• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.932-948
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• 2021

Tartan, the woven, checked, and wool textile considered by many to be originally from Scotland, has in fact been in use in a range of forms across numerous cultures and during various historical periods. The characteristic checked feature is due to the assembly of different coloured threads in both warp and weft directions which intersect at 90 degrees in a combination known as a sett. For well over one hundred years, different setts and thus different colour combinations have been associated closely with different geographical regions within Scotland, as well as different clans or families. Tartan-type textiles have reached popularity at various times and those have often been a predicted fashion trend suggested, for example, by contributors to fashion gatherings such as Premier Vision in Paris. Often proposed designs are best considered based on tartan combinations rather than simple reproductions. Promotional terms such as "patched checks" or "textured checks" have been common, and often these have been derived from tartan-type constructions. This paper explores novel pattern design methods by identifying the underlying grid structures and proportions exhibited by various well-known tartan setts. The possibility of pattern development from tartan grids and their manipulations is thus the focus of attention. An insight into the methodology associated with the production of original pattern designs is thus provided.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.873-885
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• 2016

It is common knowledge that a conventionally woven textile consists of two assemblies of parallel threads (warp and weft), one interlaced with the other at ninety degrees. Where each of the two assemblies is arranged in a particular colour sequence, a check design, known as a 'tartan', may be created. Although similar check-type cloths have been produced worldwide, it is the tartans of Scotland which have received most attention and it is here that a complex set of rules evolved and tartans of different types became associated traditionally with different regions, family groups or 'clans'. There is an impressive array of publications focused on the identification of tartans and their clan associations. This paper explains the nature of tartans, analyses typical surface structures, ratios and proportions, and suggests possible avenues of use for modern designers. The principal sources of data were a collection of tartans held at ULITA - An Archive of International Textiles (University of Leeds, UK) and Stewart's 1974 publication The Setts of Scottish Tartans. Based on the observation that divisions into halfs and thirds were dominant, a series of templates is presented with the intention of developing an awareness among designers that ratios and proportions used in familiar or traditional frameworks can be employed in a modern context.