Welcome to the web-based version of the International Tartan Index (ITI) which offers you over 3,700 tartans. The full Master Index contains over 5,500 — many of which are academic versions of the same tartan or obscure unknowns. For simplicity’s sake therefore, we exclude them from this web-based facility. You'll find the notes below helpful so do take a couple of minutes to read them - they give you some useful background.

Historical details
It’s important to realise that frequently the history of many tartans is not necessarily ‘cut and dried’ and that different versions may well exist. The older a tartan, the greater the chances of its origins being obscure or - worse still - distorted and sometimes downright misleading! Such is the world of tartans!

The huge ITI has been compiled from very many sources and its accuracy is only as good as that provided by those sources. What this means is that despite two years of continued research and correcting, it is most certainly not free of inherited inaccuracies and at times, a complete lack of any recorded details at all! We hold out great hope that you, the viewers, will contact us with corrections or additional information on any tartans about which you have a specialist knowledge. Your input will be added to the ongoing research that will continue for very many years.

Threadcounts and colours [Please note that threadcounts for each tartan are only available to Members]
 It also pays to remember that in the early days, thread counts and colours were not carved in stone (or recorded on some fictitious pattern stick). If a weaver didn’t have a particular coloured yarn he would use one as close to it as he could manage. Weavers of old didn’t necessarily stick to rigid thread counts either. These vary with the size of the final sett (i.e. large for kilts, smaller for ties) and as long as the proportions of the tartan remained constant, then the weaver - and the buyer - would be quite happy. For a fuller explanation of thread counts see What's a Threadcount? See also the Threadcount Disclaimer in the right hand column.

Modern weavers
Modern weavers tend to be more disciplined and the thread counts of the same tartan woven by different companies, will on the whole, be very similar if not exact. Their colours, although in the same corner of the spectrum, may also be different - that’s the charm and individuality of tartan and there are no plans to standardise! The only sure way of ordering tartan then, is to do so by reference to a woven swatch from your chosen weaver or, failing that, samples of the yarn that he or she will use.

ITI colours
Because of the colour variations that are possible, those shown in the ITI’s tartan graphics should - unless the notes say otherwise - be regarded as the generic colours i.e. red, green, blue etc., and not necessarily the colours that would be produced by a weaver - which emphasises the importance of never ordering tartan without having seen a woven swatch or the yarn colours.

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Threadcount Disclaimer

The Tartans Authority cannot accept any responsibility whatsoever for the information contained in tartan threadcounts. These have been collected from many different commercial and historical sources and are as accurate as can be reasonably ascertained.

Colour Disclaimer

As mentioned in other sections, the colours used in the tartan graphics should be considered 'generic' colours and on no account should you order a tartan based on colours viewed in any computer. The only safe method is to identify the weaver and request a woven sample or visit a tartan retailer and view the selection of woven samples.

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