Tartan fabrics and cloth for every use from upholstery to home furnishings, clothing to table decoration. Discover our quality fabrics woven by specialist suppliers here in Scotland. Swatches available if you would like to check colours and quality prior to ordering. Order from as little as 0.3m
Available in a range of tartans and weights, our pure wool fabric is traditionally woven in Scotland by mills with hundreds of years of history and expertise. Whether you are creating your dream outfit, looking for some interior inspiration or you want to renovate your vintage car, there is guaranteed to be a tartan fabric to suit your needs. If you'd like to sample fabrics or check colours before committing to your order, our Tartan Fabric Swatches are the perfect option. Alternatively, if you would like to order your tartan fabric by the metre, you can do so from as little as 0.3m.
Tartan is traditionally made from woven wool, though it can also be made from other fabrics including polyviscose and cotton. Tartan is the pattern rather than the fabric. At ScotlandShop we have many different weights of wool tartan fabric, suitable for everything from clothing to soft furnishings and upholstery. There are 5 basic types of fabric or cloth: silk, cotton, linen, wool and worsted. All other fabrics are derived from these. There are then 3 types of woven fabric: plain weave, satin weave and twill weave. All of our tartan fabrics are twill weave, except the 8oz which is plain weave.
The main difference between plaid and tartan designs lies in their association. Plaid refers to any woven design with crisscrossing horizontal and vertical lines where as Tartan refers to a unique pattern associated with a specific clan, organisation or location.
Unlike traditional tartans made from wool, tartan cotton is a lightweight, machine washable fabric made from 100% cotton.
We recommend the 13oz, 14oz or 16oz wool for upholstery. These fabrics are hard wearing and can withstand commercial use. A cheaper option is the polyviscose fabric. Wool fabrics have the added bonus of being naturally fire retardant to domestic standards.
All natural materials, such as pure wool, are more resistant to pilling as they are made from long fibres. Pilling is completely normal and will go away once the excess loose fibres are removed, and it doesn't affect the durability of your fabric. To easily remove pills, use a fabric comb or battery-operated pill remover.
Ever wondered how our beautiful Scottish tartan fabric is woven? Well you're in luck as Anna and Monja are here to fill you in on every little detail of the process, from the production to each of the different weights of cloth and of course what you should use your fabric for.
As most of our customers live a long way away and can't take a tour round a Scottish weaving mill we have created the story of the process here on the blog. Learn how your beautiful tartan is woven from the spinning and dying of the yarn, to warping and wefting, finishing and the detailed quality control process required to guarantee you a perfect piece of cloth.
Have you ever wondered what actually happens at the finishers? Well we're here to tell you all about it. After a lengthy production process (winding, dyeing, warping, weaving and darning), the tartan is sent to the finishers, where it will then be transformed from a piece of rough and oily woven cloth to a beautifully finished material ready for use.
You might be wondering what the tartan terminology across the ScotlandShop website actually means? What makes a Modern tartan and where did Hunting and Dress come from? We're here to give you the answers. The Fraser tartan is an example of a tartan which has many variations and in this blog, we take an in-depth look at each one to clear up any confusion you might have.
