Scottish Heather

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Scottish Heather Tartans Page


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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.

Heather Scotland

From the Start

Scottish Heather Tartan Origins & History

Scottish Heather and Croft

Explore the History

How it all started

The Scottish Heather is a world famous symbol of Scotland, and the versatile and beautiful flower is perfectly suited to the wild and rugged Scottish hills. Heather grows freely and abundantly and spreads its spectacular purple tones across five million acres of Scottish glens, moorland and hills, as well as white heather which is less common - perhaps one of the reasons it is considered to be lucky. This meaning is believed to derive from some old Scottish tale where Malvina, the daughter of a Scottish bard, was engaged to marry a Celtic warrior named Oscar. Tragically, he died in battle and the messenger who delivered the news also delivered a spray of heather that Oscar had sent as a symbol of her love. Even today, white Heather is considered to be lucky, especially for brides and to have a Scottish-themed wedding the flower adds a touch of good luck to the ceremony.

Over the centuries, heather has been put to a wide range of uses such as line walls, thatch roofs, make ropes, fill mattresses, die cloth, make brooms and even as medicine. During the summer months the Scottish hills burst with colour, as the heather comes in to bloom making the colours of the Scottish hills so magical.

What's in the tartan?

The 'Scottish Heather' tartan is mainly a deep rich purple, resembling the flowers presence across Scottish moorland, with grey, black and white running throughout.

Pentand hills

The Pentland Hills

There are many places to spot blooming heather fields across Scotland, one of them being the breathtaking heathery landscapes close to Edinburgh on the Pentland Hills. The Pentlands are a range of hills around 20 miles in length, and runs south west from Edinburgh towards Biggar and the upper Clydesdale, which offers great opportunities to experience and enjoy the outdoors through the heathery knowes and valleys. The area provides idyllic scenery and is largely popular for runners, cyclists and walkers and is a perfect representation of the heather blanketed Scottish landscape.

Scottish Flowers

Join Anna as she explores Scottish flowers in our episode dedicated to flora & fauna, from romantic gifts to national anthems and clan plant badges, she'll discuss it all!

The name 'Heather' may come from the old Scottish word 'haeddre' which is seen as far back as the 14th century. The flower is also sometimes known as 'Ling Heather', stemming from the old Norse word 'Lyng' which meant 'light in weight'.


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