Confirming Poll for NYS Tartan Proposal

[Amble]

I totally agree with "Kilted Abuser of R.C." I feel that a good tartan design has to have meaning behind the sett and colour choices, especially when it is for a certain locale.

I am the designer of the # 3 choice on this poll, and I would like to take this opportunity to explain why it represents New York to me. The green, pineneedle and blue represent the beautiful farmland, forests, ocean and lakes of New York. Next, the yellow and red and green are like the fall colours of the sugar maples, the state tree. Also, blue and gold are the state colours. The darker red square represents the heart of the city, and the sett becomes a little more fine and some might say "busy" to evoke the fast pace of city life. The deep red for me represents the "heart" of New York and the state flower, the rose. The intermediate squares formed by the combination of blue and red are a nice tweedy purple that look like lilacs, the state bush.

I designed this tartan carefully with all this in mind. New York is a state of contrasts, urban and rural and I felt that this design could make an interesting kilt if the pleats were done military style with the blue/green squares forming the pleats above the fell, then opening below into pleats showing a flash of red underneath when the wearer walks.

I would like to see some comments to this explanation and I would also like to see more votes come in. All of these designs on this poll are very good, each with merit. Please let's support Brian K. in this most worthwhile endeavor.
***Amble****

[Freelancer]

I voted #3

Amble, I absolutely love your new design. Your explanations for the color choices are quite logical. I like the top version. Muted I suppose! If this were the NY Sate Tartan, I'd have my next kilt!

[CDNSushi]

I too have no real stake in this, but have been following the threads with a bit of interest. I cannot speak about meanings or symbolism as I'm not a New Yorker, but from a personal, aesthetic perspective, my all-time favourite design OF ALL so far, has been Brian's ORIGINAL, original design. The one feature that sold me on that one was the really cool "basket-weave" set of white stripes running through the sett. I really liked that -- I don't know of very many tartans that actually have such a feature.

[Brian K]

I too have no real stake in this, but have been following the threads with a bit of interest. I cannot speak about meanings or symbolism as I'm not a New Yorker, but from a personal, aesthetic perspective, my all-time favourite design OF ALL so far, has been Brian's ORIGINAL, original design. The one feature that sold me on that one was the really cool "basket-weave" set of white stripes running through the sett. I really liked that -- I don't know of very many tartans that actually have such a feature.

Thank you, Sir. The use of fine stripes in crating basket weave effects is a favorite of mine. Unfortunately, I have no idea if this effect translates well into actual cloth with the same visual result. Perhaps that is why you've never seen it - weavers tried it and it didn't work well. Also, we have it on no less an authority than barb Tewksbury that it is not, shall we say, ideal from the kilt maker's point of view. Lines that are too fine and too close together create problems when tapering the pleats and, of course, details will be lost in the fell.

That being said....gee willikers...It's nice to be appreciated. Now if someone would only appreciate one of my designs enough to have Nick weave it for them.

Regards,

Brian

[CDNSushi]

Brian -- what if you were to insert 1 or 2 more rows in between the white threads so that they wouldn't be as close together? (Just a thought).

[BoldHighlander]

I too have no real stake in this, but have been following the threads with a bit of interest.

As one who had Dutch ancestors that helped found the sttlement of New Amsterdam (as well as two rather famous distant cousins by the name of Roosevelt ) I to have been following these threads with great interest.
I've liked most all of the designs presented, however I must say that the #3 on this poll has a real WOW! factor when I view it.

Keep it up, I hope to see one of these become the official state tartan in the near future

[Brian K]

Brian -- what if you were to insert 1 or 2 more rows in between the white threads so that they wouldn't be as close together? (Just a thought).

The thought is nice, but if you change the size of the stripes the same visual effect is lost. What now looks like it was carefully woven just looks like a bunch of criss-crossing lines.

[davidlpope]

David,

I can't speak from personal experience as I can't afford stock cloth right now, let alone custom, but it has been my understanding that more than 6 colors is highly unusual, so maybe you haven't run into that problem. Indeed, one of the Anderson Clan societies' website made a big deal that their tartan has six colors and needed at one time to be woven on special looms.

In any event another member of this forum who is a friend of mine told me she was having one of her designs woven and it had seven colors. She said she might as well have used a custom color as the upcharge was that great. She's still getting the cloth, but the price is high.

Regards,

Brian

I think this is one of those cases where you've been passed bad gouge by the Andersons (along the lines of the number of colors in a tartan indicating the social standing of the wearer). The Carolina tarta has six colors (r, k, w, y, g, a) and there was no additional charge for the number of colors used and no "special looms" involved.

Was your other friend, perchance, using Scotweb's "tartan designer" computer program? If so, they may have some specific pricing requirements that I am unaware of that do not reflect more usual custom-weaving orders.

David

[Brian K]

I think this is one of those cases where you've been passed bad gouge by the Andersons (along the lines of the number of colors in a tartan indicating the social standing of the wearer). The Carolina tarta has six colors (r, k, w, y, g, a) and there was no additional charge for the number of colors used and no "special looms" involved.

Was your other friend, perchance, using Scotweb's "tartan designer" computer program? If so, they may have some specific pricing requirements that I am unaware of that do not reflect more usual custom-weaving orders.

David

Oops, David, I meant to say the Anderson tartan has seven colors You'll notice I mentioned that more than six is highly unusual. I guess my 53 year old brain slipped a cog and and got stuck on the number six. Sorry for the confusion.

Brian

[Tartan Hiker]

Here's the Montreat tartan that David mentioned in an earlier post. Design #1 does have a similar flavor.