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Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed
horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours.
Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made
in many other materials. Tartan is particularly
associated with
Scotland. Scottish
kilts almost always have tartan patterns.
Tartan is also known as plaid in
North America, but in Scotland, a plaid is a
tartan cloth slung over the
shoulder, or a
blanket.)
Tartan is made with alternating bands of coloured
(pre-dyed) threads woven as both
warp and
weft at
right angles to each other. The weft is
woven in a simple
twill, two over - two under the warp,
advancing one thread each pass. This forms visible
diagonal lines where different colours cross, which give
the appearance of new colours blended from the original
ones. The resulting blocks of colour repeat vertically
and horizontally in a distinctive pattern of squares and
lines known as a
sett.
The
Dress Act of 1746 attempted to bring the
warrior clans under government control by banning the
tartan and other aspects of
Gaelic culture. When the law was repealed in
1782, it was no longer ordinary Highland dress, but was
adopted instead as the symbolic national dress of
Scotland.
Until the middle of the nineteenth century, the highland
tartans were associated with regions or districts,
rather than by any specific
clan. This was because tartan designs were
produced by local weavers for local tastes and would
tend to make use of the
natural dyes available in that area. The
patterns were simply different regional checked-cloth
patterns, where of the tartans most to one's liking - in
the same way as people nowadays choose what colours and
patterns they prefer in their clothing. Thus, it was
not until the mid-nineteenth century that specific
tartans became associated with
Scottish clans or Scottish families, or
simply institutions who are (or wish to be seen as)
associated in some way with a Scottish heritage
The National Archives of Scotland (NAS) is responsible
for administering and running the Scottish Register of
Tartans. NAS is an executive agency of the Scottish
Government based in Edinburgh and is headed by the
Keeper of the Records of Scotland.
Sources: Wikipedia on Tartan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartan
Scottish Register of Tartans
www.tartanregister.gov.uk |
