Can a Tartan be Tattooed Well?

[MacHummel]

I all depends on the artist that does your work i know my tattooist that does my work is awesome A friend of mine got tattooed his family tartan(Sinclair) as a argyll sock. So it can be done .

[Tattoo Bradley]

Being as fond as I am of my Henderson tartan, I've inquired and investigated on this over the years. To put it simply: no. Of course, ANYTHING can be tattooed. But, the problem is, even if you had some celebrity level super-tattooist do it, it's NOT going to hold up over the years. It's going to smear and look, well, down right awful. The argyll pattern sounds possible, at least more so than actual tartan. But, I really think unless the "sett" or whatever it's referred to when argyll would have to be quite large for it to hold up over time.

Actually Patrick (Burley FIsh) and I had this very discussion while he tattooed me. We both shared similar thoughts on it.

[neo71665]

Not being an artist myself but hanging around parlors and having a real good friend as an tattoo artist we have had the exact same disscussion and came up with the same exact thoughts.

Being as fond as I am of my Henderson tartan, I've inquired and investigated on this over the years. To put it simply: no. Of course, ANYTHING can be tattooed. But, the problem is, even if you had some celebrity level super-tattooist do it, it's NOT going to hold up over the years. It's going to smear and look, well, down right awful. The argyll pattern sounds possible, at least more so than actual tartan. But, I really think unless the "sett" or whatever it's referred to when argyll would have to be quite large for it to hold up over time.

Actually Patrick (Burley FIsh) and I had this very discussion while he tattooed me. We both shared similar thoughts on it.

[Riverkilt]

At my age I'm not much worried about fading...

The tattooed tartan hose idea sure would save some money on kilt hose!

Ron

[Tattoo Bradley]

At my age I'm not much worried about fading...

The tattooed tartan hose idea sure would save some money on kilt hose!

Ron

Well, I guess that's always true. It's not so much "fading" as it's "blurring." But, none-the-less...

I do believe it can look good, just not for more than a few years.

What exactly are you thinking about getting?

[Riverkilt]

Well, it started with the idea that I could get a bagpiper tattooed on the inside of my right thigh, just above my knee. Then if someone asked me where my bagpipes were I could truthfully say, "Under my kilt" and show them without being arrested.

Now, I'm intrigued by the idea of tattooed tartan "hose."

Back in massage school the example they give of the effectiveness of massage is to tattoo two rabbits on their thighs. Leave one rabbit alone and regularly massage the other. The massaged rabbit's tattoo fades.

So, maybe the secret of a tattoo with tartan work on it is to place it somewhere that doesn't get a lot of muscle action.

Ron

[Tattoo Bradley]

I definately want to get a bagpiper tattooed on me. That's a definate. As far as the tartan of his kilt, it would be more suggestive than line for line. I also want it portrait style in black and grey...

[Moose McLennan]

Well, it started with the idea that I could get a bagpiper tattooed on the inside of my right thigh, just above my knee. Then if someone asked me where my bagpipes were I could truthfully say, "Under my kilt" and show them without being arrested.

Now, I'm intrigued by the idea of tattooed tartan "hose."

Back in massage school the example they give of the effectiveness of massage is to tattoo two rabbits on their thighs. Leave one rabbit alone and regularly massage the other. The massaged rabbit's tattoo fades.

So, maybe the secret of a tattoo with tartan work on it is to place it somewhere that doesn't get a lot of muscle action.

Ron

'Massaging the tattooed rabbit' sounds like a euphemism of disreputable provenance... :confused: .

I can't match Ham's spectacular story, but I believe certain Army ranks were not allowed to wear the Sgian Dubh. They got round this by having a Sgian Dubh tattooed on.

M.

[Southern Breeze]

So, are you planning on a permanent kilt? There's a pic somewhere on the forum of a highlander tattoed on a members arm. The tartan on the kilt looks pretty good.