Choosing a Tartan

[Patty Logan]

Are you referring to black watch / Campbell or a rarer Grant Hunting such as this: https://www.mccalls.co.uk/products/g...unting-ancient ?

yes i ment black watch (as in trolling/joke🤣 unless you actually want it)

[Patty Logan]

Are you referring to black watch / Campbell or a rarer Grant Hunting such as this: https://www.mccalls.co.uk/products/g...unting-ancient ?

Yes i ment black watch (as a troll/joke 🤣 unless you actually considering it)

[OC Richard]

Personally if I were a Grant I would get a Grant kilt.

There are at least five colour-ways

Wilson's (mid 18th century through early 19th century)

Modern (evolved in the Victorian period)

Ancient (introduced around 1900)

Weathered/Reproduction (introduced in 1949)

Muted (House Of Edgar Muted probably introduced around 1980)

For regional or "district" tartans you would have Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and Maple Leaf.

That's eight things to choose from already! Lucky man.

Personally I would go with Grant in Wilson's, Ancient, Weathered, or Muted. (Not a fan of the uber-dark "modern" tartans.)

I just experienced this decision, having recently discovered Stewart ancestry (I'm a direct descendant of Captain Ralph Stewart of the Continental Army) and I just ordered a kilt in Hunting Stewart Weathered in tweed from Marton Mills.

[ShaunMaxwell]

I concur with the others about going with a clan tartan.

While I’m a fan of ancient colors for blue/green tartans, for red/green tartans, I prefer the muted or modern colors as the red in ancient palette is very orange-y and the green is fairly bright.

My first kilt (Maxwell tartan — red/green/black) — was in the ancient colors. I later acquired Maxwell kilts in modern, hunting and muted colors. I find that my ancient kilt is worn the least by far.

I really like the hues of the House of Edgar muted tartans, but only wish they were available in 16 oz. instead of 13 oz.

Here’s a photo of the kilts to show the differences in the colors. (Top to bottom: ancient, modern, muted and hunting)



Looking forward to seeing what you end up with!

Cheers,

SM

[Craig Elachie]

Richard: I appreciate your reply and I am leaning heavily toward a Grant tartan. The modern colours I’ve seen on Grant kilts are very dark, but the ones in the post below yours are not and Maxwell is similar to Grant. It’s really a matter of availability and expense as ancient and modern Grant tartan are readily available.

Shaun: That picture is excellent; especially helpful owing to the similarities of Maxwell and Grant tartans. As for blue green ancient colours, I have considered ancient black watch (Campbell) as well as that is the grant hunting tartan.

[figheadair]

Are you referring to black watch / Campbell or a rarer Grant Hunting such as this: https://www.mccalls.co.uk/products/g...unting-ancient ?

The reference to this being 'Hunting' is relatively recent, Wilsons' 1819 Key Pattern Book simply referred to it as Grant.

[Liam]

For a first kilt I would go with a clan tartan. Btw... your user name is very fitting for a member of Clan Grant.

[OC Richard]

the red in ancient palette is very orange-y

I likewise dislike the red-orange in the "ancient" colours. I can take it in small quantities, such as a narrow line or two, but even in a blue/green tartan like MacDonald the amount of orange becomes too much for my liking.

I really like the hues of the House of Edgar muted tartans, but only wish they were available in 16 oz. instead of 13 oz.

HOE does make some 16oz tartans in their Muted palette, in fact I used to play in a band that had a mix of 13oz and 16oz kilts in the same HOE Muted tartan, seen here. You can tell the 16oz from the 13oz by where the sett is placed in relation to the selvedge. (I'm the tall piper in the back rank with KNEES SHOWING unlike my mates!)



What's strange is that in the HOE 16oz sample-book the tartan was listed as "Modern". It was not, it was clearly in their Muted colours. So, you have to go through the HOE 16oz sample-book to see which tartans are offered in their Muted colours.

Here’s a photo of the kilts to show the differences in the colors (ancient, modern, muted and hunting)

May I ask for permission to copy your photo and use it in future discussions of tartan colour-palettes?

It's rare to see such a nice photo showing all four of those.

BTW you don't have weathered/reproduction colours, which I think works very well for red-based tartans:



By the way, here's a photo showing Grant in several palettes:

https://houseoftartan.co.uk/scottish...ubcatid=167911

[ShaunMaxwell]

May I ask for permission to copy your photo and use it in future discussions of tartan colour-palettes?

It's rare to see such a nice photo showing all four of those.

BTW you don't have weathered/reproduction colours, which I think works very well for red-based tartans

OC:

You may certainly use the photo. It has come in handy a time or two for such discussions.

And you're right, I don't yet have a weathered version. That'll be my next kilt, but who knows when that will happen as it will be another custom weave, like the hunting version. One of these days...

Cheers,

SM

[Katia]

BTW you don't have weathered/reproduction colours, which I think works very well for red-based tartans:

Yes, I actually tend to really like the weathered version of MacLean of Duart. It might be my favorite version.