Tartan Name: Sett

Any tartan Family Name can have a number of different Setts (or patterns) sometimes associated with different occasions (though there is no rule limiting their wear to these occasions!). For example, many clans have a ‘Hunting‘ tartan and a ‘Dress‘ tartan in addition to their general clan tartan. But there are many more such variants, sometimes simply named after the year in which they were first produced.

A tartan’s ‘Sett’ is what makes it unique. This is the ‘thread count’ that defines it - the sequence and number of coloured threads which produces that tartan’s distinct look when woven in criss-crossing vertical and horizontal stripes. Legally, each different sett is a different tartan (which can then be woven in different colourways or shades, and in different materials).