Great discussion...only one part of this that I see as being kind of impractical.

How many tartans can anyone expect a weaver to make? There are thousands now....how can anybody cope with many more than that? A tartan for every State, city, village, occupation, organization...and we'd be looking at some very limited runs of material; maybe enough for two or three kilts.

Even with computerization of the equipment, this would amount to something like "printing on demand"..."tartan on demand"?

Best

AA