Tartan of the Month - May. What do you see?

[figheadair]

Next month i.e. from tomorrow is going to be rather hectic so I thought I'd get this posted early.

An interesting piece that shouldn't present too much difficulty but which has some unusual aspects to it. What is it and what do you see?

[xman]

The herringbone edge along with the rich aniline colours might peg it near the mid-late 19th century.
Perhaps MacLeod of Gesto tartan.

[AKScott]

That is the best picture of herringbone selvedge I have seen yet. I think it looks great.

I am not going to guess on the tartan.

[Morris at Heathfield]

I would guess the tartan was Loudoun's Highlanders, but this sample appears to have a different warp from its weft, at least from the small sample that is available to be seen.

[figheadair]

I would guess the tartan was Loudoun's Highlanders, but this sample appears to have a different warp from its weft, at least from the small sample that is available to be seen.

Bang on, well done. It is the original sample of the Sergt's plaiding sent to Lord Loudoun.

Look again though. The warp and weft are the same sett.

The herringbone edge along with the rich aniline colours might peg it near the mid-late 19th century.
Perhaps MacLeod of Gesto tartan.

At that date (1747) it's obviously natural dyes rather than aniline. In this respect it rather nicely makes the point that not all old tartans made from natural dyes were in old colours.

The sett could well be what we now call MacLeod of Gesto or it might be like MacLeod with the R & Y reversed per Jamie Scarlett's speculation for the regiment's tartan which he based on this same sample. Unfortunately the piece is too small to determine which is correct.

That is the best picture of herringbone selvedge I have seen yet. I think it looks great.

It's not a herringbone but a chevron selvedge. The technique is similar but forms a true zig zag rather than stepping on one place with every direction change as happens in a heringbone. This is the only old example I've ever come across in tartan.

I said that this piece shouldn't present too much difficulty but there's more to see yet.

[xman]

At that date (1747) it's obviously natural dyes rather than aniline. In this respect it rather nicely makes the point that not all old tartans made from natural dyes were in old colours.

Yes indeed. Very interesting.

[Chas]

Am I seeing two different yellows?

Regards

Chas

[figheadair]

Am I seeing two different yellows?

Regards

Chas

It's difficult to be sure without seeing the actual sample. It does look as though the yellow warp thread are slightly paler than those of the weft. They might have been two separate dyeings although give the small amount used that would be unusual although not without precedent. Alternatively it may be the fact that the warp is more tightly woven and/or a trick of the light cause by the effect of light bouncing differently off the different angles of the warp and weft yarn.

[Morris at Heathfield]

As I look at the sample again, it's clear from the fringes on the upper left corner of the sample that there are green threads in both the weft and the warp. However, I see now why I was confused. First, the green is a rather dark gray-green color (unlike the lighter yellow-green that I'm used to from other tartans of the same era) that seems to blend well with the dark blue. Second, and perhaps more important, the threads of the warp appear to be narrower than the threads of the weft, making the weft pattern prominent and the warp pattern subdued, giving an effect like that of a silk tartan.

Other things I noticed: There is a pivot stripe on the selvage, which seems at least a little unusual to me. Also, I was counting the threads in the pivot stripes to see if there was any difference in the warp and weft thread counts. I have to say it's inconclusive, as two of the four pivot stripes are on edges of the cloth. However, I did notice that the red stripe in the weft is seven threads wide—an odd number. Finally, the area where the wide black checks (not sure if that's the right terminology, but they exist on all tartans derived from the Government tartan) cross is noticeably longer in the weft than in the warp. I suspect this observation holds for the entire sett as well.

I haven't tried to do a complete thread count of both the warp and the weft, though, and I'm not sure I want to.

[RockyR]

It looks like the Farquharson Modern tartan as well with the black outlining the red... Though I note that the black does not outline the red along the selvedge.