Picking a Tartan

[biblemonkey]

I had the same issue when trying to choose from among my clans tartan variations. I ordered swatches and kept them around the house for a while looking them over, asking other's opinions, etc. and when I felt comfortable I made a choice that best suited me and the reasons for buying it.

One peice of advise I was given was to make the decision and accept it. then you stop worrying about it. Don't order the kilt yet. Then look at the tartans again after a few weeks of not thinking about it and if you haven't felt that the desicion was wrong then go with the first choice. Once worry is removed things become clearer.

All the best,
Hugh

[OC Richard]

I ordered swatches and kept them around the house for a while looking them over, asking other's opinions, etc

That's funny, I did exactly the same thing. I just couldn't decide whether to go with Spirit of Scotland ancient, or modern.

I got two big swatches, ancient and modern, both heavyweight Lochcarron, both equally lovely!

I looked at them in various lighting conditions, asked various people's opinions, looked at photos of kilts made up in them, checked what they looked like with various jackets... and in the end I went with... Isle of Skye!

[Newfoundlander]

That's funny, I did exactly the same thing. I just couldn't decide whether to go with Spirit of Scotland ancient, or modern.

I got two big swatches, ancient and modern, both heavyweight Lochcarron, both equally lovely!

I looked at them in various lighting conditions, asked various people's opinions, looked at photos of kilts made up in them, checked what they looked like with various jackets... and in the end I went with... Isle of Skye!

This is a very great ides indeed! If you haven't finalized your purchase, I'd certainly do that.

I'm sure everyone's process is different, but I can tell you how I arrived at my final decision:
I first narrowed my list of tartan's to the Clan Forrester tartan and the Newfoundland Provincial tartan. This made the selection of options much easier in the end. Luckily, my kiltmaker has swatches from many different tartans from a few different weavers, and in different weights and I could bring these home and keep them on the coffee table and give them a check over and see which one I favoured. The swatches were very important for my decision making. I also had Nfld. tartan cloth, but not in tartan weight wool. It's not a tartan that is in demand, so it's not weaved and kept in stock, which meant the weaver in Scotland would be doing a special weave of enough to make my 8-yard kilt. Thereby dramatically increasing the cost of the kilt, and the time to get it completed. Forrester is woven on a semi-regular basis and usually readily available. Were it not for keeping the tartan swatches I would have felt that I'd be deciding blind, and at the expense of a custom weave and a hand-made kilt you really want to make sure your sure. From there with tartan, and weight, and weaver in hand me and the kiltmaker went about getting the order and having everything made. 6 months later, along came my kilt and I've been in love with it ever since =)

That was my experience anyway. It was very pleasant, and I'm glad I chose the way I chose and didn't rush.

[ForresterModern]

This is a very great ides indeed! If you haven't finalized your purchase, I'd certainly do that.

I'm sure everyone's process is different, but I can tell you how I arrived at my final decision:
I first narrowed my list of tartan's to the Clan Forrester tartan and the Newfoundland Provincial tartan. This made the selection of options much easier in the end. Luckily, my kiltmaker has swatches from many different tartans from a few different weavers, and in different weights and I could bring these home and keep them on the coffee table and give them a check over and see which one I favoured. The swatches were very important for my decision making. I also had Nfld. tartan cloth, but not in tartan weight wool. It's not a tartan that is in demand, so it's not weaved and kept in stock, which meant the weaver in Scotland would be doing a special weave of enough to make my 8-yard kilt. Thereby dramatically increasing the cost of the kilt, and the time to get it completed. Forrester is woven on a semi-regular basis and usually readily available. Were it not for keeping the tartan swatches I would have felt that I'd be deciding blind, and at the expense of a custom weave and a hand-made kilt you really want to make sure your sure. From there with tartan, and weight, and weaver in hand me and the kiltmaker went about getting the order and having everything made. 6 months later, along came my kilt and I've been in love with it ever since =)

That was my experience anyway. It was very pleasant, and I'm glad I chose the way I chose and didn't rush.

John

Another option for your search for tartan is Fraser & Kirkbright, who weave all the Canadian Provincial tartans in merino wool, but usually in 10 or 12 oz weights instead of rarely woven heavyweight 16oz. Right now they have Newfoundland Provincial in 10 oz on their website:

http://wooltartan.com/tartans4.htm

but they change their stock fairly frequently so unless you are in a hurry for it just keep checking back. Their stock DW fabrics are typically only $45CDN per meter so reasonable by most standards, and a decent tartan fabric in the heavier weights, albeit not up to the standards of Lochcarron or even Marton Mills in most cases.