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Dec 9, 2021 24 tweets 9 min read Read on X
Can ah hae yer een for a wee minute tae threid aboot tartan? We aw ken aboot clan an faimily tartans, but dae ye ken whit came afore clan tartans? 1/
If we were tae gang back a few hunner year, we'll no find the system o clan tartans as we ken it noo. Afore the clan codification o tartans whit stertin in the early 19th century, particular tartans were maislty associated wi single weavers. 2/
Naturally yon weavers were in specific locations. An sae tae begin wi, maist tartans were kent as bein frae a distinct district. 3/
Wi much o Scotland existin unner the clan system, ower time the link atween a tartan in a particular location an the dominant clan in that area grew. Then came the Dress Act o 1746, seen as a punishment o Heelanders efter the failed Jacobite uprisin the year afore. 4/
Whilst the act didnae ban tartan in the wey maist fowk think, the affect o it was mair nor less that same. Heelan dress wis oot an anely sodjers were permitit tae wear kilts. 5/
A lot o Scots regiments had bi this time awready adoptit their ain tartan, as a form o identification. Example: the Black Watch (Government) tartan is basically the tartan that wis maist prevalent in Campbell land, sine three o the sax companies o the Watch were Campbell led. 6/
Ower the thirty-sax year the act was law, maist weavers lost their tartan makkin skills. At the same time, the Heelan Clearances decimatit the population. When the Act wis repealed in 1782, few district tartans remained an a hale wheen o Heelanders an their kilts were gone. 7/
It wis the gentry whit brocht the cloth back frae the brink. The myth o the noble Heelander grew, societies were formit an tartan became the heicht of fashion. It became the in thing for the gentry tae hae a tartan named efter themsels. Thus wis born the clan an faimly tartan. 8/
But whit o the district tartan? Weil, some survived the Act an, ower time, mair hae been designed. The day there are plenty tae choose frae. 9/
Whan a came tae draw tartans for ma shop, a decidit tae draw the yins for oor cities. First up is Aiberdeen. Its tartan wis designed bi Wilsons o Bannockburn in 1782. It haes an unco muckle sett. There's hairdly a repetition o it on ma airt. 10/
This is Dundee #2 tartan. Whilst the designer an date arnae kent, it's based oan Dundee tartan, whit is said tae hae been patternt oan a jacket worn by Bonnie Prince Chairlie in 1746. 11/
Puir Embra. It didnae get a tartan until Hugh Macpherson creatit yin in 1970 tae merk the Commonwealth Gemmes. 12/
Glesga, houaniver, isnae sic a late comer. Yince mair, Wilsons o Bannockburn made this in 1790. Their 1819 pattern book caws it 'Glasgow Rock and Wheel.' 13/
Innerness dates tae 1829, houaniever it is recordit as bein made for Augustus, Earl of Innerness, afore 1822. 14/
Perth, sad wee Perth, disnae hae a district tartan. 15/
It was agen Wilsons o Bannockburn whae, appropriatly eneuch, designed the Stirlin and Bannockburn tartan, whit wis originally made in 1847 for the Stirlin an Bannockburn Caledonian Society. 16/
For reasons, ah drew the Leith tartan. Leith's Kinloch Anderson came up wi this for the Tall Ships visit in 1995. It's based oan the Robertson tartan tae honour former Leith shipbuilders Henry Robb. 17/
In mair recent times, district tartans for hale countras hae got their ain tartan. A guid deal o this can be traced back tae the Scots diaspora spreadin roond the wurld. Forfar-born Jack Cumming designed this yin in 1975 an presentit it tae First Lady Betty Ford in 1976. 18/
The Australia tartan dates tae 1984 an wis creatit bi John Reid using the tartan o Lachlan Macquarie, the second Scots born governor o the Australian Colony of New South Wales in 1809. The colours were inspired bi the ootback. 19/
Ah drew the Catalan because independence, obviously. It was designed by Viv Sharp in 1992, tae commemorate that year's Olympic Gemmes, an is made efter the Catalan flag, the Senyera. Note this yin's asymmetrical, which is fair unco. 20/
Finally, we come tae the Caledonia tartan. Whilst this isnae a district tartan – an there's disagreement ower its origin – ah wis keen tae draw yin that coud be cawed a national tartan for Scotland. 21/
…acause ah ken if there's yin tartan that will bring the cringe, it's oor maist famed tartan, Royal Stewart. /22
If ye've enjoyed this wee daunder throu tartan, ye can see mair o them in ma @indy_prints shop. Ah really appreciate aw ye whae haes, an continue tae, supportit ma work. Cheers! indy-prints.com/collections/ta…
p.s. pardon ma iffy #ScotsLeid. Ah wisnae raised wi it, so it's aye a bit wonky when a uise it.

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More from @stewartbremner

Dec 31, 2021
I know you want to know what my top 50 films of the 420 I watched this year are, so here's a thread. 👇👇👇📽️📽️📽️
50. Bachelor Mother (Garson Kanin, 1939 / Ginger Rodgers & David Niven). A salesgirl is bundled with a baby and must keep him to keep her job. A slightly ludicrous conceit played brilliantly by Rogers and Niven. A delight, with a good few laughs and a lot of smiles.
49. Two-Lane Blacktop (Monte Hellman, 1971 / James Taylor / Warren Oates) Four people race two cars across many states. The film becomes a meditation on wanderlust, where we pull alongside the racers for a brief 101 minutes. The open road is myth, the drivers will never find.
Read 73 tweets
Dec 10, 2021
Drop the cringe for a moment and join me for a thread about tartan. We all know about clan and family tartans, but do you now what came before them? 1/
If we were to go back a few hundred years, we'll not find the system of clan tartans as we know it now. Before the clan codification of tartans that started in the early 19th century, particular tartans were mostly associated with single weavers. 2/
Naturally those weavers were in specific locations. And so to begin with, most tartans were known as being from a distinct district. 3/
Read 23 tweets
Dec 7, 2021
It's time for my #Christmas2021 gift guide! I thought it might be a good idea to guide you through the work I've made over seven years of @indy_prints and then share some other small businesses. [a thread] 👇👇👇
@indy_prints Before I get to the good stuff, I want to note that it's been a difficult year for many of us, and while you might have less to spend, I hope you that when you do spend you'll consider supporting these small businesses, rather than the shareholders of big corporations.
I've been buying my presents from real people for a few years now and it feels so much more satisfying. I'd be grateful if you would join me.

Okay. Preaching over, now the goods…
Read 43 tweets
Sep 2, 2020
Yer favourite Scots language animal name. Go!
Thanks tae awbody whit replied tae this. Ah cannae believe the amoont! Ah mak it tae be aboot 73 names o beasties. Yer aw amazin!
An bi the wey, does awbody ken why yon English 'earwig' is cried clipshear, forkie tail, hairy gollach, horny gollach, horny gollacks and forkie gollach. Ah mean, that's juist greedy.
Read 11 tweets
Jul 2, 2020
Something that no one ever asks me is 'where do I come up with the colours for my work?' I'm going to explain it anyway and illustrate it with an example. ¡THREADALERT! 👇👇👇
This is my take on the famous #ScotsLanguage saying 'It's a braw, bricht moonlit nicht the nicht' [Plug: available in my @indy_prints shop as a print, poster, card, magnet and more]. indy-prints.com/search?type=pr…
Harry Lauder used to follow that with 'an if ye can say that, yer aw richt'. These days, I feel more like if you can type that, yer aw richt. Trying to make 'night' fingers type 'nicht' is a bugger. Anyway. The colours.
Read 15 tweets
Jun 26, 2020
Racists sicken me. All of us – and our government – must make it clear that Scotland is no place for them. Immigrants and refugees should be welcomed in Scotland. Their addition to our country can only enrich.
Let me be clear. Scotland is one of the most prosperous countries in the world. It became so largely from its role as part of the nation that created and ran the world's largest empire.
That empire, the British Empire, in 1923 spanned a quarter of the world and its population. A QUARTER OF THE WHOLE WORLD. It's almost impossible to comprehend.
Read 8 tweets

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