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Gretna Green Tartans Page
The Gretna Green tartan is a predominantly green tartan with blue and a fine red stripe through it. Gretna Green is one of the world's most famous wedding venues, conjuring up stories of romance, scandals, and illicit trysts. For 250 years, thousands of young lovers have made for Gretna Green, where they can wed in a hurry under Scotland's lenient marriage laws.
Gretna Green Tartans
2 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
Gretna Green Tartan Origins & History
Explore the history
How it all started
Territories
Gretna Green is a small village located on the border between Scotland and England, on the Scottish side, in the county of Dumfries and Galloway.
Clan Chief
The Gretna Green tartan is a district tartan and therefore does not have a Clan Chief.
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The Gretna Green tartan is a predominantly green tartan with blue and a fine red stripe through it. Gretna Green is one of the world's most famous wedding venues, conjuring up stories of romance, scandals, and illicit trysts. For 250 years, thousands of young lovers have made for Gretna Green, where they can wed in a hurry under Scotland's lenient marriage laws.
Runaway Marriages
Gretna Green became famous for secret weddings during the 1700's after a law was passed in England and Wales that restricted anyone under the age of 21 to get married without the consent of a parent. Whereas in Scotland the legal ages to get married were 14 for a boy and 12 for a girl, so long as there was at least two witnesses almost anyone could get married. Gretna Green was the first easily accessible village over the border of England, which is why it became the prime location for 'runaway marriages'.If you follow the old coaching route from London to Edinburgh Gretna Green is the first village in Scotland. The village sits near the mouth of the River Esk in Dumfriesshire.
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