Tartan is a piece of woven cloth (historically made from wool) that is made up of brightly coloured stripes, arranged in patterns known as ‘setts’. These intersect each other to form colourful checks. Historians say that Celts have woven plaid (tartan) cloth for thousands of years.
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What material is tartan made of?
wool
Tartan is a pattern, woven with colored threads, crossing at right angles. Tartan fabrics are usually made of wool. It is a great choice for stylish suits, dresses and skirts. The pattern is traditional for Scotland.
How was tartan traditionally made?
The traditional method is to weave it using a loom, made of a warp (the vertical stripes) and a weft (the horizontal stripes). It’s important that each warp and weft meet at a right angle, otherwise you’ll end up with a rather squint pattern! Each tartan is made of a base pattern called a sett.
Where does tartan material originate from?
Scotland
The earliest known tartan in Scotland can be dated to the third or fourth century AD. In other parts of the world, tartan cloth has been found dating to approximately 3000 BC. Virtually everywhere there was woven cloth, people created tartan designs. Yet only in Scotland have they been given such cultural significance.
How was tartan made in Scotland?
The original tartans were simple checks of one or two colours, and the dyes came from plants, roots, berries and trees found locally where the cloth was woven. People in the same area would wear the same tartan and so in effect they became clan tartans.
Who can wear tartan?
A universal tartan is one which anyone can wear, without offending anyone. This view has changed dramatically over the past 50 years and in fact when you wear a clan tartan, it is now seen as a sign of respect and friendship towards the family/clan.
Is tartan fabric durable?
Viscose and polyester are both durable fibres so using the viscose tartan in a room or on a particular object that will be handled with light usage is durable and will be easy to care for.
Why do Scots wear tartan?
For several centuries, tartan remained part of the everyday garb of the Highlander. Whilst tartan was worn in other parts of Scotland, it was in the Highlands that its development continued and so it became synonymous with the symbol of clan kinship.
Why is tartan called plaid?
In America, the words “plaid” and “tartan” get thrown around interchangeably. Both words sometimes describe any plaid pattern with horizontal and vertical crisscrossing lines. In Scotland, the word “plaid” first meant the blanket or piece of clothing itself. The word “tartan” described the woven design.
What’s the difference between a kilt and a tartan?
Tartan is used to make a kilt
A kilt is a piece of tartan, worn around the waist. However, a ‘proper’ kilt is usually accompanied by: A sporran – a small bag worn around the waist, over the kilt. Sporran is the Gaelic word for purse.
What’s another word for tartan?
What is another word for tartan?
| plaid | chequeredUK |
|---|---|
| checkeredUS | checked |
| mottled | dappled |
| spotted | speckled |
| stippled | squared |
What do the colors of a tartan mean?
It’s said that red tartan was worn in battle so blood would not show, green resembled the forest, blue symbolising lakes and rivers and yellow resembling crops. Today, the colours identify religion as red and green tartans represent Catholics and the blue represents Protestants.
What’s the difference between plaid and tartan?
Plaids are any crisscross patterns of two or more colours; Tartans are plaids with a name to identify a community; Checks are plaids with a regular pattern, usually of only two colours.
What is the oldest tartan in the world?
The earliest documented tartan in Britain, known as the “Falkirk” tartan, dates from the 3rd century AD. It was uncovered at Falkirk in Stirlingshire, Scotland, near the Antonine Wall.
What did Scottish wear before kilts?
These tunics were called leine croich, and the wearer typically wore a belt with them. A close-fitting leather jacket, called a jerkin, was a frequent accessory to the yellow tunic. The Leine croich’s heyday lasted from medieval times into the 16th century when the kilt’s popularity began to rise.
Is tartan Irish or Scottish?
What are Tartans? Tartans are something that isn’t exclusive to either Ireland or Scotland but was worn by the Scottish to represent the clan that one was associated with. To this day there are over 25,000 different designated clan tartans in the country today.
Is wearing tartan offensive?
There is no problem for non-Scots to wear a kilt if they are wearing it for a legitimate reason. Such reasons would include any event – a wedding or some parties but be careful with how you wear it. The Kilt is a flexible outfit made of heavy wool that anyone can wear both formally and informally.
Why is tartan so expensive?
Fully Hand-Made Kilts
The most traditional and most expensive type of kilt is one that has been hand-made. These kilts are made-to-measure and crafted by expert kiltmakers who use their skills to create the perfect fitting kilt. A hand-made kilt takes time and this is why the price is higher than other types of kilts.
Does every Scottish family have a tartan?
Not every Scottish surname will have a tartan, so often people wear the tartan of their mother’s maiden name or the tartan of a Scottish district. Tartans have become popular for sporting teams and businesses too. There are many books on the subject of surnames and tartans in NLS collections.
What is the difference between tweed and tartan?
Fabric – In their modern incarnations, the main production difference between the two is that tweed is selectively produced from wool, while tartans can be produced with anything from wool to cotton to synthetics. Tweeds are also woolen – made of carded fibres – while modern tartans are worsted – made of combed fibres.
Is tartan a tweed?
In short, both tartan and tweed are twill fabrics and both are woven in the Outlander Tartan Shawl tradition. The two fabrics are woven in traditional patterns that have meaning to a particular house, estate, region or clan. A tartan can be a tweed, but most tweeds are not tartans.