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Concept
Tartan
Summary
Tartan (breacan ˈpɾjɛxkən) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming simple or complex rectangular patterns. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland, and Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns. The earliest surviving samples of tartan-style cloth are around 3,000 years old and were discovered in Xinjiang, China.
Outside of Scotland, tartan is sometimes also known as "plaid" (particularly in North America); however in Scotland, a plaid is a large piece of tartan cloth which can be worn several ways.
Traditional tartan is made with alternating bands of coloured (pre-dyed) threads woven in usually matching warp and weft in a simple 2/2 twill pattern. Up close, this pattern forms alternating short diagonal lines where different colours cross; from further back, it gives the appearance of new colours blended from the original ones. The resulting blocks of colour repeat vertically and horizontally in a distinctive pattern of rectangles and lines known as a sett.
Scottish tartan was originally associated with the Highlands. Early tartans were only particular to locales, rather than any specific Scottish clan; like other materials, tartan designs were produced by local weavers for local tastes, using the most available natural dyes. The Dress Act of 1746 attempted to bring the warrior clans there under government control by banning Highland dress, then an important element of Gaelic Scottish culture. When the law was repealed in 1782, tartan was no longer ordinary dress for most Highlanders. It was adopted more widely as the symbolic national dress of all Scotland when King George IV wore a tartan kilt in his 1822 visit to Scotland; it was promoted further by Queen Victoria. This marked an era of rather politicised "tartanry" and "Highlandism".
Official source
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