At MacGregor and MacDuff, we are proud to keep the art of tartan designing alive. From our exclusive Mist tartans to helping people create future family heirlooms, we have created a vast number of new tartans in recent years.
Whether it's for your family, organisation, or a special event, our skilled in-house tartan designer will work closely with you to create a custom tartan that reflects your identity and values. So closely that our designer even got invited to the wedding of a couple she worked with!
This year, we worked with Ryan McMonagle and his family on a tartan that celebrated the coming together of two families on his wedding day to Jonny.
For Ryan, the biggest inspiration for his tartan was his family. He told us: “We originally tried to look for a McMonagle tartan that I could wear for my wedding but couldn’t find anything on the Register of Tartans. That inspired us to create a tartan to preserve the heritage of my family and I thought that it would be a great way to symbolise and celebrate loved ones who have been such an important part of my life. I have also always wanted to own my personal kilt that I could keep forever so it has now become a treasured possession from the big day!” We were honoured to be a part of this important chapter of his family's story.
Every family has a story so designing your own tartan is a great way to reflect this in a unique and personal piece of family heritage. Ryan told us some more about his inspiration for his family tartan: “We knew early on that we wanted to celebrate loved family members who are no longer with us with our tartan and knew that wearing our kilts throughout the day would have been a great way to represent them. It has a very sentimental meaning as even though it is a McMonagle tartan, the design also represents members from Jonny’s family and reflects the merging of both families. My mum also sadly passed away a few years ago so I knew that whatever I was wearing on my wedding day had to reflect her in a way, so we picked a colour out specifically for her in the design. I know designing a tartan would have been something that she would have loved doing so that made the process feel extra special.”
There is a wide range of standard yarns that our mill uses, which include a range of different colours which can all be matched to your colour palette. We can also get yarns specially dyed to match specific pantone colours.
We pride ourselves on making the tartan design process a fun and memorable experience and we were delighted to hear that Ryan enjoyed working with us on his tartan: “To do something together in the lead up to the wedding, I designed the tartan with my dad and my sister. We couldn’t have done the process without Erin (the tartan design consultant) who was brilliant and so thoughtful and considerate each step of the way - she turned our monthly Friday afternoon appointments into exciting milestones on the lead up to the wedding!”
When you design your own tartan, the options of what you can have made with it are endless. Ryan told us what he had made for his big day: “We got outfits made for my dad and myself which consisted of kilts, personalised tartan pocket squares with our initials, tartan ties, lined tartan scarves, tartan fly plaid, tartan flashes and we also got a tartan strand made for the handfasting section during our ceremony. We also got a tartan sash made for my sister to wear as part of her outfit for the day so she could also tie into our outfits.” A tartan sash or shawl is a great way to involve the women in the wedding party in the family tartan.
Beyond the traditional kilt, your tartan can be made into a wide range of tartan gifts and accessories by our team of craftspeople.
Registering your own tartan is a huge milestone, and an experience you’ll remember fondly for the rest of your life. Ryan gave us an insight into what it feels like to have your own officially registered tartan: “It feels very special seeing my tartan online and having pieces made from it. It was such a great way for my family to come together during the wedding and design the tartan together and it feels like we have created something which reflects and celebrates us. It’s such a joy wearing the kilt and everyone we have spoken to can see the amount of work and joy that we put into the tartan design.”
Overall, designing your own tartan is a fun and rewarding experience. It is a great way to express your individuality and create a meaningful symbol that holds historical and personal significance. To start the design process, get in touch to book your initial consultation with us by emailing tartandesign@macgregorandmacduff.co.uk
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