Quote Originally Posted by figheadair View Post
The plaids are definitely original WoB material. The reason that a lot of them look faded is that in many the blue is a purplish hue due to having been dyed with Logwood rather than indigo. Logwood was cheaper but far less colour fast. It looks as though the plaids were a job lot so to speak and I bet the Duke of the time had no idea that they'd still be around some 170 years later.

I have a picture of four plaids all in the same sett size but each using different shades blue and green making some fascinating visual variations.



I think that the modern kilts are either Dalgliesh or HoE cloth. They are clearly based on one of the Wilsons' pieces, the sett size is the same as are most of the colours but these modern kilts use a shade of blue that I haven't found amongst the surviving WoB pieces and in fact is not a Wilsons' shade.

What makes the WoB setting particularly attractive are the broad stripes which was a common feature in a lot of early Wilsons' pieces compared with what's woven today. Their Urquhart is another tartan that is so much better with a broader stripe.
Good information...makes complete sense, thanks for sharing mate!

Cordially,