Clan Anderson
Tartan
Anderson
Old
Anderson
Dress
Anderson
of Kinneddar
Kinloch Anderson
Dress
Kinloch Anderson
Hunting
Kinloch Anderson
Limited
Royal Canadian
Air Force Tartan
The Anderson Tartan and Variants
The Anderson
Tartan
Tartan and Highland Dress Facts
Tartan
FAQs
The Clan Anderson Tartan is unique among all of the Scottish tartans. This is because it is the only tartan to have seven colors. All other tartans have six or less. Because of this, the Anderson tartan must be woven on a special loom.
The colors are primarily a rich blue with yellow, green and red in the plaid (I also see white, black and navy in the tartan). Three main variations exist: The Ancient colors which are derived from the color scheme set mostly by natural old world style dyes, The Modern colors, derived from the use of modern chemical dyes and the Muted colors, which simulate a " weathered " tartan.
Shown to the right are samples of other variations I have found in my research. It must be stated that the main tartan manufacturers seem to have slightly different 'recipes' for the Anderson tartans. The samples shown at the top half of the column are what I consider the 'popular tartans'. This means that I have found these variations in a number of books and in a number of web sites. The samples at the bottom of the column are similar to those made by Kinloch Anderson, kilt makers to the Royal Family. They are included on my page as they come from arguably the premier tartan manufacturer in the world - and because they are, in my opinion, striking creations.
The Royal Canadian Air Force tartan (at the very bottom of the column), which has only five colors, is an officially registered variant of the Clan Anderson tartan. From a distance it is difficult to distinguish between the two. I have seen this tartan up close in the form of a kilt worn by a local Air Cadet officer. It was during the annual Remembrance Day ceremony in Millville, New Brunswick. The four kilt clad sentinels made for an impressive and stirring sight.
Originally, the Scottish Tartan was a distinction of rank or position. It was not identified by weave itself but by the number of colours in the weave. If only one colour was used it depicted a servant, two, a farmer, three, an officer, five, a chieftain, six for a poet, and seven for a Chief. Eventually, clans or families adopted their own tartan, using a range of animal and earth colours which were frequently secret, only known to the weavers of the islands. They included yellows, blues, whites, greens, browns, reds, black and purple. Some say that a keen eye can identify the colour with a particular island, almost like a wine taster can identify the year and the vineyard.
Over time different types of tartans emerged:
Chief's
Dress Sett - worn by the chief and members of his/her family.
The Clan Tartan - worn by members of the clan.
The Hunting Tartan - Fall colours worn by members of the clan.
Mourning Setts - self explanatory.
District Setts - regional, worn by anyone in that region.
The Women's Sett - usually black and white colours
Tartan and Highland Dress Facts
The tartan is the pride and glory of Scotland. In the form of the kilt, it is the most recognizable symbol of Scotland. In Gaelic it was know as 'Breacen', meaning chequered or variegated and was reputed to be characteristic of the Celtic people even in Roman times. The word tartan actually originated from the French word 'tartaine' which referred to a particular kind of checked cloth.
Tartan is formed by offsetting lines and checks into various patterns and in unlimited colour combinations. The original colours came from natural dyes derived from local vegetation and these colours are now called the 'Ancient Colours'. The Ancient hues are softer than the modern colourings, for example the Ancient Blue is cornflower blue compared to the modern navy- blue. The 'Modern Colours', as they are called today, result from chemical dyes. The third colour category is 'Reproduction, Muted or Weathered Colours' and these have literally been reproduced from pieces of cloth found in homesteads or on battlefields, weathered by time and the elements into muted shades.
Tartans were born as a symbol of belonging and the pattern or sett related to a particular clan or family. Clanship was the social system of Scotland whereby the essential link was kinship between the Chief and the people of the Clan. The 'Clan Tartan' therefore, came to be associated with the dominant clan or family. Other Tartan setts were District Setts' and related to a particular geographical district, irrespective of name, which was usually an area of about 50 miles.
Tartans originated in the Highlands and Islands - hence Highland Dress - and go back possibly to the 7th Century AD. However, the first written mention of tartan was probably in an account to James Ill in 1471, listing 'blue tartan', and the writer George Buchanan refers to tartan in 1582.
After the Jacobite uprising of 1745 and the disastrous Battle of Culloden in 1746, all use of tartan and Highland Dress was suppressed by an Act of Parliament, which was not repealed until 1782. It was therefore not until after this time that Highlanders, moving south in search of work, brought their tartans to the Lowlands.
In 1822, largely through the efforts of the famous novelist, Sir Waiter Scott, King George IV visited Edinburgh. He, his retinue and the clan chieftains who came to meet him, donned tartan outfits and made it a magnificent and colourful occasion. This event instigated the revival of interest in tartan.
The next royal visitor was Queen Victoria in 1842, who fell in love with Scotland and bought Balmoral Castle. At her request, Prince Albert, her Consort, designed a personal tartan for her which was called 'Balmoral' and remains today the Queen's own private tartan: She alone has the right to wear it and other members of the Royal Family may only do so when given permission by her. Kinloch Anderson, as Tailors and Kiltmakers by appointment to HRH the Queen, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh and HRH the Prince of Wales, produce and hold this cloth in stock for the Royal Family for their own exclusive use.
Tartan was first produced on a commercial basis in the 18th Century by Wilson of Bannockburn. Unfortunately early records had largely been lost and patterns had been woven on wooden 'setts' which had rotted away. However, some tartan patterns were recovered through old paintings and in more recent years, many scraps of older clan and district designs have been found and accurately copied.
Q. What
Tartan am I entitled to wear?
A. You
are entitled to wear the clan tartan associated with your name and Scottish
family heritage, or the district tartan for the Scottish region with which
you claim an association.
Q. If I
do not have a clan or district association, can I still where tartan/a
kilt?
A. Yes,
Anyone may wear one of the four universal tartans:
- The Black Watch
- The Hunting Stewart
- The Caledonia
- The Jacobite
It is possible that there are additional tartans you can wear.
Q. How much
cloth is in a man's traditional kilt?
A. This may seem hard to believe, but there is approximately 7.3 metres
(8 yards) of single width cloth 56 cms (28 inches) wide. Of course this
varies according to the size and setting of the tartan.
Downloadable image files of the Anderson tartan are available on my Free Images page.
If you have any comments about the Anderson tartan, please .