material changes a tartan?

[ForresterModern]

Could not agree more with the "get a swatch" suggestion. I loved the colors of the MacDonald of Glencoe modern shown on several websites, but because it was only woven as a standard tartan by Dalgleish I was a bit leary to trust the photo, as I had some custom tartan woven by Dalgleish in a different clan that came out darker and more color "saturated" than I had expected from photos of it. So I ordered a swatch from Scotweb, and indeed the swatch I got was a lot darker and more saturated than what all the online photos showed. So I opted instead for the only other standard stock woven version of that MAcD Glencoe available, a muted House of Edgar version, which matched much better with the color palette (thanks Rex) I was expecting, even though it too was still a wee bit darker than expected.

If you just want a specific tartan and are not too hung up on exactly how the colors appear, you could probably get away without a swatch. If you have any concerns about how the tartan is going to appear, in daylight, fluorescent lighting, etc... GET A SWATCH (of tartan, not one of those plastic Swiss watches).

[Rex_Tremende]

...matched much better with the color palette (thanks Rex) ...

Regards,
Rex, changing one vocabulary at a time.

[Steve Ashton]

Marton Mills 12 oz. Polyester/Rayon blend fabrics go by the name Balmoral.

They are found under the schoolwear tab on the Marton Mills site.

The variations on the Thompson Tartan that they weave are;

Thompson (M/Camel) BA139T Equivalent to ITI # 2421 ---- Please do not confuse this with Burburry.
Thompson (M/Grey) BA027T
Thompson (Grey/Small Sett) BA145T

[OC Richard]

Yes actual swatches are a must, but even when the swatches come from the same mill there sometimes colour differences between the various weights.

You all know about the lovely "muted" range woven by House of Edgar.

In my avatar I'm wearing my band's tartan, Drummond of Perth, in HOE's muted colours.

Some of our band's kilts are 13oz, some 16oz, and the colours are not quite the same. The red in the heavier weight is slightly more purplish.

Oddly, the same tartan is listed as being in their "muted" range in one weight, but in their "modern" range in the other weight, in their sample books.