Traditional Weaving Process

The oldest tartan in existance is the Falkirk tartan, this is different from the clan tartans we see today. The difference stripes were created through the use of different wools rather than through the modern dying of wools in different colours, the dying of wool and brighter colours came about with the development of clan tartans.

While there were professional weavers most of the tartan produced in the 1700's was produced by the woman of the household who used small hand looms - The productions of tartan on a small scale meant the only small sections could be produced at once. As a result smaller pieces of material were often stiched t6ogether to produce the desired size for example when producing a plaid.

Before the wool was woven it needed to be 'waulked' carded and spun into yarn.

The process of cleaning the tartan cloth of any dirt or oil and treating it to make it more hard wearing is called 'waulking'; the cloth was soaked in warm water and urine (for the ammonia) then laid out to dry out before kneading it on a board, sometimes a door was taken off its hinges if no other surface was available. On the Island of St Kilda women would work together to move the cloth with their hands and their feet while singing a traditional 'waulking' song to help keep them in time.

Most dyes were made locally from vegetable sources: most commonly from bark, roots, heather, as well as berries which could produce a dye that didn't fade. These ancient colours are often imitated by modern producers of tartan as they are more subtle than synthetic dyes. ' Every good farmers wife was competent to dye blue, red, green, yellow, black, brown' notes James Logan writing in the 19th century. As dyes were produced locally they colours of a final tartan could differ while all being an acceptance version. There was a great deal of pride attached to the production of tartan and the different patterns created.

How is tartan woven?

The warp - When weaving a tartan the threads that go lengthways are set on the loom, after this the crossways threads are added. The checks in the patter are created by wearing sections of different coloured materials at right angles. The bottom of the kilt is called the selvedge; it is woven in a different way in order to stop the material from unravelling.

Before the Battle of Culloden in 1746 most tartans were woven by independent weavers at home. With the advent of regimental tartans traditional sources could no longer satisfy demand and specialist firms emerged to deal with these new customers. One of the most famous was Wilson's of Bannockburn.

Due to the proscription of tartan the art of weaving in homes, was to some extent lost. Lamented the loss of old cloth-making skills "Deprived of the pleasure of seeing their husbands, sons and favourites, in that elegant drapery, emulation died, and they became contented with manufacturing the wool in the coarsest and clumsiest manner…" patterns from the 17th century as well as dying methods had mainly been forgotten. For a time regimental kilts were synonymous with very cheap garments. Those in command of the troops were looking to cut costs and soldiers were often palmed off with kilts made from of a very poor quality tartan and made from less material than a standard kilt. As a result English caricaturists of the time depicted Scottish troops as wearing ridiculously short kilts. This practice ended with the intervention of Queen Victoria, who ordered that 'soft instead of hard tartan be used' for all regimental tartans.


------

Anna Murray is Head of Marketing at The Scotland Kilt Company - a family run business based in Edinburgh. To discuss your requirements for a kilt or kilt package please get in touch www.thescotlandkiltcompany.co.uk email info@thescotlandkiltcompany.co.uk Or call 0131 225 3555