Tartan Shawl

Treat yourself to a Tartan Scarf

Tartan is a design in which fabrics are woven with groups of different coloured threads running across the weft and through the warp to create a checked, or plaid pattern. These colour designs have been around for many centuries and are closely associated with Scotland, and to a lesser extent Ireland, Wales and several other countries. In North America these Tartan scarves would be called Plaid Scarves, whereas a Plaid in Scotland is a piece of Tartan fabric slung over the shoulder as an accessory.

Originally these fabrics would have been used primarily for kilts made with local wool which would have been itchy, rough, warm and very hard wearing. There is some theorising that different clans had their own tartan design and among other things this was to help identify them in the field of battle making sure you didn’t slay one of your fellow clansmen. In fact the designs were woven by local weavers using the dyes and colours popular in the region and were simply a reflection of local tastes and styles.

The rise in Popularity of Tartan

Tartan grew immensely in popularity when in 1822 George IV visited Edinburgh. This was the first visit to Scotland by a reigning monarch in over 170 years. This visit was surrounded by hundreds of festivities and all the attendees were encouraged by the organisers to wear plaids and tartans. Subsequent to this royal visit several books celebrating and documenting the event were full of colourful images of Scottish designs and this just added to the growing craze and popularity. After this it didn’t take long for Scottish industry to realise the commercial potential of this new fashion and the amazing thing is that Tartan has been popular ever since.

About our Handmade Tartan Scarves

Our handmade Tartan Scarves, or Tartan Shawls are mostly authentic designs registered with the Scottish Govt Tartan Registry where there are about 13,000 designs. Our Tartan Scarves are woven form soft, high quality pure cotton thread in a classic twill weave. The nature of the twill weave, with its characteristic diagonal stripes gives the fabric a wonderful depth and texture, and at 180 x 80cm they can be worn as a chunky, Tartan scarf or is big enough to be draped around the shoulders for that touch of warmth on a cooler evening as a Tartan shawl. This timeless, classic design is also endlessly versatile as they can be worn either casually or formally and are equally suited to both men and women.

Scottish tartan shawls are becoming increasingly popular as a wedding shawl. If you want your wedding to have a Celtic theme what could be better than tartan. Of course if you are looking for a plain pashmina scarf we have a great range also.

Classic Tartan Designs

Out of the thousands of designs, there are a few absolute classics that have been around for many hundreds of years in Scotland such as the famous Black Watch clan and traditional Royal Stewart clan. (Royal Stewart traditionally belongs to the royal House of Stewart and is the personal design of Queen Elizabeth II as well as being popular with the punk rock crowd in the 1970's.) We also stock modern twists on traditonal designs such as the modern Lindsay Blue clan tartan which is a rich mix of deep red with blue and azure.

If you are not tied to a particular clan, you can choose the colour scheme that matches your outfit. For the purple scarf lovers out there, the Cooper Modern is a great style. Or maybe the Rainbow which contains an array of colour. Different colours suit the different seasons too; what could look better than the Maple Leaf in Autumn or the County Cavanagh in Spring?

Each tartan scarf is made with the greatest attention to detail meaning the expectations of even the most discerning customer are met. A brightly coloured tartan scarf can totally transform your look, whether you're on the way to the office, on a night out, or out and about in relaxed casual dress and jeans-wear.

If you are a retailer and want to buy our Tartan Scarves on wholesale terms we can supply at great prices. To find out more about our wholesale scarf offers please fill in the enquiry form by following the link below. If you want a bespoke Tartan Scarf design woven by us or want fabric on the roll, we can also arrange this dependent on the required minimum order quantity.