Tartan — the Scottish plaid pattern

There is no surer symbol of Scottishness than tartan, especially when you see it on the kilt being worn. The pattern's popularity guarantees its use on every kind of occasion: from the most formal state events attended by reigning monarchs to international football matches, from the grandest ballrooms to mountain hikes. The strength of the symbol is captured in the story that Neil Armstrong took a piece of his clan's tartan to the Moon.

The history of tartan reaches deep into the past. In the late 19th century the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin mapped the Taklamakan desert and uncovered an ancient burial site along the Silk Road. The grave clothing showed a checked pattern remarkably similar to modern tartan.

Until the late 18th century each weaver produced tartan locally with the dyes and patterns available to them, so there was no rigid system of "clan tartans". The strong identification of specific setts with specific clans is largely a 19th-century invention, popularised after King George IV's 1822 visit to Edinburgh — the first British monarch in Scotland for nearly two centuries.

After the Jacobite uprising of 1745 the British government banned the wearing of Highland dress for thirty-six years. When the prohibition lifted in 1782 tartan returned as a symbol of national identity, and Sir Walter Scott's romanticisation of the Highlands in the 1820s cemented the link between clan, plaid and Scotland we recognise today.

ScottEst OÜ is the official importer of the Estonian National Tartan. We make and sell goods in this distinctive cloth — kilts, scarves, accessories and gifts. See the shop for items, or get in touch if you would like something made.