as one of their stock tartans it's a much nicer cloth both in feel and weight, if you would be happy to use that one as a general Welsh one, it would certainly be a better solution!
dalgliesh tartan

[JimE]

I didnt know that the Welsh tartans were just made up with no real clan/family connection. I think I still would like to wear an Edwards Tartan though. I also have a new Armor outfit I want to make, and I think it would look good with an Edwards tartan greatkilt. I guess i will just have to suck it up and save some pennies to get what I want.
Thanks agin for all the great advice.

[RockyR]

I didnt know that the Welsh tartans were just made up with no real clan/family connection.

Same goes with the Irish County tartans as well (and a handful of Irish Family Name tartans)... But that's for another thread.

[ChubRock]

You learn more here by accident than by design. Thanks for the lesson and the further understanding that we are who we are, not who we were.