Nestled amidst the rolling hills of Perthshire, Crieff boasts a rich history as a traditional market town. Once a bustling center for cattle droving and textile production, its charming streets now offer a mix of local shops, cafes, and historical gems. Visitors can delve into the town's whisky distilling heritage, explore Scotland's oldest lending library, or simply soak in the picturesque scenery surrounding this captivating Scottish town.
Each tartan can have multiple variations, the most common of which are Ancient, Modern, Weathered, Hunting and Dress
About tartan variations
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans, mossy greens and sky blues, a more orangey red and some would say showing off the pattern to much greater effect as as the contrasts are much brighter than the Modern tartans. The pattern or sett remains the same across all variations of a single tartan, and only the shades or tones vary.
Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans. Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.
The Modern tartans are often the more subtle combinations such as the classic Black Watch Modern
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer, more earthy colours typical of the Weathered tartans, reminiscent of bolder colours subjected to wind, rain and sunshine producing beautiful faded tones, olive greens and browns, and very light blues with reds that are more pink than red.
Some mills refer to the Weathered tartans as Muted.
The Hunting Tartans are the camouflage tartans and some clans don't have these variations because they are already predominantly green or brown and don't need amendment to blend in with nature's colours. The Black Watch or Gunn tartans are examples of these, whereas a tartan such as the Fraser is predominantly red and would not provide much cover for men out hunting.
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.
The Dress Tartans were designed as the name suggests for celebrations and highland dance. The sett or pattern of the tartan remains the same and the main colour is changed to white, or extra white is added to the pattern to give it a brighter, more "fancy" appearance. The Scots do like to bend the rules and occasionally instead of white thread, yellow is used and this is where the rather wild MacLeod Dress Modern and Barclay Dress Modern came from.
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.
The Crieff Tartan, first mentioned in Wilsons of Bannockburn's accounts of 1793, initially lacked detailed descriptions. While color details emerged in an 1800 manuscript, its design (sett) wasn't recorded until the 1819 Key Pattern Book. Records of the tartan's design are preserved in the National Museum of Antiquities, Edinburgh, with additional copies and related materials within the Scottish Tartans Society archive.
Crieff is the Capital of Strathearn, one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. Strathearn, meaning "Valley of the River Earn," encompasses Crieff, Comrie & Auchterarder. On April 29, 2011, Queen Elizabeth II revived the title of Earl of Strathearn, bestowing it upon Prince William. Consequently, his wife Catherine became Countess of Strathearn upon their marriage. Prince William used this title while in Scotland until September 2022, when he received the title of Duke of Rothesay.