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Tartan Ribbon

One of the most frequent enquiries we receive concerns tartan ribbon and many 'brides-to-be' are disappointed when they discover that the particular tartan they want, just isn't woven!

Of the thousands of tartans registered with us, only around 40 are produced in ribbon. This obviously means that for anything other than the most popular tartans already available in ribbon, finding your desired tartan ribbon will normally mean finding the closest alternative.
There are only a couple of large tartan ribbon weavers left in the UK and, rather sadly, none left in Scotland. One is Selectus, who produce "Panda" brand tartan ribbon but now only on 100 metre spools for the fashion industry; the other main one is Berisfords. Please note both only supply to wholesale customers and do not deal direct with the general public. A tiny handful of specialist weavers also survives.
The range of tartan ribbon and widths available changes constantly as new products arrive and older stocks disappear. This table shows the most popular tartans and widths available (correct May 2008) although please contact www.tartan-ribbon.com through the link opposite for the most up-to-date news on availability.

*These tartans / widths are now supplied on 100m reels, although limited stocks of 20m reels may be available.
# These ribbons are not produced under their own names but are very similar to available ribbons, such as the Pride of Bannockburn.
The figures shown under the tartan names are the widths (in millimetres) in which this particular ribbon is produced. If you don't care for foreign measurements, here is a rough comparison:
7mm = 1/4" 10mm = 3/8" 16mm = 5/8" 25mm = 1" 38mm = 1½" 70mm = 2¾"
A 25 metre reel holds approximately 27½ yards.

Availability of tartans in ribbon

If you don't see your desired ribbon among the above - don't despair! Bearing in mind that your use of it may well be in bouquets, buttonholes, favours, flower arrangements or on invitations or the wedding cake, not a great deal of the tartan will be showing and at this small scale, finding a similar alternative always works well. In most cases no-one except a real tartan anorak will notice the difference!
Remember too that, historically, many tartans are connected and appear similar, if not identical... the Sutherland tartans, for example, share similarities with Campbell of Argyll because they were part of the same extended family. The Sutherland 42 is really the "Government Tartan" - what we now refer to as the Black Watch, the 42 referring to them being 42nd Regiment of Foot.
Other tartan ribbons are occasionally available as companies, clan societies, football clubs, universities etc are beginning to commission their own tartan ribbon. Celtic FC, Cornish and Welsh tartan ribbons are now also occasionally available.

Modern tartans

Modern commercial tartans reflect changing fashions as far as colours are concerned and each Highlandwear company jealously guards the design rights to their own tartan so, as a result, several very similar ones have appeared all at the same time.
The best example is probably Pride of Scotland . . . produced by McCalls of Aberdeen and therefore not available through most other Highlandwear companies. In response to demand, other companies have produced their own similar tartans . . . Thistle, Heritage, Spirit of Bannockburn, Freedom, Western Isles, Bute, Isle of Skye, Heather, Scotland's Spirit and so on! There's very little point in producing separate ribbons for each of these very similar tartans, so a generic ribbon like Pride of Bannockburn tends to cover most requests.

Stockists

Most large department stores will stock a limited range of tartan ribbon as will many fabric shops, florists and garden centres. However it's worth noting that since the UK's main manufacturers (Selectus) switched production of ribbon from 20m reels to 100m spools, many of these traditional stockists have not yet succeeded in finding alternative supplies so you may find choice and stock quite limited. More specialist companies are coming into their own, such as www.tartan-ribbon.com, who try to source and stock every tartan ribbon available.

Alternative solution
Although conventional woven polyester ribbon is by far the most popular, mainly because the set of the tartan appears complete regardless how narrow the ribbon, there is an alternative: some specialist weavers can weave lightweight tartan in a small sett (a reduced check size) in over 500 tartans and they can cut them into strips and hem them to prevent fraying. Each strip is 54" (137cm) long and widths range from 1" (2.5cm) to 12" (30cm).
Although an excellent solution for those who "must have" their own tartan, please remember that each length only shows a strip of the tartan, which will normally appear as a series of stripes, and that the weight of the woollen cloth and 1" minimum width normally make it unsuitable for use on small items like cards or wedding favours.

Your own tartan produced in ribbon

Until recently this was possible but hardly likely, as the minimum order was 26,000 metres - a mere 16+ miles! However, new manufacturing methods are allowing some specialist companies to offer the opportunity to have your own clan tartan ribbon produced in much smaller lengths... from as little as 500 metres. Even this may sound a lot but (especially for weddings) most can often be used up with invitations, flowers, favours and so on ... plus it's always nice to keep some aside as no doubt other family members will want some at a future date.
This costs from around £495, so at £1 per metre is not really any more than buying many other tartan ribbon. Some people have taken the idea one step further and actually designed their own, brand new tartan, especially to celebrate a wedding or anniversary, to mark the birth of a child or for their company, charity or other organisation. Why not try your hand at designing a new tartan? Check out the fantastic interactive tartan designer and find out how to register the new tartan and have it produced in ribbon.
Another alternative is to have your tartan designed for you by the Scottish Tartans Authority ( Design Dept. ) or any of the major weavers. There is of course a fee for that service but as the world's leading specialists, the Authority receives many commissions from individuals, families, companies, royalty and even countries! The Authority works with www.tartan-ribbon.com who are more than happy to handle enquiries and answer any of our visitors' questions about tartan ribbon. Click on their advert for contact details.

The following ribbon weavers welcome wholesale enquiries ONLY.
Berisfords of Congleton, Cheshire (Tel: 01260 274011) www.berisfords-ribbons.co.uk
Selectus of Biddulph, Stoke-on-Trent who produce 'Panda' ribbons (Tel: 01782 522316) www.selectus.co.uk

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