• About

A collection of International Tartans

~ by David McGill

A collection of International Tartans

Category Archives: Uncategorized

The ETHIOPIA Tartan

22 Saturday Feb 2020

Posted by internationaltartans in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Last October Aileen Campbell, Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government in the Scottish Government led a delegation to the Social Enterprise World Forum in Addis Ababa. Amongst the delegates was Hazel Smith, CEO of ReTweed, International Tartans’ main supplier of tartan accessories.

International Tartans supplied ReTweed with a length of Ethiopia tartan which they made into ties, scarves and plaid brooches to take as gifts. Their Ethiopian hosts were astonished and delighted to be given something that carried the colours of their national flag.

Neil Munro, an environmental scientist now based in Addis Ababa formerly worked in Sudan. When in Khartoum he helped form the Khartoum Caledonian Society which adopted the Sudan tartan. Although kilts were made in Scotland the Caledonian Society used local craftworkers to make a range of accessories with a view to establishing a job-creating social enterprise. Upon hearing of the Ethiopia tartan, Neil immediately ordered Ethiopia tartan products for his fellow Scots and is currently trying to establish a Caledonian Society in Addis Ababa. Such is the universal versatility of Scotland’s ‘international calling-card’ it can be used as a unifying force for good and for promoting Scotland almost anywhere in the world.

Although these are tiny steps on a long road towards the level of international co-operation that will be needed if we are to ensure our planet is fit for generations to come, it is a start and a welcome one.

The INTERNATIONALE Tartan

20 Sunday Oct 2019

Posted by internationaltartans in All about tartans, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bread and Roses, Internationale tartan, scotland, tartan, tartan gift

The title of the design is taken from the universal anthem of the same name, and is intended to provide a common bonding theme for democratic socialists worldwide in keeping with the concluding line of the chorus: ‘The Internationale unites the human race’. The design itself can be reproduced to give that common theme a unique physical identity in the form of tartan. Although at times misused and cheapened, tartan has a broad popular appeal to people of all countries and is instantly recognisable.

An appropriate choice of colours in a tartan can give it a yet more specific identity – in modern parlance, a brand, and over time, by repetition, a recognisable brand. The colours for the Internationale tartan have been chosen to reflect those linked to the socialist movement, but with fashion in mind, by retaining their traditional red and (part) yellow colours, but in the softer tones implied in the battle-hymn of the Suffragettes: Bread and Roses.

‘As we go marching, marching, in the beauty of the day 
A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts grey 
Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses
For the people hear us singing, bread and roses, bread and roses.

As we go marching, marching, we’re standing proud and tall.
The rising of the women means the rising of us all.
No more the drudge and idler, ten that toil where one reposes,
But a sharing of life’s glories, bread and roses, bread and roses.’

Illustrated below is an example of the best-selling item in Scotland’s tourist shops – the lambswool scarf: useful, stylish, light and comfortable to wear, and affordable.

At £20.00 (inc P&P) these exclusive tartan scarves make an ideal gift for family and friends, or maybe you just want to treat yourself. A donation of £5.00 from each sale will be made to local food banks. Get in touch to order one at info@internationaltartans.co.uk or click here.

The Tartan is Registered No. 11376 on the Scottish Tartans Register

internationale tartan

The Catalunya Escocia Tartan

10 Saturday Aug 2019

Posted by internationaltartans in All about tartans, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Catalunya Escocia Tartan, Catalunya Tartan, david mcgill, International Tartans

Letter published in The National Newspaper Thursday 8th August

It may interest you to know that the good people of Catalonia actually have their own tartan. Commissioned by Catalans in Edinburgh the Catalunya Escocia tartan is registered no. 11163 on the Scottish Register of Tartans. The colours are based on the ‘Estelada’, the flag of the independence movement in Catalonia.

It was launched at a fashion show in Glasgow, the occasion being the ‘Football Fashionistas’ fashion show at the second Tartan & Turban Burns Supper at the Thistle Hotel in aid of ‘Show Racism the Red Card.’ It represented Barcelona.

The event was organised by the Sikh community in the West of Scotland and compered by Hardeep Sing Kholi. His fee was a kilt in the Spirit of India tartan.

 

Catalunya Escocia tartan skirt and t-shirt
Hardeep Sing Kholi - India tartan kilt
Barcelona Tartan Bunnet & Neckerchief

The Life of St. George and the St. George Tartan

23 Tuesday Apr 2019

Posted by internationaltartans in All about tartans, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

st george, st george tartan

The life of St. George is shrouded in legend, but he was almost certainly born in the Holy Land. Converted to Christianity, he was imprisoned and tortured by Emperor Diocletian (245 – 313 AD)., and upon refusing to recant his faith he was eventually beheaded. The Emperor’s wife Alexandria was so impressed by his courage that she became a Christian and so too was put to death.

The best-known legend surrounding St. George is that of the dragon. According to this legend, a pagan town in what is now Libya was being terrorised by a fierce dragon. To placate the insatiable beast the locals began to sacrifice their own townspeople. Finally, the local Princess was to be sacrificed, but good St. George came along, slaughtered the dragon and rescued the fair Princess. At this, the townsfolk converted to Christianity.

In 1222 the Council of Oxford declared 23rd. April as his Feast Day, and he eventually became the Patron Saint of England sometime in the 14th Century. It is traditional for men to celebrate St. George’s Day by giving their ladies a red rose to honour the memory of St. George and the Princess he saved from the dragon.

The St. George tartan has been designed to incorporate those emblems which best represent England as a nation:

The RED Cross of St. George on its WHITE field, surrounded by the three lions passant which form the Arms of England, and set in BLUE symbolising its island nature and dominance of the High Seas, laced with Royal PURPLE representing 1000 years of enduring monarchic tradition.

Registered on the Scottish Tartans Register No. 3178.

george

The Malawi tartan

18 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by internationaltartans in All about tartans, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

david mcgill, International Tartans, malawi

Colin Cameron and his wife Alison return to Malawi to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of his arrival in what was then the Preotectorsate of Nyasaland. A former Cabinet Minister in the first Malawian government and 16 years as Malawi’s Honorary Consul in Scotland Colin presented gifts of Malawi tartan scarves and ties and Golden Thistle badges to his hosts.

1

The MALAWI tartan is registered no. 3221 on the Scottish Register of Tartans. The colours are a combination of those in the flags of Malawi and Scotland. It is one of twenty-four tartans in the ‘Tartans for Africa’ range used to promote African countries internationally, whilst providing a valuable source of funds for humanitarian projects.

A number of Government Ministers, MP’s and MSP’s have presented Malawi tartan cloth and accessories to their counterparts in Malawi, and dozens of schools and charitable organisations in Scotland have been able to use the Malawi tartan to raise funds for a variety of projects throughout Malawi.

2

 

International Tartans designed tartans for 24 African countries

18 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by internationaltartans in All about tartans, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

african tartans, charity, good causes

Extract from The Guardian.

”Oxfam customers in Glasgow may soon be able to buy a new kind of tartan, woven from red, green and gold thread. The cloth, registered earlier this summer, is the most vivid expression of a support and advocacy group set up by a group of female refugees from Africa with the evocative name of Karibu Scotland.

Founder Henriette Koubakouenda was 50 years old when she arrived in the UK from her native Democratic Republic of the Congo in the summer of 2001, to join an existing community of African women in Scotland. Using her knowledge of English and her experience of working with women in community development (she had worked with the United Nations Development Programme back in Kinshasa), Koubakouenda would help her fellow asylum-seekers with their phone calls and letter-writing. “Many of the women didn’t speak English and it was really difficult for them to access mainstream services,” she tells me from her flat in Glasgow. “And I thought maybe if we can organise ourselves, this could be more formal and people will see us. The mainstream services will know our need and respond to it.

The women who use Karibu also come for services such as ESOL English classes and IT lessons. The organisation also has a social enterprise arm: hence the sewing group that registered the tartan in the Karibu colours and the catering enterprise Taste of Africa (they cater events around Glasgow).

They are planning a Karibu Scotland cafe. “We are hoping to have the cafe before the Commonwealth Games. Many people will be coming from Africa, and if they can find a place where they can eat African food, it would be great,” says Koubakouenda. “We just need to secure the funding.”

Laurentine Zibi, chair and former volunteer, says: “All the feedback we’ve had on our services and events has always been so positive.” She adds: “We did not choose to be here but now that we are – this is our home, this is our country and our voice should be heard through our projects, events and skills.” Amen to that. ”

Our involvement

“I’ve never forgotten the day I first set eyes on Henriette’, says David McGill of International Tartans ‘, with her twinkling eyes and ready smile. It was the first time I’d met someone from Cameroon who spoke perfect English and French, and had a degree in aquaculture from Budapest University! We arranged to meet again in a church hall in Govanhill where ‘The Ladies of Karibu’ met once a week. These women had come to Scotland from many different countries throughout Africa, so I took along tartans in my ‘Tartans for Africa’ range and invited them to try them on (see opening illustration). They immediately spotted that the colours of their respective national flags were represented in the tartan’.

karibu tartan

The Karibu tartan – registered in Scotland STR No. 10674

As it happened, along with my colleague Tecla Wight, a fashion designer originally from Zimbabwe, I was invited to take part in a fashion show in the Barony Hall as part of Strathclyde University’s annual fundraiser for Malawi. Tecla arranged for outfits to be designed and made by well-known Scottish designers including students from the Scottish Textile College in Galashiels. Some were modeled by the daughters of the Karibu ladies alongside students from Holyrood High School. It was an outstanding success. Judge for yourself at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voT8uSo-a0A

As a consequence, the idea of training women refugees in tailoring and dress-making was formed into a social enterprise known as Karibu. International Tartans gifted a roll of cloth for training purposes and, at their request, designed the ‘Karibu’ tartan for them in the pan-African colours of red, green and gold as used in their logo. The rest is history”.

International Tartans designed tartans for some 24 African countries and provides fundraisers for schools and ‘good causes’ throughout Scotland with projects in Africa. It also works with Caledonian Societies in African capitals to create employment for local women by using its ‘10% solution’ business model. And something as simple as tartan wrapping paper is used to fund the ‘Send a girl to school’ campaign which was launched at the European Social Forum in Malmo, Sweden in 2008.

It’s astonishing how such a little here in Scotland can go such a long way in Africa.

And sometimes a little can go a long way in Scotland too. Re-Tweed is a brand new enterprise based in the fishing town of Eyemouth in South East Scotland – offering women a new way to think about their futures by gaining the skills and experience for creative industry and enterprise whilst producing amazing and original furnishings and fashions and fabulous ‘fings’. It is an aspirational project which provides creative and inspiring employability and entrepreneurship opportunities for women in a community often forgotten in the wider national initiatives.

The project was developed by serial social entrepreneur Hazel Smith over 18 months after researching a wide range of social and community enterprises from across the UK, EU and as far afield as Africa, harvesting the best of ‘what works’ in terms of women’s training, enterprise and creative and manufacturing initiatives. Every student creates at least 11 items which Re-Tweed sells at local craft fairs, through local retailers and online.

Project funding is in place, but what is now required are donations of all types of textiles which will be creatively reinvented into artisan furnishings, fashions and crafts. So, if you have anything lying about: old curtains, slightly damaged but unwearable dresses, or whatever, please donate now. You will receive full credit for your donation and even a photograph of what ‘the Re-Tweeders’ can turn it into. Have a look for yourself at https://www.retweed.com/textiles-donations/

The SUDAN tartan

17 Monday Oct 2016

Posted by internationaltartans in All about tartans, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

david mcgill, International Tartans, sudan, tartan

Such has been the demand the Khartoum Caledonian Society has just taken possession of 100 metres of International Tartans ‘Sudan’ tartan.

‘Of course’ says Chieftain Archie Frame, ‘ the expatriate Scots like to dress up for their St Andrew’s Night ceilidh, Hogmanay celebrations, and their annual Burns Supper, but we are attracting members and guests from a number of European and Asian countries who wanted to join in, and many native Sudanese as well’.

‘Although kilts and kilted skirts will be made in Scotland, accessories will be manufactured here in Sudan in accordance with International Tartan’s business model, which is designed to create awareness and sustainable employment in African communities’. By using the colours of the flag of Sudan in the design, International Tartans has provided Sudan with a unifying national emblem’.

 1 

2
3

The SUDAN tartan

Blue for the Blue Nile, St Andrew and Scotland;

Green for Sufi robes, the woodlands, and cropped lands;

Red for the Sea, the dust, and the sands of Sudan;

White for the White Nile, and the Peace (after Umdurman).

 

©  Robert Neil Munro,

Robert Neil Munro of Dirleton, Scotland, and Khartoum

The Indiana Tartan

12 Friday Aug 2016

Posted by internationaltartans in All about tartans, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

david mcgill, Indiana Tartan, International Tartans, tartan

A while ago, we were contacted by Anne, a Scottish lady who lives with her husband and children in the state of Indiana in the USA. With the occasion of the bicentennial of the founding of the State, Anne, who has a degree from the Textile College in Galashiels, asked us for some Indiana Tartan cloth which we passed to her mother in Edinburgh to take it over to her.
We were delighted to receive this image from Anne via our Facebook page – she has done an amazing job with these Seasons21 designs.
indiana

The Sunderland tartan

04 Thursday Aug 2016

Posted by internationaltartans in All about tartans, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

david mcgill, International Tartans, scotland, sunderland, tartan

Formed as Sunderland and District Teachers Association by Scotsman James Allan in 1879, Sunderland AFC have fielded hundreds of Scots in their 137-year history including twenty-two Scottish internationalist and several legends of the game including, in recent times, Ian Porterfield, scorer of the winning goal in the 1973 Cup Final, Jim Baxter and Ally McCoist. Such is the bond between Sunderland and Scotland that in 1895 when they played Heart of Midlothian at Tynecastle Park in Edinburgh in the ‘Championship of the World’ title match as champions of their respective leagues, all 22 players were Scots (even the referee was a Scot). Sunderland won 5-3 and fielded ten full Scottish internationalists. Hearts could only field five.

The appointment of David Moyes as manager of Sunderland AFC sees a continuation of this extraordinary link between Scotland and Sunderland. He is the tenth Scot to manage the ‘Black Cats’. To commemorate this, International Tartans is offering a free kilt (or kilted skirt) in the

Sunderland tartan* to the first person who can answer the following questions:

1.Sunderland Association Football Club have played under two other names. What are they?

2. Sunderland AFC have played in four countries other than England. Which are they?

3. What is the link between James Allan, Sunderland AFC’s founder, and Robert Burns the poet.

sunderland tartan

*The colours of the Sunderland tartan are taken from the red, white and black of the team colours.

A NEW Zimbabwe

22 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by internationaltartans in All about tartans, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

david mcgill, glasgow, International Tartans, tartan, this flag, zimbabwe

Hundreds of Zimbabweans are expected to gather in Glasgow on Saturday in a ‘This Flag’ demonstration under the banner – ‘This Flag’. The ‘This Flag’ movement was started by Pastor Evan Mawarire in Zimbabwe earlier this year in protest against the state-sponsored corruption that has led to mass poverty throughout the country. Similar demonstrations are being held in London, Australia and Canada. A beautiful country, rich in resources , with a skilled workforce full of potential, it’s surely time for a new Zimbabwe to regain its position as a powerhouse of Africa.

The image shows young Zimbabwean women modelling the ‘New Zimbabwe’ tartan at the ‘Tartans for Africa’ fashion show.

z1

z2

← Older posts
Follow A collection of International Tartans on WordPress.com

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Like us

Like us

Contact us

info@internationaltartans.co.uk
www.internationaltartans.co.uk
0044 7717 538 487​

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy