True tartan colors? Confusion...

[Riverkilt]

Hey Breeze,

You know anywhere that has the color codes for the treads written out? Like K=black etc.??

STA uses the code, but no where on the site is there a list of what the abreviation letters mean.

Could swear I've seen it somewhere...but can't find it.

No clue why its such a big secret...and yes, I know that R=red could be a vast array of shades of red...just wanna know what the letters that are used mean to those in the know.

Thanks,

Ron

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I actually have an article dealing specifically with the shades and colors of tartan here:
http://albanach.org/colors.html

I utilize actual photographs of cloth to illustrate my article, not computer generated images.

Ron,
You ask about the codes used in threadcounts. The STA actually does have an article on their site here:
http://www.tartansauthority.com/Web/...hreadcount.asp

But I don't think they actually list out every single one. The codes they use from their software are actually quite specialized and don't quite correspond to the generic codes used by most tartan recorders (I'm not sure why but I think it's because their software allows for a huge variation in color, and so more codes had to be introduced). So I'm often confused myself as to what their threadcounts mean, and have to refer to the color image.

But *in general* these are the codes you will find:
A = azure
B = blue
C = crimson
G = green
K = black
N = grey
P = purple
R = red
S = scarlet
T = brown (tan)
W = white

Prefixes are often used:
L = light
D = dark
M = medium

(LG would mean light green, for instance).

And occasionally other colors are introduced that need special codes, like Mn for Maroon, or Pk for pink, etc. Usually these are either fairly self explanitory or a note is affixed to the threadcount to indicate meaning. Sometimes an unusual color is simply spelled out.

Keep in mind that this is not an exact science. What one recorded might call Pk (pink) another might call LR (light red). What one might call A (azure) another might call LB (light blue).

Aye,
Matt

[Southern Breeze]

House of Tartan has a reverse tartan search.
http://www.house-of-tartan.scotland....se/reverse.asp

[Riverkilt]

Thanks Matt,

That's just what I needed. Know the STA link. Scoured the site. But there's nowhere with "their" color code abbreviations.

Just had a email exchange with Brian Wilton about that...his response:

" I have to say that no-one's ever asked for the colour codes but that doesn't mean to say that there shouldn't be a complete list of them somewhere - the colour system is being rationalised at the moment so when it's done, we'll perhaps take up you suggestion."

"What you have to understand is that there's no standard colour system in use in the industry and the colours that we use and the 'domestic' codes that we give, are purely for our own use in producing the tartan graphics that you see in our system. No-one else will be using our codes unless they're also using the same Textile 32 software. Our DB (Dark blue) may well be someone else's navy blue or Ocean Blue or whatever fancy name they've given it. The idea of giving the threadcount is that the last letter in each code denotes the generic colour. What shade you make it is between you and your weaver and it's the letters in front of the last one that dictate the shades of that colour that we have used from our own inhouse palette to produce the graphic. The graphics are meant to be a guide, not a definitive definition of what that tartan should look like when woven. Sometimes the two are the same but since the shades will differ from one weaver's palette to the next, that cannot be guaranteed. "

I am hopeful that websites that do use a color code also list what the secret abbreviations mean so that those of us a tad slower than average will have an easy way to know that "K" means black etc.

Ron

[Sylvain]

The colors are recorded, but not shades.

I remember I read, a few years ago, that the Italian Parlament officially set the colours of the Italian flag through the wavelenghts!