Help redsigning a tartan

[Steve Ashton]

Your comments are interesting and appreciated Richard although the USMC Dress Blue Tartan cannot be changed at this date. It is already registered, fabric woven, and kilts made from this design.

The reason behind these two designs is based not only on how these look as a square on the screen but how they look when made into kilts with various pleating choices.

The USMC, when pleated to the Red stripe is very reminiscent of the full uniform. The lighter blue really looks like the trousers.
And the white accent look like the waistbelt and cover.



Some people do not like blocks of color like my designs but others, myself included. do. I sized the elements in the same ratio as that found in the uniform itself so it sort of had to have the two blues in that ratio.
I of course look at Tartan as a Kiltmaker would. I imagine it laid out on a table, as I try to figure out how to pleat it. I look at Sett size and the width of the individual elements. In general fewer, larger, simplier elements pleat up much better than a lot of small elements.
As I tend to pleat military inspired Tartans to the Stripe I would usually pleat this Army Tartan to the Gold stripe within the lighter blue.

This would mean that the white and branch distinctive parts would be seen in the front apron and far less in the back of the kilt.

I ran some numbers and if I were commissioned to have this woven I would request five different runs.
The first four would have the branch colors of the four largest branches.
Infantry Blue for Infantry
Yellow for Armor and Cav
Scarlet for Artillery and ADA
And Ultamarine Blue for Aviation.

I would then have the fifth run of 4 times more yardage done with a fifth, more neutral branch stripe such as MSC.
When someone were to order fabric for a kilt they would get 3 yards d/w for the pleats and 1yard d/w for the aprons in their choice of branch.

This would actually be a very cost effective way to have this Tartan woven.

Four runs of 14yards and one of 64 yards. Very easily done.

My submission is quite different from some of the others submitted so far. I am using the current ASU Army uniform and not the Dress Blue or Green Class A used during my time. So I do not have any green in my designs.
the two colors used in the current ASU uniform are actually quite close to each other. Army shade 450 for the blouse and Army shade 452 for the trousers. I included the gold stripe within the lighter blue to represent the gold stripe of the NCO and Officer trousers.
The White in my design is for the shirt. To my eye this design was quite dark and needed an accent stripe to catch the eye.
In my design there actually are black guards to the branch stripe and between the White and Lighter Blue.

So yes, my submissions are quite different from some of the others. I think that was the goal of the OP. to see if something different could be done that would represent what he sees and thinks of when he sees US Army attached to a design.

So I offer these only as submissions. The decision will be in the eye of the OP. If he likes mine he is welcome to them free of charge. If not he is free to choose any other design he prefers better.