What is Tartan?

In simple terms a tartan pattern is a criss cross pattern of vertical and horizontal bands in various colours. The English word, Tartan is derived from a French word, "Tiretain", which is probably derived from the word tirer which refers to woven rather than knitted fabric. Today Tartan is multi coloured patterns but originally it did'nt need to be made of any pattern. As late as 1830 it could be described as without any pattern, totally plain in design. From the gaelic speaking Scottish Highlands traditional patterned cloth was historically called "Breacan", which in old Gaelic means "many colours". As time passed the meanings of the words "Tiretain" and "Breacan" became fused to describe a particular type of multi coloured pattern.

Tartan in essence is a pattern made by weaving alternating coloured bands of threads at right angles. The weft is woven in a basic twill weave i.e. two over , two under the warp progressing one thread with each pass of the shuttle. This style of weaving forms visible diagonal lines and adds depth to the fabric. The blocks of colour repeat horizontally and vertically and the distinctive pattern created is known as a sett.

Our new range of fair trade tartan scarves using traditional techniques is now in full production and available from our UK stocks.

Obviously our fairtrade Tartan scarves are made far from Scotland but we are true to the weaving tradition of these traditional designs. Our weaving co-operative in N India uses only the finest cotton yarn and the patterns we produce come from the Scottish Govt Tartan registry.

York Scarves is always looking to take traditional scarf designs to another level and have many other patterns and designs waiting in the wings. If you have any designs you want brought back to life please give us a call.