Enlarged Sett

[creagdhubh]

Hey Kyle, something that occurred to me... Have you considered a tartan tweed fabric for this project? I know a while back we had a thread about tartan tweed kilts, and possibly even some information on custom tartan patterns that could be woven in tweed, although my search-fu is pretty weak. All I've been able to come up with are dead links. I know there are some popular tartan tweeds that have been woven in rather large setts (like Gunn and Hunting MacLeod, which seem to come up easily on a Google search for tartan tweed).

I distinctly remember someone mentioning a tweed mill that would do special tartan runs, but for the life of me I can't find any information on it!

My thinking, though, is that it might be easier to get a larger sett with tweed due to the nature of tweed as opposed to a standard wool tartan fabric. Not to mention, the lovely coarse nature of tweed might be a wonderful complement to a larger sett in terms of aesthetics. For example, here's a kilt that Matt Newsome made in tweed. I'm unsure of the tartan (MacPherson?) or the source of the cloth, but it seems that the sett size is much larger than usual. I'm wondering if perhaps there's a case to be made for getting your tartan made out of tweed to get a larger sett size without having to alter the proportions. I'm not enough of a tweed expert to know if this is realistic, but perhaps it's worth an enquiry through Barb T. to see if she might be able to come up with a supplier willing to do a run like this? (Though a minimum yardage will surely apply.)

Thanks for your contribution, Tobus.

I haven't considered a tartan tweed fabric for this project, and to be honest, I don't care for it. Whereas I do like tweed kilts, I would much rather have a tweed kilt in some sort of a check (see my cousin's tweed kilt in the photo below), or window pane pattern (or even Cluny's Tweed would look quite smart - see below), inspired by Scottish Estate Tweeds. I prefer to keep tartan kilts made from tartan cloth and tweed kilts made from tweed cloth that does not have a distinct tartan pattern. That's just me, but thank you again for the idea, mate!

On a sidenote:

The photo you referenced is indeed the Hunting Macpherson sett (Breacan Glas don Cluanaidh, or "the grey plaid of Cluny"), which is such a beautiful tartan and by far the most popular amongst the Clan Macpherson. It is also one of the oldest recorded Macpherson tartans.

Duncan Macpherson at Ruthven Barracks


Cluny's Tweed (and Duncan again, this time on his wedding day)


Cheers,