Wilsons of Bannockburn Colors

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Wilsons of Bannockburn was an historic weaver of tartan cloth, in operation from the 1760s through to the early 20th century. They were the first large scale commercial producers of tartan material, and have the distinction of being the first manufacturers to standardize their color palette (by the 1780s).

Thanks to much research by Peter MacDonald, we are able to recreate those colors today.

Most of the kilts I make are in custom woven cloth, and I like to use these historic colors whenever possible. Often when talking with my clients, the question is asked, "What will my tartan look like in the Wilsons colors?"

Not being stocked by any woolen mill, it is not as simple as ordering a swatch. Unless I have had that particular tartan woven before, I won't have an example at hand. But the next best thing is to look at yarn samples to get an idea.

I recently received sample yarns of the colors commonly used in the Wilsons color palette.


In addition, I have scanned samples of various tartans I have had woven in Wilsons colors over the years, which will also serve to give an idea of what tartans in this color scheme look like. I hope this album is helpful to any who are considering a custom weave for their next kilt!

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/101711...22760825771201

[M. A. C. Newsome]

[creagdhubh]

Matt,

Absolutely delightful to see the Wilson's of Bannockburn colour palette shown and decribed in this manner. You have made it very clear and concise, especially to those who may not necessarily be familiar with these particular colours and the history associated with them. This is a definitive resource for those considering a kilt woven in this particular colour scheme. Thank you for sharing, and I am very much looking forward to owning a new (Macpherson and/or Chattan tartan, naturally) kilt in Wilson's colours one day soon...it's next up in my queue!

Best wishes,

[cessna152towser]

Many thanks Matt for this interesting insight into Wilson's colours.
I own a modern kilt in "Wilson" tartan, supposedly the house tartan devised Wilson of Bannockburn.
Solely because I share a Wilson line with my Canadian cousins and they love to see me wearing the tartan. However I have often considered it garish and unauthentic and have pondered the possibility of having a kilt in "Wilson" tartan in the genuine muted tones of the Wilson of Bannockburn era.

[cable scot]

Here's mine



5yd box pleat MacKay (MacGregor-Hastie) in Wilson's colors

[davidlpope]

Matt,

Thanks for making this resource available. I feel very fortunate that you and Peter MacDonald have worked with Dalgliesh to make this palette available once again. The revival of this color scheme is largely due to your efforts.

I do have to ask, though- has Dalgliesh gotten better about consistently identifying these particular shades as WOB colors? My personal experience has been that the mill has not always been clear that a particular yarn shade is the official "Wilsons' Blue" or "Wilsons' Yellow". It seems that there has been confusion between their "in-house color names" (i.e. moss green), the shades ID'd by Peter as representative of WOB, and the numbers assigned after acquisition by Scotweb.

David

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Suffice it to say, David, that both Peter and myself are now able to specify by yarn color number the precise shades we require when reproducing the Wilson colors.

But then again, this is more art than science... :-)

[davidlpope]

Suffice it to say, David, that both Peter and myself are now able to specify by yarn color number the precise shades we require when reproducing the Wilson colors.

But then again, this is more art than science... :-)

Excellent!

[creagdhubh]

Suffice it to say, David, that both Peter and myself are now able to specify by yarn color number the precise shades we require when reproducing the Wilson colors.

But then again, this is more art than science... :-)

Good information to know and an excellent question posed by David.

Cheers gents,

[sydnie7]

And you get to order by such wonderful names! I'd be tempted to design something just so I could explain, "Oh yes, thanks, that's madder, bloom, drab, and shade green. . ."