Chosen Fabric

After ordering the fabric sample I have spent the last week, trying to match the Mackenzie hunting tartan. I had no luck in London or in the local area as the brown and green is a muted colour and was hard to find a good match. Most shops also did not know the weight of the fabrics, though I  over came this as I had my 13oz tartan to compare them to.

 I phoned the supplier of the tartan, who were able to provide me with details of a mill that specialize in matching the tartans to the plain wools, as well as being 'Scotland's last artisan tartan weavers'. They also do the Mackenzie reproduction fabric which is the hunting tartan, which would have been worn historically and would give the best match. I have chosen to do it in brown, though I could have chosen any colour on the tartan. I also managed to find the fabric surprisingly cheap at £20.99 from a different supplier in Scotland. As I am ordering through the internet I've asked for a sample first, though due to the Easter holidays and bank holiday the orders are slow, and ideally I would like to start making my costume next week. So instead of ordering samples I have just ordered the fabric. This is estimated to be delivered by Thursday 12th April.

Here are some photos of the my fabric, taken from the D.C. Dalglish website (this is the mill, and is not where I have brought my fabric from) :

The plain is for the jacket and the tartan for the trousers.

After doing the research into the Mackenzie clan it aided me in the choosing of the fabric (Mackenzie hunting tartan and muted brown) and button (stag horn due to the Mackenzie's relation with the stag and their clan badge). It has also given me a great sense historically of the Mackenzie's tartan, past and fashion. I hope to bring my research into my costume to give it a true historical feel.