Time to VOTE for a NY State tartan

[Barb T]

From a kiltmaker's standpoint, the first design is a bit of a nightmare. Lots of stripes that could get lost in pleat taper and nothing that would work well for pleating to the stripe, if someone wanted that.

[Brian K]

From a kiltmaker's standpoint, the first design is a bit of a nightmare. Lots of stripes that could get lost in pleat taper and nothing that would work well for pleating to the stripe, if someone wanted that.

Thanks for chiming in, Barb. I like the first one, but I design mainly because I enjoy it and have wondered if some of my setts wouldn't actually be impractical to use for kilt making. I can't afford a kilt at the moment, let alone custom woven cloth, and no one else has ever had any of my designs woven, so I've never seen one fashioned into a kilt.

I do hope we have success with our project and you get some customers who want you to help them outfit themselves in a tartan for our state.

I understand you're heading out for Iceland sometime soon. I hope you have a great trip.

Regards,

Brian

[Brian K]

I voted C. I like the design, but I must add I'm not a huge fan of the blue with green combo in tartans (unless relatively muted colors). I realize the symbolism behind those colors (green forests, blue waters), but I've heard the same reasons for other designs (New York City tartan with blue for the Hudson and green for Central Park). The fact is, any region, district, state or country could, having green grass/trees and blue waters make the same claim. So, it kind of looses it's meaning for any particular locale. Just my 2 cents.

Freelancer,

I understand what you're saying entirely. To be honest, usually design a tartan using colors I want to work with and THEN I assign meanings to colors, and only when I think someone might expect there to be some meaning. I rarely work the other way around.

A came first and then I tried to give some meaning to the color choices because people seem to feel that that's part of tartan design. When I modified it to come up with B the only color I was thinking of was the gold - because it had been requested. When Amble modified one of my designs to come up with C she took an earlier design of mine she liked and then played with it a bit to fit in with what people were asking for.

Tartan designing is textile art rather than storytelling. I feel particular tartans have meaning because of what they are associated, not because of how they have been designed. There are many tartans I find a bit ...er...jarring, shall we say, but there are many people who love them because of what they are associated with. If there were already a New York tartan I'd probably feel an attachment to it because I've lived in New York for nearly 53 years and for no other reason.

All that being said, I also see no reason not to be concerned about what colors people want to see as long as the final choices are made because we think the colors work well together more than because we want a particular shade to be used.

Of course, all this will become academic when the weavers get their hands on it anyway. They'll work with what they have and their choices of particular shades and hues of blues and greens and whatever will be what we end up with. And let's not even get into distinctions between modern, ancient, weathered, muted and on and on.

Regards,

Brian

[lethearen]

Well, I'm from Texas, so I doubt I have much room to chime in on a tartan for y'all yankees but I think C looks the cleanest. That being said, I think I actually like A the best as it's more eye-catching.

[OC Richard]

I voted for A because I thought it had the strongest design, the best proportions, showing more or less the Golden Ratio (look it up).

The boxy 1:1 ratios shown in the others result, to my eye, in weak designs. Though in many tartans a weak design can be saved by great use of colour.

(Reducing a tartan to B&W will tell you how strong the design itself is.)

But C is also quite pleasant.

A great example of the use of proportions is a comparison of many traditional tartans to those designed by the so-called Sobieski brothers. Their efforts were nearly always boxy and inelegant.

[Brian K]

I voted for A because I thought it had the strongest design, the best proportions, showing more or less the Golden Ratio (look it up).

The boxy 1:1 ratios shown in the others result, to my eye, in weak designs. Though in many tartans a weak design can be saved by great use of colour.

(Reducing a tartan to B&W will tell you how strong the design itself is.)

But C is also quite pleasant.

A great example of the use of proportions is a comparison of many traditional tartans to those designed by the so-called Sobieski brothers. Their efforts were nearly always boxy and inelegant.

I appreciate the compliment, Richard, I know you're particular about tartans. Unfortunately, you may also have noticed that Barbara Tewksbury has indicated that it would be a nightmare for a kilt maker. I'm pleased to have designed it, but I'd hate to be known as the guy who designed a tartan kilt makers hate so much (Of course, I'd guess they're not too fond of one of my favorites - the Anderson tartan. I remember from another thread that you seemed not too fond of it yourself!)

Regards,

Brian

[BLHS209]

There is a NY Police tartan already (didn't see it mentioned, or maybe the hair is in my eyes). Maybe use this OR "work" (change pattern but same colors) from it:

http://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tar....aspx?ref=3122

[Hothir Ethelnor]

lots of small close together stripes are a nightmare as we have to deal with pleat shaping and to make nice pleats without stripes disappearing in the taper we like wider sections of solid colours surrounding thin stripes.

[thescot]

I am not from NY either, so I'm not voting. But I must say that I like C the best.

But then, as O C pointed out, it's a bit boxy. (The golden ration is not called the golden ratio for nothing!) Ideally, I would like to see C with the red and yellow stripes resized so that they are not the same size. That would reduce some of the redundancy of the squares. (The red and white in a Robertson Hunting tartan demonstrate what I mean.)

That being said, I'd be proud to wear any of the three if I were from New York.

Excellent work, Brian.

[Brian K]

I am not from NY either, so I'm not voting. But I must say that I like C the best.

But then, as O C pointed out, it's a bit boxy. (The golden ration is not called the golden ratio for nothing!) Ideally, I would like to see C with the red and yellow stripes resized so that they are not the same size. That would reduce some of the redundancy of the squares. (The red and white in a Robertson Hunting tartan demonstrate what I mean.)

That being said, I'd be proud to wear any of the three if I were from New York.

Excellent work, Brian.

Thanks, Jim, but remember the tartan that has gotten the most votes is C, which is a design Amble came up with - she started with a design of mine, but the current form is her work.

After the poll closes there may be some minor modifications. The overall sett size will probably have to be made a bit larger as the current size of 5.9" is a bit small for a man (assuming that C is the winner - the other two have sett sizes of 8"). In enlarging the sett it is entirely possible to make either the red or yellow stripe larger than the other for just the contrast you're suggesting.

It has been both a lot of fun and a bit trying to be part of a work in progress and I'm glad we're doing this.

Regards,

Brian