Dundee Tartans
1 variationsEach tartan can have multiple variations, the most common of which are Ancient, Modern, Weathered, Hunting and Dress
About tartan variations
- Ancient
- Modern
- Weathered
- 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
Ancient Tartan
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.
Helpful Advice
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.
Modern Tartan
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.
Helpful Advice
The Modern tartans are often the more subtle combinations such as the classic Black Watch Modern
Weathered Tartan
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.
Helpful Advice
Some mills refer to the Weathered tartans as Muted.
Hunting Tartan
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.
Helpful Advice
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.
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 Tartan
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.
Helpful Advice
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.
From the start
Dundee Tartan Origins & History
Explore the history
How it all started
Territories
Dundee is the fourth largest city in Scotland and the city first dates back to the 12th Century when it was given the royal burgh status. The city's main industries were fishing, whaling and textiles, more recently they have gathered a name as the location where many confectioneries are produced, in particular marmalade.
Clan Chief
The Dundee tartan is a district tartan and therefore does not have a Clan Chief.
What's in the tartan?
The Dundee Old tartan is predominantly orange, light green, pale blue, white, yellow and black. Ancient or old colours duplicate the shades produced by weavers in the old days when dyes were made from vegetables, herbs and berries. The city of Dundee sits on the river Tay in Tayside in Scotland.
Dundee
Dundee sits within the historic county of Angus on the east coast of Scotland. The name breaks down into 2 parts - Dun meaning fort and it is thought that the second part of the name comes from the Celtic word "dè" meaning fire. Named Scotland's City of Discovery, Dundee is famous for it's scientific activities. RRS Discovery, Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic exploration ship was built in the harbour and after her adventures around the world rescued by the Maritime Trust in 1979 and returned to her berth in Dundee in 1986 . Discovery's first mission carried Scott and Shackleton on their first visit to the Antarctic in 1901. Dundee is also very famous for marmalade. More on this on our blog.Dùn Dè is gaelic for Dundee.
