How many Colquhoun tartans are there?

[VanessaColquhoun]

Hello everyone
Could you please advise us on how many different types of Colquhoun tartans there are please and what to wear on different occasions?
I have seen that some clans have a gun tartan and a weathered tartan. Is that the same for all clans?
Also do all clans accessorise in the same way?
Thanks in advance
Peter and Vanessa Colquhoun

[Steve Ashton]

Perhaps the best way to search Tartans is to go to the Govt. of Scotland "Scottish Register of Tartan".

You can search a-z, by color, date, designer etc.

https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/search

There are around 12,000 Tartans. All have some name. But a regional, corporate or even a fashion Tartan is just as real as one with a family name. And name is not all you look at. For example someone can carry the name Campbell and not be part of the Campbell Highland Clan. It really depends on where your people come from.

The vast majority of Scots lived in the cities and the lowlands. These people were not part of the Highland Clan system, may not have worn kilts, and may not have had a Tartan.


Now, about this naming thing. It all comes down to the fabric weaving companies.

See, when we design a Tartan we may say something like - "So many yarns of Green, followed by so many yarns of Black" For the Green we use the letter "G". It does not always specify which color Green.

So - One weaver chose to use the deep, vivid colors produced by the modern aniline dyes and call this the "Modern" color version.
They also change the colors to simulate what this Tartan may have looked like if using natural dyes and call this version "Ancient"
They then change the colors again to simulate what the Tartan may have looked like if left out in the sun and faded for many years and call this version "Weathered".

And yet all of these versions are the same thread count - so the exact same Tartan.

[figheadair]

In th eOP do you mean how many are there or how many are there available to the public? The two are not the same thing in this and many cases of traditional clan type tartans i.e. tartans associated with the larger clans.

Perhaps the best way to search Tartans is to go to the Govt. of Scotland "Scottish Register of Tartan".

The problem with the SRT is that it was formed from a combination of two older databases with some records from the Scottish Tartans Authority and others from the Scottish World Register of Tartans. The staff at the SRT have very limited knowledge about tartans and did (and continue to) do checking of the data. As a result there are many errors, duplications and omissions in the records. And so it is with the Colquhoun tartans. Their Colquhoun #2 and #3 are the same tartan and so do not require a separate entry. The so called origins and correct setting of the so called Fruin Colquhoun is a bit of a mystery with at least three different settings on record. I need to work this though when I have a moment.

In answer to the OP I would say 3.

1. The original sett per Wilsons of Bannockburn.
2. The Vestiarium version which was a variation on the first, either by error or design.
3. Colquhoun, Dress.

I'm not a fan of Dress tartans for men and would recommend sticking with the original. You then have a choice of the different colourways: Old, Modern, Muted, Reproduction and Weathered. None are as nice as the origianl Wilsons' shades but they are not available ex-stock and would need to be a special weave.

There are around 12,000 Tartans. All have some name.

Steve, that figure is a bit high (the SRT started their additions at 11,000 to keep a separation from the STA Db numbers they incorporated). We have around 9,700 on our Db, including all those on the Register.

It's also not the case that all have some name unless one regards entries such as Wilsons' No.21 as a name. Ditto all those in our database classified as Unnamed or Unidentified.

[Tarheel]

Here is a link to a site that has many different fabrics in the Colquhoun tartan. I am not recommending any of these or the retailer, but offering the choices.
https://www.scotweb.co.uk/tartan/Colquhoun-/31928

The information in the other posts are worth reading and taking into account when purchasing fabric for a quality product. Good luck and please let us know what decision you make.

[Tobus]

Hello everyone
Could you please advise us on how many different types of Colquhoun tartans there are please and what to wear on different occasions?
I have seen that some clans have a gun tartan and a weathered tartan. Is that the same for all clans?
Also do all clans accessorise in the same way?
Thanks in advance
Peter and Vanessa Colquhoun

Hi Peter and Vanessa, from a fellow Colquhoun (of the Kilpatrick strain, LOL).

I'm not sure what you mean by a "gun tartan". Perhaps you mean a hunting tartan? Yes, some clans have a tartan variation that they call hunting, but Colquhoun does not. There's really only two setts that I'm aware of. The regular Colquhoun sett and the "dress" version that has broad white stripes added into it. The dress variant is pretty rare and I don't think many people wear it. It's certainly not necessary for dress occasions. The standard sett works for everything.

As others have said, there are many colour variations of our sett. The sett is just the pattern of the stripes, but the colours can vary quite a bit with all the different shades of blues, greens, reds, and even blacks. You'll most commonly see the "modern" and "ancient" colour variants. The modern colours are very dark with the blue being almost purple. Ancient is a colour variation that lightens everything up to more faded colours. Then there are "weathered", "reproduction", etc. These are all just different methods to make the tartan look old or historical.

The two I most commonly wear are ancient (woven by Lochcarron) and reproduction (by DC Dalgliesh). I'd love to see the tartan woven in old Wilsons colours, but to my knowledge nobody has done that for the public. As you can see below, the patter (sett) is the same. Just the colours are different.

Colquhoun Ancient:




Colquhoun Reproduction:

[figheadair]

I'd love to see the tartan woven in old Wilsons colours, but to my knowledge nobody has done that for the public.

I've woven it in the distant past and Bob Martiin made at least one kilt in the cloth. It mst be somewhere out there in the US. I'll see if I can fine a picture and if not, I certainly have a sample of it in my collection as well as photos of an original Wilsons' specimen.

[tokareva]

Tobus, is this the back of your kilt?

th (1).jpeg

[Tobus]

tokareva, yes it is. That's another view from the same batch of photos I took when I first got that kilt. It's Reproduction Colquhoun by DC Dalgliesh, in a traditional 8-yard "tank" made by Barb Tewksbury in 2012, pleated to the sett. Here are a couple more views. This is my favorite kilt, and the one I wear most often. I just wish I was still as trim as I was 6 years ago, LOL.

[Tarheel]

I believe the Tobus and Crash have the best selection of Colquhoun tartan kilts. I envy the collection of each of them and hope to get at least three of my own kilts copied from their examples. Maybe the day after I become rich and famous.

I do hope there has been useful information for you Peter and Vanessa.

[figheadair]

And here is the piece of Wilsons' Colquhoun in the Highland Society of London's collection sealed by the chief in 1817.

Vol 1 - Colquhoun (1817).jpg