Clan Lachlan Association of Canada  & Clan MacLachlan Society

MacLachlan Tartans

Small MacLachlan (Old) : There is an old and very simple sett which is made up of Green and Red checks from the 1790 period. This appeared in the 0819 Key Pattern Book of Wilson, Bannockburn. This is now known as the Moncrieffe; Sir Ian Moncrieffe of that Ilk asked Madam Marjorie, the 24th Chief to assign him the rights to the tartan as the MacLachlans rarely used it.

Old MacLachlan : This is included in "Old and Rare Scottish Tartans" 1893 by D.W.Stewart. This is the only MacLachlan tartan in the "Collection of the Highland Society" 1812. Although this is one of the finest examples of Old Clan Setts, it has never achieved any degree of popularity with the clan. The following table gives the sett thread count.

Dress: This sett is first described in the 1842 Vestarium Scoticum written by John and Charles Sobieski Stuart, two brothers claiming to be grandsons of Bonnie Prince Charles. The reference for the tartans was claimed to be a 16th century manuscript but in fact was generated by the brothers in 1829. It was adopted and used by the ladies of the chief's family in the late 19th century.

Standard/Modern : This is the sett most generally used by the clan today. It is first described in James Logan's "Scottish Gael" published in 1831. The details were obtained from Wilson's but it was not included in Wilson's 1819 Key Pattern Book. The pattern is a red and blue variation of the Black Watch tartan ; it was probably woven in the 1820's at the request of a clan member with military connections. It is recorded in "Authenticated Tartans of the Clans and Families of Scotland" by the Smith Brothers which was published in 1850.

Standard or Modern MacLachlan in ordinary colors.

MacLachlan tartans are classified by the setts shown above and then by the dyes used as follows:

1. Ordinary Colors: the natural dyes used until about 1855 came in every shade and color depending on the dyes available. After 1855, chemical dyes offered a cheap and easier way of obtaining standard colors. Some of these colors especially red and blue are quite good matches to the shades from "natural dyes". The Standard MacLachlan , largely red, blue and black, is a reasonable fascimile of a "natural dye" kilt worn at the end of the 18th century.

2. Ancient Colors: these are mid-light shades and are supposed to represent colors obtained in the past. They date from 1950!

3. Muted Colors: they are of recent origin and fall between Ancient and Ordinary.

4. Reproduction or Weathered: these are the colors which are supposed to represent the exposure over time of a "natural dye" tartan to the effects of weather. In the Standard sett using "weathered dyes", the blue becomes a slate blue-grey, the black is a charcoal, the green has olive tones, the red is deeper.

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Scottish Tartans World Register

               MacLachlan Tartans

WR732 Source Smilbert

T.Smilbert produced a book entitled . "The Clans of the Highlands of Scotland " in 1850 which is widely regarded as an accurate source for the tartans illustrated within it. T Smilbert had access to the patterns of Wilson's of Bannockburn who had been weavers since the :45", and to the works of Logan and the Sobieski brothers. Of the three distinct versions of the MacLachlan tartan, Smilbert's rendering is the one woven today and it would appear to have a longer history than might be gathered from the date of its registration.

WR1277 Source Vestiarium Scoticum 

The design comes from the Vestiarium Scoticum (1842). The authors , the Sobieski Stuart brothers, enjoyed a popular following among the Scottish gentry in the early Victorian era, and in the spirit of the times, added mystery, romance and some spurious historical documentation to the subject of tartan. Of the better known tartans, the book offered some variations but in other cases it provides the only recorded version of many tartans in use today. This tartan was favored as a Dress tartan in the  19th century  by the ladies of the Chief's family.

1710  Source Old & Rare

"Old & Rare Scottish Tartans(1893) contains a selection of forty five setts, woven in silk of special interest or antiquity. Many of the illustrated tartans owe their present day popularity to the publication of this work. The author was D.W.Stewart.

Dress WR828  Source : Dalgleish Collection  

Hunting WR 775   Source not specified

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