Ancient tartan patern

[Slowburn]

That is kind of what I was after, whether our not plant dyes were being used to create old tartan colors. All of the painting s of early kilts look rich in color almost palpable. I also was wondering if I should expect any natural fading with a newly maid ancient pattern.

[figheadair]

That is kind of what I was after, whether our not plant dyes were being used to create old tartan colors. All of the painting s of early kilts look rich in color almost palpable. I also was wondering if I should expect any natural fading with a newly maid ancient pattern.

No, natural dyes will not be used in any commercial tartan that you buy.

One cannot take the colours in paintings as anything other than a rough guide to the shades of the material that was being depicted.

I have dozens of pictures of tartan specimens that date between c1700-1850 that were naturally dyed. Some of the colours in some of the pieces have faded, other haven't. Modern chemically dyed cloth will fade uniformly across the colour spectrum and given time and exposure will fade to the palest shades. Natural dyes don't fade that way. Some colours will change, some fade and others hardly alter.

Here's and example just to prove that the concept of ancient colours is flawed.



A piece of Wilsons' of Bannockburn 'Lochaber' - c1820-30 in natural dyes.

[Tobus]

That is kind of what I was after, whether our not plant dyes were being used to create old tartan colors. All of the painting s of early kilts look rich in color almost palpable. I also was wondering if I should expect any natural fading with a newly maid ancient pattern.

As others have said, modern tartan cloth (even in "ancient" color schemes) will be made with modern dyes. However, if you desire the look of a tartan that's been faded with age, you can go with a "weathered" tartan. They are made to look as if they were made from plant-based dyes and then buried in a peat bog for a couple of centuries (that's the description I saw somewhere, but can't remember where).

For example, I notice that your avatar is the Colquhoun tartan, which is also my clan tartan. Borrowing Rocky's images for this example, you can see the modern color scheme, which is very dark and makes no pretense of looking old, looks like this:




The "ancient" colors are lighter, of course, but still have a true color hue (i.e. blue is blue, green is green, etc.):




There is also a "weathered" Colquhoun, which Lochcarron lists but is not a standard in-stock tartan. They won't even do a run of it unless it's a big order. I'm currently having a kilt made in this weathered tartan, as a custom weave by DC Dalgliesh. As you can see, the colors are more faded and earthy, which is intended to re-create a color scheme that's old and faded and, well, weathered.




If you wanted your kilt to look like it was made with plant-based dyes for that rustic faded look, "weathered" is the way to go.

[figheadair]

As others have said, modern tartan cloth (even in "ancient" color schemes) will be made with modern dyes. However, if you desire the look of a tartan that's been faded with age, you can go with a "weathered" tartan. They are made to look as if they were made from plant-based dyes and then buried in a peat bog for a couple of centuries (that's the description I saw somewhere, but can't remember where).

There is also a "weathered" Colquhoun, which Lochcarron lists but is not a standard in-stock tartan. They won't even do a run of it unless it's a big order. I'm currently having a kilt made in this weathered tartan, as a custom weave by DC Dalgliesh. As you can see, the colors are more faded and earthy, which is intended to re-create a color scheme that's old and faded and, well, weathered.

If you wanted your kilt to look like it was made with plant-based dyes for that rustic faded look, "weathered" is the way to go.

I have to disagree. First of all it's more correct to talk of natural dyes rather than plant based dyes. True most were derived from plants but most reds (and all I've seen from c1700 onwards) were insect dyes, principally from cochineal but occasionally from Lac another shield insect.

Neither Reproduction or Weathered colours are paricularly accurate at representing natural dyes, faded or otherwise. The best commercial range are Muted colours such as those by House of Edgar but even these are a but odd and don't really match historial specimens terribly well. Better still are copies of Wilsons of Bannockburn's colours. They were naturally dyed and can be match accurately.