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Royal Scottish Country Dance Society Tartans Page
We are delighted to be the official weaver and stockist of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society and as a result 10% of every sale of the RSCDS tartan goes directly to the Charity to support their mission of "Growing a vibrant worldwide community of Scottish Dance and Music". With a worldwide network of RSCDS branches and affiliated groups promoting and developing Scottish Country Dance that can be enjoyed by anyone, anywhere
The beautiful RSCDS tartan was co-designed by Kirsty Anderson (The House of Edgar) and David Norman-Harris (RSCDS member and previous E&T Convenor), and was registered in 2006. Inspiration for the colour palette came from the blues of the Saltire and The Royal Standard of Scotland, with thread-counts of 19 and 23 being used throughout to signify the founding date of The Society.
Royal Scottish Country Dance Society 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
Royal Scottish Country Dance Society Tartan History
The Official RSCDS Tartan
We are delighted to be an official weaver and stockist of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society and as a result 10% of every sale of the RSCDS tartan goes directly to the Charity to support their mission of "Growing a vibrant worldwide community of Scottish Dance and Music". With a worldwide network of branches and affiliated groups, the RSCDS promotes and develops Scottish Country Dance that can be enjoyed by anyone, anywhere.
The beautiful RSCDS tartan was co-designed by Kirsty Anderson (The House of Edgar) and David Normand-Harris (RSCDS member), and was registered in 2006. Inspiration for the colour palette came from the blues of the Saltire and The Royal Standard of Scotland, with thread-counts of 19 and 23 being used throughout to signify the founding date of The Society.
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