Tartan Sett Thread Counts - A Question for the Experts

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Philip,

Having looked at the tartan you designed in the other thread (nice tartan, BTW) I have to say it looks like a symmetrical tartan to me. Maybe you can post a thread count for us?

But yes, whether a tartan is symmetrical will affect the sett size. For example, let's say your tartan pattern is represented as ABCDE. Well, in a normal symmetrical tartan, the pattern would go:
ABCDEDCBABCDEDCBA

So, to get from "A" to the next "A" would require a jump of 8 letters.

But now let's say you had that pattern woven as an asymmetrical tartan. It would run like this:
ABCDEABCDEABCDE

Now, to get from "A" to the next "A" in the pattern only requires a jump of 5 letters. So the sett repeat is now smaller, because you have not reversed the pattern.

[Morgan of Seattle]

Hi Matt,

The thread count for Morgan of Maryland (at least so far) is :

LG36 DT4 LG22 DT22 A36 K2 R8 K2 A36 DT22 LG22 DT4 LG36 K2 B8 K2 where LG=Light Green DT=Dark Brown A=Azure K=Black R=Scarlet B=Blue

I believe it is actually asymmetrical because the red and blue stripes (the ones outlined in black: K2 R8 K2 and K2 B8 K2) are alternating. I think that if it were symmetrical I would have two red stripes then two blue stripes then two red, etc. Everything else about this sett appears symmetrical, though.

But my question really is whether this sett size will be good for kilt making. According to the Scotweb software, this sett will be 7.3 inches wide in 16 oz. wool.