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Scottish Borders Tartans Page

The Borderland Scottish tartan was inspired by the colours of the Scottish Borders, home to clans such as the Elliots and the feisty Armstrongs.


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Scottish Borders Tartans

8 variations

Each 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.

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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.

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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.

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From the start

Scottish Borders Tartan Origins & History

Scottish Borders Sign Scotland Flag Pixabay 21012020 0

Explore the history

There is so much to see and do in the Scottish Borders, from grand and spellbinding abbeys to the rolling hills and fabulous viewpoints, such as Scott's View, giving you a beautiful vista of the countryside. Our ScotlandShop HQ is based on a farm near the small Borders town of Duns in the south of Scotland and we are lucky enough to be surrounded by beautiful views. The history of the area is one that involves a lot of conflict and bloodshed, mostly due to the unruly Border Reivers, but also from the Wars of Scottish Independence which took place during the 13th and 14th centuries.

Borderland Scottish Tartan

The Borderland Scottish tartan was designed by Alistair Buchan in 1996 and was inspired by the colours of the Scottish Borders landscape, the blues and greys of the River Tweed running through the region and soft greens that blankets the hills from Peebles across to the east coast.

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Bonnie Borders

The ScotlandShop headquarters are actually based within the beautiful scenery of the Scottish Borders, only a 5 minute drive outside of the bonny town of Duns. We have a gorgeous view of the Lammermuir hills, a must see if ever visiting the Scottish Borders. The Scottish Borders is home to clans such as Elliot, Maxwell, Johnston, Graham, Bell, Scott, Nixon, Kerr, Crozier, Robson and the fiesty Armstrongs, and famous for the Border Reivers who raided livestock across the Anglo-Scottish border from the 14th century right through until the late 17th century.

A Journey Through The Scottish Borders

The month of June has been all about our home, the Scottish Borders, so we wanted to take you on an exploration of this region renowned for its tranquillity, friendly inhabitants and of course, textiles. Join Anna as she takes a journey down the River Tweed taking in history and abbeys and let the scenery make its impression on you.

Borders Distillery

The Scottish Borders Very Own Whisky Distillery

In 2018 The Borders Distillery opened its doors in the historic town of Hawick, the first distillery in the Scottish Borders since 1837! A fully authentic Borders product and experience, whereby they use the River Tweed, which flows nearby the building to supply their water source. As well as naming their first whisky 'Clan Fraser' after the Fraser family, who over 900 years ago settled in the Borders from France. Grab yourself a tipple and enjoy the rest of the story on our blog...

Discover Reivers Week with James Royan

Reivers Week is one of the biggest events in the social calendar in our local market town of Duns. Amy was lucky enough to speak with James Royan, President of Duns Summer Festival Committee, who organises the celebrations! James fills us in on how he first became involved with the committee and tells us all about the ancient traditions dating back to the 15th century, tales of witches included!

ScotlandShop On the Sofa with the Great Scottish Tapestry in Galashiels

We travelled to The Great Scottish Tapestry in Galashiels, where the history of Scotland is told across 160 panels of incredible Scottish art. We were delighted to chat with Sandy Maxwell-Forbes, the Centre Director, who told us about how this grand project brought together local communities, created life-long friendships and included a personal touch in every stitch.

Alba nan criochan is gaelic for Borderland Scottish


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