Scottish Clans
MacKinnon Tartans & Clan
Who Wears MacKinnon Tartan? - Associated Names
First of all to explain why there are so many tartans, way over 2000 in fact. There are an awful lot of Scottish clans to start with and on top of this each clan can have many different tartans and names associated with it.
- Love
- MacInnon
- MacKenning
- MacKinven
- MacMoran
- MacSherrie
- Sherrie
- Sherry
- Kinnon
- MacKinney
- MacKinning
MackinnonTartans
6 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
- Dress
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.
Dress 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.
Dall’inizio
MacKinnon Clan Storia e Origini
Esplorare la storia di Clan MacKinnon
Come tutto è cominciato
Territories
The Isles of Mull and Skye
Clan Chief
The current chief is Madam Anne Mackinnon of Mackinnon.
Cosa c'è nel nome MacKinnon?
The MacKinnons are a descendant of Fingon, grandson of Gregor, In Gaelic Fingon meaning fair-born.
Caisteal Mol
Ciasteal Mol is a ruined castle on the Isle of Skye and is the historic seat of Clan MacKinnon. The Castle is also known under a number of different names such as; Castle Moil, Castle Maol, Dun Akyn, Dunakin Castle, Dun Haakon and Castle Dunakin. The current castle ruins were constructed in the 15th Century, but there was a castle on the grounds many years before this. In the 10th Century the 4th Chief of Clan MacKinnon married a Norweigan princess who was known as 'Saucy Mary' and it is said that she built the castle that stood before the current Castle. It is said that is buried underneath the ruins and that he face is pointed in the direction of Norway. The last person to occupy the castle was the nephew of the 26th Chief of Clan MacKinnon, Neill MacKinnon, in the 17th Century, the castle has been abondoned ever since.Plant Badge
Clan MacKinnon's plant badge is Scots Pine.
Clan Motto: Audentes Fortuna Juvat (Fortune Favours the Bold)
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