My love of Tartan for all to see...

As a part of my Textile degree at NUCA we had to chose as woven fabric to write about and I excitingly decided that Tartan was the woven fabric for me.

My love for Tartan stems from living in the countryside and seeing it on lots of the traditional country clothing, blankets and many more items. However my earliest memory is getting a kilt from my Grandparents after they returned from a trip to scotland and wanting to wear it all the time.

I feel it's best to start with a little bit of the history behind the Tartan.

It is thought that Tartan dates back as far as the 5-6th c.B.C but as far as an actual samples goes, the earliest is 3rd c A.D - The Falkirk Tartan.



Falkirk Tartan - http://www.scotshistoryonline.co.uk/

We then skip forward several years and the next time Tartan gets into the history book is when it is banned in 1746 until 1782.The Act that had the Tartan banned from being worn and produced in Scotland was lifted, the tradtional highland attire was restored and worn once again. By the 19th Century tartan had spread to the lowlands as well and now becoming a symbol of Scotland.

How traditional Tartan was worn.....

Belted plaid :- a large piece of woven tartan fabric that is worn as per the picture below.
Wrapped around and flung over the shoulder and held together with a belt.

 

Philabeg :- this is the traditional form of a kilt, but only held together with a belt rather then stitched and properly tailored like a modern day kilt.

Kilt :- what people think of when they hear the word Tartan. A tailored skirt made from tartan fabric. 

Trews : - basically just a pair of tartan trousers.