I think it's upside down

[finlay marquisl]

My Texas Bluebonnet tartan arrived today. I rolled some of it off the bolt to study how I will pleat it. It's 56 inch folded double and wrapped on cardboard.

The 56 inch width has the dominate green color stripe running horizontal(salvage to salvage)
There is another green line that is a bit fainter

The picture of the tartan shows the dominate green stripe running vertical
http://www.txscot.com/images/TexasBluebonnetTartan.jpg

Is that suppose to be the way it rolls off the bolt? So what do I do? Piece it together 56" at a time or make it the way it rolls off the bolt?
It must make a difference right?
Or maybe the picture is turned wrong.?

[ForresterModern]

Looks like a symmetric tartan to me which means the same green stripe should run in both directions.

[haukehaien]

Wouldn't selvage to selvage be vertical when you make the kilt? Also, I agree with ForresterModern - from the picture, it looks like a symmetrical tartan, so it should be the same in both warp and woof.

[finlay marquisl]

I'm not explaining myself very well. It wouldn't be upside down but turned 90 degrees.
I'm confused what direction bias would be on the Tartan. Yes it's symmetric. Except for the color of green stripes. One green strip is darker than the other.


On a normal bolt of fabric the bias would run horizontal. As you would unroll the fabric. Sometime right side out sometime right side in. Do you do the same with Tartan?

[sydnie7]

"Bias" is, well, bias -- that is, bias would be 45 degrees to the selvedge. Some kilt jackets and vests are cut on the bias, so the normal "squares" of a tartan appear as "diamonds" instead. Ladies tartan skirts are often cut on the bias as well.

Tartan kilts are normally constructed using the selvedge as the hem. Based on your description of material, the dominant green stripe running from selvedge to selvedge would indeed be a vertical line in your finished kilt.

Here is a picture of a kilt with selvedge as hem and a vest from the same tartan, but cut on the bias.

Is that what you're trying to figure out?

There's a sub-topic here concerning the twill lines in the tartan, which do run on the bias, but I won't go there unless that is what you are trying to describe/discuss.

[fluter]

finlay marquisl, while i have not seen your fabric, I think that we're dealing with an optical illusion, here. Those two green stripes are supposed to be identical ( I looked up the thread count), but often a vertical stripe in tartan will seem more prominent.

This is supposition, but if you're looking across the selvedge, that may be all that you're seeing. Turn it 90 degrees look across the bolt, and see if your eye does not sort it out differently. Try it in different light, sunlight, high-intensity, color-corrected or whatever light you can find. Back away 20 feet, get up close. Even get someone else to look at it.

Let us know what you find!

[turpin]

fluter is right. It might be the way light hits the twill weave.

[ChattanCat]

It might help if you post a picture of the actual tartan. The selvage will go at the bottom of the kilt so you will need to rip the fabric parallel to the selvage. Usually the tartan will be different dimensions warp to weft. It happens when you release the tension of the warp, it will contract. Usually, the same yarn is used for the warp and weft so the colors should be the same.

[ForresterModern]

Try spreading a section out on the floor and standing on it so you are looking directly down on top of it. If it seems the green stripes in one direction seem different from those in the opposite direction, rotate the fabric 90 degrees on the floor (to achieve the same lighting as the first attempt) then stand on it again in the same position and see if anything looks different. Probably just an optical illusion from either the lighting or the angle you are viewing it from. It should be the same color green in both warp and weft.

[Bugbear]

Wow... I never thought of that in relation to tartan. Your brain does all kinds of different things to vertical and horizontal lines; plays tricks with what you're seeing and so on.

Barb's pointed out that the color values at different distances can play tricks too.

It's so complicated...