Traditional Handicraft in the UK

We have looked at the traditional costume of Scotland.

Tartan is famous world-wide and people in many countries

are proud to wear it when they know their forefathers

came from Scotland. It has been made in the Scottish

Highlands for a very long time and is easily recognised

with its brightly coloured stripes and bands The famous

Scottish kilt originated in the Highlands as an untailored, 5

metre-long piece of cloth that was belted at the waist. At

the end of day, the belt could be unbuckled to transform it

into a warm covering for the night. Over time, the design

evolved to become more practical and the pleated, skirt-

like garment that we know today was created in the mid-

18th century. It grew in popularity after being chosen by

Highland regiments serving with the British Army.

The Shepherd or Border plaid

is the official tartan of the

county of Northumberland.

Originally woven with the nat-

ural black and white sheep's

wool of local herds

We noticed that the costumes that use tartan were

used in traditional Scottish dancing. We tested how

long a skirt should be measuring material lengths on

ourselves. We also made shawls and capes

Once again we looked at the shapes in the material and no-

ticed the diamonds and squares that feature in tartan patterns.

We tried to draw them accurately but found it difficult. We saw

that weaving makes a close and solid pattern.

We tried creating a pattern using paint and overlapping lines. It

had to be painted carefully to show the weaving effect. We also

took strips of paper and tried the weaving technique on paper.

This gave us abetter idea of the technique for weaving.

We made small kilts with woven pieces of ribbon.. Then we added

accessories such as the sporran—a small container which hangs

from the kilt.

We made our own

tartan using our

favourite colours.

Then we dressed

a figure in our kilt