tartan identifier

[Dileasgubas]

I bought this Ex-hire kilt from MacGregor and MacDuff on eBay but have not been able to identify the tartan. It was not measured correctly in the listing and is consequently too big for me. Before I decide whether to sell it on or have it sized, it would be interesting to know which tartan it is. The pattern is quite interesting and the kilt has no signs of wear, even on the straps. Decisions, decisions...

Any insight would be appreciated.

[davidlpope]

Hunting Stewart. Looks to be in the muted color scheme. Nice, universal tartan.

[Pipersson]

This is Stewart Hunting.

Tom

[Dileasgubas]

Thanks; I should have known better. Perfect choice for a hire kilt, although it is no longer listed on the site.

[The Wizard of BC]

Interestingly the thread count in this kilt is indeed Stewart Hunting, Weathered colorway, as it is commonly woven today, but it is significantly different than what is registered by the Scottish Tartans Authority and different again from that registered by The Scottish Registry of Tartan.

The Scottish Tartans Authority has this name registered under ITI#6327 dated 1819 by Wilson's & Son.

This Sett has two yellow lines and two red lines per full Sett.
The STA notes are by our own Peter MacDonald
" Asymmetric. This is the verion woven today in STA's Scarlett Collection + Lochcarron sample. The 1819 date is unsupported by the Key Pattern Book of 1819 and thus is an assumption on someone's part. PEM Aug 07."

The Scottish Register has yet a different thread count under their number #3934 but with the same date and designer.
The SRT notes say this;
"An asymmetric pattern. Scottish Tartans Society notes: The pattern books of the old firm of weavers, Wilson's of Bannockburn, provide the first record of this sett which was not published until 1886 when James Grant included it in, 'The Tartans of the Clans of Scotland'. The pattern is unusual in that the half sett is not reversed to create a symmetrical square. Instead the full sett is simply repeated from right to left across the cloth. There is no reliable explanation of why the Hunting Stewart should be regarded as a 'General' tartan."

Lochcarron's current website has the Sett of this Kilt and this is the Sett used by The Canadian Scottish Regt. but in the Modern colorway.

Perhaps Peter @figheadair could shed some light on this for us.

[Dughlas mor]

That is just a beautiful tartan. If you can get it altered without too much trouble, I would encourage you to hang on to it.

[figheadair]

The Hunting Stewart tartan has cause so much trouble for weavers and writers over the years. Two things account for this; firstly the method of Wilsons of recording the tartan in which to save space they tended to write R & Y for the alternating strip. The key for those in the know was the use of the term 'Check Pattern', by which they meant it was asymmetric. Others may have written the sett out in full. The second problem occurs if one is trying to replicate the sett from a small sample in which case the potential for error is obvious.

The STA website is a good example of where it goes wrong. In the case of #6327 the colour strip matches the erroneous count but the full graphic is incorrect and actually reflects the setting of the kilt under discussion here. The STR, whose records are based on the STA and other records, also shows the incorrect full graphic for the setting. One can imagine the confusion if Logan had tried to include it in his work.

At least six versions of this tartan have been produced over the years, including one symmetrical version. In my opinion the only correct setting is Wilsons’ where the main difference is the fact the setting only has a single fine blue and black line at the edge of the large blue as opposed to the double trams of the kilt in the OP which is the more common commercial setting.

Here is Wilsons’ version.