Tartan of the month - December: What do you see?

[figheadair]

Attractive sett. Excellent colours. Very Wilsons looking. Wonderful balance. It looks like five colours to me, but there could be a Yellow as well as a pale Green. Herringbone edge up top which appears to end in the Light Blue rather then the Dark Blue therefore breaking the sett right at the edge. Early to mid 19th century then? Have I got that right?

Nearly at the end of the month and no-one else seems to have any in put so let's review what can be determined and surmised.

Firstly, here's a graphic showing the full sett. The shades are not as subtle as the original but it gives the overall impression.



Xman mentioned that it is a very Wilsons looking sett and I agree. Its setting and weight is similar to some of their late C18th Fancy setts so I'd date this to c1780-1820 and say that it's probably Wilsons' Old Superfine cloth. I'd already mentioned the size as being about 6x8" and from the image and the rough date one could surmise that the cloth was worsted. Holding it confirms the fact. At that sort of date the colours would have been naturally dyed and the red, a classic cochineal scarlet, is not something that can easily be done at home, so this again suggests a more industrial level of production such as that Wilsons were doing but around 1775.

With the selvedge at the top of the image it is clear that the picture has been turned by 90 degrees and it has obviously been cut to shape at some point and has a number of stitches evident around the edges. Whether this piece formed part of a larger garment, furniture upholstery or the like or was a reused fragment from an older length is difficult to say for certain but as the stitching is rather haphazard it's most likely that this feature was from a later application and that the cloth was originally a plaid/shawl length or part of a garment such as a jacket that would have been more neatly sewn.

As with so many fragments, especially where there is evidence of reuse we can date the cloth fairly well but are often left wondering about the exact original and later use of the material. Undoubtedly that will remain the case in this instance.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Thanks, Peter, for the more high res photo. I can clearly see the twill weave now.

Quite right, I won't leap in. :-) Although I do tend to be an interested observer to these threads, and thank you greatly for doing them!

[Cygnus]

The first thing I thought when I saw the image was of a patchwork quilt square, what with the size of it and the stitching all around.

I don't think those are staples - at first I thought they were holes, but in the larger image they look more like long stitches of white thread.

Why would somebody sew all the way around a small piece of tartan, and what would those two pairs of long white stitches be for?

[MacBean]

I've no idea, but I do think it's beautiful.

[MacAngus]

Is it clan Chattan

[figheadair]

A double-thickness patch for the top edge of a worn or torn kilt apron, or a repair on a piece of upholstery?

It's often the case with old pieces that they were re-used so their original and later functions may be entirly different. It this case the later use of the material could have been for any number of things from clothing to unholstery. With such a small sample it will probably remain one of those great unknowns.

Is it clan Chattan

No it isn't.

[xman]

The selvedge at the top appears to be barlycorn, but is probably just more 'jigging' and it also breaks the tartan sett with what looks to be white threads.

Could the 'jigging' be some kind of thread counting marker?

[figheadair]

The selvedge at the top appears to be barlycorn, but is probably just more 'jigging' and it also breaks the tartan sett with what looks to be white threads.

Could the 'jigging' be some kind of thread counting marker?

It's actually standard twill weave but the alternating single and double bue and white threads makes it appear a little like plain weave.

[xman]

There appears to be at least one, likely two intentional holes in the fabric at the top by the yellow lines. Could we have a closer look at that?