Raasay Tartan
THE CREATION OF A ISLE OF RAASAY TARTAN
The design and official registration of our own ‘Isle of Raasay Tartan’.
An off-shoot from a community art project which on display in the community hall was the design and official registration of our own ‘Isle of Raasay Tartan’. The rationale behind it was that, while the historical significance of the Macleods of Raasay is recognised, many of the present day islanders have no affiliation to the Clan MacLeod, and certainly the vast majority of visitors to the island have no connection with any clan. It was felt that having our own tartan would be useful in several areas of island life and would be a focus both for our crafters and for those who visit Raasay. While the art project was in progress, four different tartan patterns were designed, using six colours (six is the maximum number of colours recommended for tartan designs).
: a deep blue for the sea in summer;
: a pale blue for the evening sky;
: a dark green for the many conifers on the island;
: a pale green for the colour of the moorland much of the year;
: a purple for the heather in bloom in the early autumn… and finally
: sienna – the colour of the red deer which wander the island.
The four new patterns were presented to the islanders, put on display in the community shop, and over a period of three weeks a vote was taken. There was one overwhelming favourite – the predominantly dark green one – and a 4.5 m length of the tartan was woven here on the island and draped as part of the community art project on display in our community hall
Isle of Raasay
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Photos credits: Calum Gillies , David Carslaw , Hannah Moore. Copywriting: Linsay MacLean.