Having a custom weave done in a smaller pattern repeat

[Tartan Tess]

I just wrote to Ida to find out about this. In 2007 the tartan was designed and registered and on the Scottish registration site it says that Dalgliesh is the (I can't remember the exact word) weavers of this tartan. Meaning they were listed as "the only ones who are supposed to". I think it is left over from that run .
I need 10 meteres for what my client wants. My new order could only be woven in 10 oz. or 16 oz. (I was told) I would be a little miffed if there were some on a shelf in back somewhere....but I think it was just left there, sort of what the Scotweb site does, which for example, has the Maine Dirigo tartan listed in weathered and ancient etc. and it has only been woven in modern (as far as the people in Maine know)
I will let you know what they say. Thanks barb for looking

[Barb T]

Dalgliesh weaves only lightweight (11 oz) and heavy weight (16 oz) tartan - they've never offered medium weight.

I'm not sure I understand the issue, though. ScotWeb lists all kinds of tartans that are available only as custom weaves, and pretty much _any_ tartan could be custom woven in modern, ancient, or weathered colors (or Wilson's of Bannockburn colors or even special colors - see, for example, this post: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-tartan-87002/), so the fact that the Maine tartan hasn't been woven in other palettes is neither here nor there. I'm not sure what that has to do with Dalgliesh having tartan left over on a shelf somewhere? Sorry I'm being dense.

[Tartan Tess]

Naw, you're not being dense, I am new to this tartan ordering business. I do know that I have a lot of people (like me) who see things listed on the sites and they "assume" unless it says "Must be custom woven" there is a tiny tiny possibility it was, and there is some left. I do have to say that I was happy with the prices for a custom weave. I thought very fair.
I mentioned the Maine tartan as a point that with all the computer inhandsment going on it can get confusing what is "Stock" and what is not.

[Barb T]

I guess I would interpret "Custom Woven" as "must be custom woven; we don't have any on the shelf".

[The Wizard of BC]

One common misconception is that weavers keep fabric on hand.

In truth only the largest weavers like Lochcarron can afford to have fabric just sitting around waiting for someone to order it. These are usually called 'stock tartans'.

But there are a lot of Tartans that exist only as images on a computer. I know one person who has designed well over 100 Tartans. None of them have ever been registered or woven.

And just because a Tartan is registered with either the Scottish Tartans Authority or The Scottish Register of Tartan does not guarantee that any has actually been woven. It used to be that to register a design you had to submit a woven swatch. That is not so today. You can submit a swatch but all it means is that your swatch will be place in the Archives. You don't even have to register the design if you don't want to.

And it is a very common misunderstanding that just because someone lists something on a website that there is some sitting on a shelf. For example - If you own a weaving loom you could show a sample of every registered Tartan on your site. It does not mean that you have bolts of all 12,000+ registered Tartans sitting on the shelf.

I guess it would make it more clear if those sites said something like. "We are custom weavers and can weave any Tartan. Here are some examples." but they don't.

Some weaving companies are actually very small operations. One I know of personally and have visited is located in a building 60 ft. X 60 ft. In that building are seven looms which take up the vast majority of the floor space other than the offices.
There is only enough shelving for some yarn and the fabric which has already been paid for, woven, and is waiting to go to the post office. This company does not even store their own yarns. They simply pick up what they need for the next order by walking down the street and buying it from the big weaving company.

[Barb T]

Second that!!! My experience matches Steve's. If someone orders a custom weave of a tartan, it isn't worth it to the mill to weave a few extra yards on the off chance that someone might want to order that particular tartan among the literally thousands of tartans and their variants that are not commercially woven as stock tartans.