District
Musselburgh Tartans Page
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian which stretches south of the Forth Estuary, east of Edinburgh. It was more commonly known as Haddingtonshire in the 19th Century, its county town being Haddington. The County was extremely fertile with East Lothian farms being at the forefront of the agricultural revolution in the late 1700s. Musselburgh was recently transferred from Edinburgh's control to that of East Lothian.
Musselburgh 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
Musselburgh Tartan Origins & History
Explore the history
How it all started
Territories
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian which stretches south of the Forth Estuary, east of Edinburgh. It was more commonly known as Haddingtonshire in the 19th Century, its county town being Haddington. The County was extremely fertile with East Lothian farms being at the forefront of the agricultural revolution in the late 1700s. Musselburgh was recently transferred from Edinburgh's control to that of East Lothian.
Clan Chief
The Musselburgh tartan is a district tartan and therefore does not have a Clan Chief.
Let's talk about tartan...
The Musselburgh tartan is mainly blue with stripes of red, yellow and white running through it. The tartan was first designed in 1956, to commemorate the towns 'Riding of the Marches' celebrations.
Ted goes to the races
We teamed up with Musselburgh Racecourse to add a touch of tartan to their New Year Sprint in 2018. Racecourse staff wore Musselburgh tartan ties and scarves and Hector the Mussleburgh tartan ted was given as a prize to the best turned out spectator.
A Day at the Races
We recently spent the day at Musselburgh Racecourse, ahead of the launch of our Spring Collection, to get some trackside shots of our Musselburgh tartan suit. Our model Robbie looked great in the suit and its bright and bold colours are sure to make you stand out from the crowd on race day.Baile nam Feusgan is gaelic for Musselburgh.
