This tartan is only made by House of Edgar and is part of their “Old and Rare” tartan line. It is not an old tartan (designed in the 1930s), but is rather rare since most Burns wear the Burns Check tartan or the Campbell Clan tartan, as the Burns family is an associated family of the Campbell Clan.

My Tartan Search
When my parents visited Burns country during the mid-1990s, they brought me a Campbell Clan tam as a souvenir. They were unable to find the Burns tartan even within Burns country. Later, in the summer of 2005, after being inspired by a Scottish festival, I began searching for the mysterious Burns tartan.

I found an American importer of Scottish tartans in 2008 who informed me that the mill had only 3 pieces of fabric left in the double-width, one piece was 1.7 yds and the other two pieces were 1.2 yds each. After purchasing the largest piece, my family tartan has been carefully stored in a very special, safe place, thereby preventing anyone from actually appreciate it.

I want to wear it and appreciate it, but I am terrified of cutting it.

What’s it really like, this tartan?
This tartan is a mediumweight 100% Pure New Wool kilting cloth. The tartan itself is 4 colors – red, blue, yellow, green – woven in an even plaid. An even plaid has the same woven striped sequence running in both horizontal and vertical directions, so I have a small advantage with this tartan since even plaids are easier to work with OR SO THEY SAY.

When folded diagonally, an even plaid will line up perfectly.

My Pattern Selection
Today, on the 201st anniversary of Robert Burns’ birth, I declare that I will use and appreciate this tartan this year. I’m thinking of a pencil skirt, with bias-cut side panels. The current (February 2010) issue of Burda has a skirt that just might work. I’ll work on cutting out the pattern tissue and muslin now.

I like the polka-dotted waistband on the Orla Kiely skirt, so I decided to get some polka dots to coordinate with the stripes for the waistband and to cover a matching fabric belt. I couldn’t make up my mind about the polka dot fabric, so I bought two different black, cotton fabrics: some with white, random polka dots, plus some with regularly-spaced polka dotted lines.

Next I re-measured myself and drew out my design on paper. I designed my a-line skirt with four vertical seams, an invisible zipper in the back seam, and a 1½” waistband at the natural waist.

I measured out my pattern pieces on parchment paper, then began cutting fabric. It was simple to sew together.

The most labor-intense part was the fabric-covered belt buckle. I used the instructions from Threads magazine (Issue 119) to make the belt and buckle. I used 1″ belting and a 1½” metal buckle. This technique required slip-stitching the fabric around the outside edge of the belt buckle. The belt matches so well that you can hardly notice it! All my hard work is hidden. This wasn’t really the look I had been going for, so I’ll be forced to wear the belt with jeans to show it off, I guess.

My favorite part about the skirt is the Hong Kong seaming and hemming. Beautiful seams make me happy!