A Brief History of the Tartan <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe tartan has been found in parts of the world dating back as far as 3,000 B.C. -- but the patterned cloth has long been associated with Scotland, where tartans have been woven since the 3rd or 4th century A.D. The name itself is likely derived from the French word<\/span> tiretaine<\/span><\/i>, meaning cloth of woven wool.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat we think of as clan or family tartans originally began as community tartans. Local weavers would sell the same woolen cloth to those in their geographical area, and in time, the community became identified with their unique tartan. The patterns varied in the number and width of intersecting stripes (in repeating tiles called \u201csetts\u201d), as well as color, which was derived from native flora and fauna. The dyes were made from a variety of lichens, seaweeds, whelk, heather, berries and herbs; when woven into a tartan, these hues helped camouflage the wearer with the local landscape for hunting or battle. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Highland Scots, who lived in the rugged mountainous region of northwest Scotland, were perhaps most identified with the tartan. Their dress became a signifier of insurrection as the Highlanders rose up in support of Bonnie Prince Charlie during the unsuccessful Jacobite rebellion of 1745; after the final clash at the Battle of Culloden, the British throne outlawed the wearing of the tartan with the Dress Act of 1746. The ban endured for nearly 40 years, until its repeal in 1782. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nKing George IV visited Edinburgh in 1822. He was the first reigning monarch to travel to the country in 171 years, and his arrival was met by a dazzling display of citizens decked out in tartan attire. This pageant, arranged by novelist Sir Walter Scott, kicked off a tartan craze -- one which only intensified with a trip to Scotland by his niece, Queen Victoria, and her husband, Prince Albert, two decades later. They visited often, buying Balmoral Castle in 1848 and outfitting it with a variety of tartan patterns; they also created their own tartan designs, the <\/span>Victoria<\/span><\/i> and the <\/span>Balmoral<\/span><\/i>. Spurred by an association with Queen Victoria, who also popularized the white wedding dress, the tartan filtered through to the populace.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Scottish Parliament established the Register of Tartans in 2009. It is housed in the country\u2019s National Archives in Edinburgh and serves as a central, searchable global database for official tartans, like our own Pack Plaid.<\/span><\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kathleen Kelly \u201814 was in her first semester of graduate school at the College of Textiles when she designed the winning entry in NC State\u2019s Pack Plaid contest. Her design, a sophisticated pattern in black, dark gray, red and white, is now listed as the \u201cNorth Carolina State University — Pack Plaid\u201d in the Scottish Registry of Deeds, the official Scottish register of tartans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":24951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"caption\":\"\",\"displayCategoryID\":2136}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[742,490,496],"tags":[703,835,847,848,507],"displayCategory":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"
Pack Plaid: How NC State's Official Tartan Came to Be - Wilson College of Textiles<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n