Guides
Guides to tartan, clans and Scottish dress
Each guide answers one question, names its sources and marks what is not established. Tools such as the Tartan Finder sit alongside them.
28 guides are published at the moment, grouped below by subject. A guide appears here only when its sources support it; drafts stay out of this list and out of search engines. For a particular tartan, clan or surname, use the tartan, clan or surname pages.
Family and clans
Foundations
Tartan vs plaidIn Scotland, tartan is the pattern and plaid was originally a garment. In North America, plaid is the common word for the pattern. Both uses are established.What is tartan?A woven pattern of crossing coloured stripes, defined by its thread count. What makes a cloth a tartan, how the pattern is recorded, how old the evidence is, and what a registry entry does and does not prove.
Home
Tartan Blankets and Throws: Fibre, Size, Care and HistoryWhat a tartan blanket or throw is made of, how big the listed sizes are, why makers and the wool industry give different care advice, and what surviving eighteenth-century barred blankets do and do not show.Tartan home decor: throws, curtains, tablecloths and pattern scaleTartan works best in a room as one or two chosen objects, not a theme. This page covers scale, which items carry the pattern, fabric weight and the care advice that is actually sourced.Tartan Pillows: Covers, Fills and Mixing PatternsHow to choose cover material and fill for a tartan or plaid cushion, size the insert against the cover, and combine it with other patterns.Tartan Rugs and Carpet: Materials, Scale and CareHow tartan and plaid rugs are made, which fibres they use, how pattern scale suits a room, and how to look after a wool rug.Tartan Tablecloths: Sizing, Weave and CareHow to work out the size of a tartan or plaid tablecloth, how a woven tartan differs from a printed one, and which stain and washing advice is sourced and which is not.
Pets
Scottish clothing
Kilt belts and buckles: width, sizing and how they are wornKilt belts are wider than trouser belts and are sized to the kilt, not the trousers. Sources differ on exact width, so this page sets out the range and the reasons.Kilt pins: what they do, where they go and how styles differA kilt pin is a small weighted ornament on the outer apron. It does not hold the kilt closed, and it goes through one layer only.Scottish caps: Balmoral, Glengarry, Tam o' Shanter and flat capFive cap styles that get called a Scottish cap, how to tell them apart by shape and material, and where retailers and sources use the names loosely.Types of kilts: traditional, modern, utility and casual comparedHow the main kinds of kilt differ in cloth, pleating and fastening, what pleating to the sett or to the stripe means, and what kiltmakers say about fabric weight.Women's kilts: how they differ from men's kilts and tartan skirtsWhat a women's kilt or kilted skirt is, how it differs from a men's kilt and a plain tartan skirt in construction and fit, and what custom says about women wearing kilts.
Scottish dress
Highland dress: what it covers and who sets the rulesHighland dress is the traditional dress of the Highlands and Isles, built around tartan. What the term includes for men and women, where its formal codes come from, and which bodies actually set rules.How much fabric for a kilt: yards, widths and pleatsA traditional kilt takes about 8 yards of single-width cloth, which is about 4 yards of double width. Sett size, pleat style and hip measurement move that figure, and kiltmakers give different rules for how.How to measure for a kiltThree measurements do most of the work: waist at the navel, widest part of the hips and length. Take them in the right place and twice.How to wear a kilt: parts, order and occasionsA kilt outfit is a kilt plus a short list of parts: jacket, shirt, hose and flashes, sporran, belt, shoes. What each does, how they sit, and how they change from day wear to a wedding.Irish kilts: the Gaelic Revival, saffron kilts and Irish tartansDo the Irish wear kilts? Some do, in a form of their own. When the Irish kilt appeared, who adopted it, why pipers wear saffron and green, and why named Irish tartans date from the 1960s onward.Types of kiltsGreat kilt, traditional eight-yard, casual, military, utility and sports kilts differ in cloth quantity, pleating, waistline and construction. What the sources support, and where the labels are only a seller's convention.Types of Scottish hatsA visual key to the Balmoral, Kilmarnock, Glengarry, Tam o' Shanter, feather bonnet and flat cap: the shape, trim and material that separate them, and the names that collide.What is a kilt?A knee-length wrap garment of pleated twill wool, worn at the waist. Its parts, how it differs from a skirt, and what the evidence says about how the belted plaid became the modern kilt.
Style
Tartan skirts: cuts, lengths and how a skirt differs from a kiltCut and length names for tartan and plaid skirts, what separates a skirt from a kilt, and why the size of the pattern repeat changes how a skirt looks and is cut.Tartan trews and trousers: what trews are and how they are wornTrews are the traditional tartan trousers of Highland dress. What the word means, how old trews are, how the old and modern cuts differ, where the military still wears them, and what outfitters pair them with.
Tartan etiquette
Tartan fabric
Tartan fabric: weights, fibres, widths and how to read a swatchTartan cloth is sold by weight, fibre and width, and the weight decides what it can be made into. This page explains the terms and what to check before you buy.Types of tartan fabric: weaves, finishes and look-alike clothsCloth sold as tartan differs in yarn, weave and finish, and several popular checked fabrics are not tartan weave at all. This guide separates the kinds and says what the evidence supports.Wool vs acrylic tartan: what the evidence saysWorsted wool is the traditional kilt cloth and the one with the best documented properties. Acrylic and polyviscose are cheaper and lighter, and the claims made for them rest mostly on sellers.