District
Canadian Tartans Tartans Page
Affection for tartan cloth crossed the Atlantic first with Scottish regiments, who served garrison duty in Canada before Confederation, and later with the Scottish immigrants who settled in the Maritimes and United Canada. District tartans reflect geographical areas and are the most relevant in Canada today. The Canadian tartans link land and community through symbolic and imaginative use of colour.
Canadian Tartans
14 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.
From the start
Canadian Tartans Tartan Origins & History
Explore the history
How it all started
Territories
Scottish Canadians make up around 15% of the country’s total population and 41% of the population of Prince Edward Island are of Scottish descent so it’s fair to say that Scotland has had quite the impact on Canadian culture over the years!
Clan Chief
The Canadian tartans are district tartans and therefore do not have a Clan Chief.
What's in the name?
Affection for tartan cloth crossed the Atlantic first with Scottish regiments, who served garrison duty in Canada before Confederation, and later with the Scottish immigrants who settled in the Maritimes and United Canada. District tartans reflect geographical areas and are the most relevant in Canada today. The Canadian tartans link land and community through symbolic and imaginative use of colour.
Canadian Tartans
Caribou, Nova Scotia has chosen a tartan that features the colour red, symbolic of its sunsets, lobsters and fire trucks. The Ontario Northern Canadian district tartan's grey, white, blue, gold, green and reddish-brown conjure up the nickel-bearing rock, the snow, the sky and lakes, the precious metal, the forests and fields and the Aboriginal peoples. Boucherville, Quebec's design, is based on the azure blue of loyalty, the silver grey of serenity, the gold of generosity, the green of hope and the white of purity and innocence. Saskatchewan's tartan boasts seven colours: gold signifies the prairie wheat, brown the summer fallow, green the forests, red the prairie lily, yellow the rapeseed flower and sunflower, white the snow and black the oil and coal.
We stock 12 different Canadian tartans here at ScotlandShop; Maple Leaf, New Brunswick, Quebec, Royal Canadian Air Force, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Ontario, Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island.
An insight in to the Clans & Scottish Societies of Canada with Chair, William Petrie
William Petrie talks to Anna all the way from Canada, virtually of course to tell us about his story and his position as Chair of the CASSOC. The Clans and Scottish Societies of Canada link various Clans, Scottish Societies and Businesses across Canada.
