What's tartan?

Tartan is a patterned fabric.. Do you recognise this type of pattern?

This is tartan, it's a pattern formed of symmetrical stripes that repeat. The vertical lines are called the warp, and the horizontal the weft. Together, they make tartan weave. The exact sequence of colours and stripe widths is called the threadcount, and the repeated pattern is known as the sett.

Scotland has been designing, producing, and wearing tartan for centuries. It's traditionally woven from wool, then stitched into clothing and accessories.

Picking a tartan to wear

In Scotland, you'd traditionally pick a tartan based on your family, your clan. Your clan tartan would represent where you came from, what family you belong to.

Tartan isn't just for Scots. Anyone can design and wear tartan.

Today, there's thousands of tartans representing all sorts of groups and interests. Football teams, companies, and even Shrek have their own tartans.

It's up to you what tartan you wear, you don't need to wear the tartan of your family, or clan. Most people choose a tartan they like the look of!

Telling stories

Sometimes, the colours and patterns in a tartan design can tell a story. People might choose certain colours or designs because they have significance to their group. For example, a long blue stripe could represent a river or loch near where the group lives. A red stripe might represent courage, or a local flower.

There are no fixed rules the same colours can mean different things in different tartans. These choices are part of the story the designer chooses to tell.

Scotland has a tartan register: The official Scottish Register of Tartans. It's a collection of over 7,000 different tartan designs. Each tartan in the register has a name and some notes, these explain the story of the tartan and the choices the designer made. It doesn't need to be long or complicated, but it helps other people understand your tartan design.

Look at these tartan designs and the stories they tell:

Designing your tartan

Now it's time to think about the design of your tartan. First of all, who is your tartan going to represent? What is the group or team you're part of that you want to design a tartan for?

For example: "I'm designing a tartan for the Aberfeldy Biker Crew"

Tell us about your group, what does it do? What connects you? How would your group use your tartan?

For example: "We're a friendly team of cyclists who travel across the UK taking part in competitions. We want a tartan we can use on our cycling shorts"

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You need to pick five colours for your tartan that are significant to your group. You can get the exact colour you want by using this colour picker.

Each colour you choose will have a HEX code. This is a special code used by computer programs to describe an exact colour. For example, #005EB8 is the exact shade of blue from Scotland's saltire flag. Keep a note of these HEX codes for later, you'll need to add them to the code. The JavaScript code will use them to draw your tartan on the screen.

Tell us your five colours. For each colour tell us what that colour represents.
For example: #800080 represents the heather growing on the hills we cycle past.

Lastly, you can edit the position of the stripes (warp and weft) too. Tell of one way you could use a pattern to tell your group's story.

For example: "I want to have 6 thin lines beside one another, representing the 6 members of our club cycling side by side"

Save Design Choices

Code your own tartan

It's time to code your tartan! Edit the code below.