The knitwear industry is part of the heritage of Scotland, where a tradition in textiles manufacturing goes back two centuries. Cashmere Clothing and knitted accessories such as Cashmere Gloves are a major and growing sector of the Scottish textiles industry, combining traditional skills with contemporary design and practical applications. Design is key and accessories such as Cashmere Gloves can be anything from a basic glove for men and women, to gloves with long, elegant cuffs, button fastenings and all sorts of fabulous colour combinations and patterns. The warmth and comfort of a Cashmere Glove made in Scotland is world renowned and with good reason appears on the catwalks of international fashion shows with great regularity.

To that huge international family of Scots and their descendants - estimated at 60 million around the globe – Scottish tartan represents everything that is admirable and wholesome about the `land of their fathers`. Scottish Tartan is the only textile design in the world of which a tiny scrap can evoke such feelings of pride, such identification with the historical struggles of Scots and identification with those desirable traits associated with being Scottish - honesty, industriousness and bravery in battle. An old Gaelic proverb says `Remember the men from whence you came.` and there is no-one more proud to do this than the Scots. There is so much more to Scottish Tartan and the history behind each design and the colours that contribute to it, that a whole industry has developed to allow people to trace their roots and claim their tartan.

The Scottish Borders is home to famous brands such as Pringle of Scotland and Lochcarron of Scotland manufacturing everything from Tartan Cloth to clothing and wool accessories. Scotlands manufacturers of Tartan Cloth are renowned for producing the best in the world, and the softness of the water in the Scottish Borders is said to make the extra difference to the finish of the Cloth. This Tartan Cloth then goes on to be used for upholstery and soft furnishings, and garments such as of course the famous Scottish Kilt.

The distinctive patterned cloth known as tartan is part of the national dress of Scotland, but what are its origins? Tartan Fabric is now widely used around the world, not only for clothing, but also for a variety of other decorative and commercial purposes – souvenirs, curtains, drapes and upholstery fabrics for example. No-one is even able to say with certainty exactly where the word tartan itself came from. Some believe it is derived from the French word tiretaine, which referred to an amount of material, and there is no doubt that the most distinctive Scottish garment of today, the kilt, is derived from a large piece of patterned Tartan Fabric. Another school of thought suggests that the word tartan is derived from the Spanish word tartana, which referred to fine quality cloth, and few would dispute that today`s Scottish Tartan Fabric is indeed a cloth of particularly fine quality.

There are over 16,000 Scottish surnames, but fewer than 3000 of these are of Highland origin and associated with clans. The majority of Scots throughout history lived in the Lowlands and you may need a Tartan Finder to help you trace your origins. Mac is part of many Scottish surnames and simply means `son` and if you look at a list of Scottish Tartans you will certainly see a proliferation of Mac`s, often abbreviated to Mc or even M. Of course as any good Tartan Finder will demonstrate there are not just Scottish tartans to contend with, there are Irish and Welsh tartans also. The colours of the regions of each country are reflected in the tartans and if you are searching for particular colours in a tartan, rather than by clan or surname, many companies and websites now supply a Tartan Finder by colour to help you

The 1960s saw the appearance of the short waist skimming mini dresses and mini skirts set 6 or 7 inches above the knee. Mary Quant is credited with making popular the mini skirt, a style that had not taken off when it made its earlier debut. And so each nation has taken the Mini Skirt and made it its own. The Tartan Mini Skirt or Mini Kilt belongs to Scotland and retains its popularity despite changes in fashion trends. Stars such as Madonna and Shakira snapped in Mini Kilt`s boosted the popularity of the Tartan Mini Skirt and moved tartan from the punk domain to a sought after high street fashion item. These days the striking colours of popular tartans such as the reds of the Stewart Royal Tartan are made up into Tartan Mini Skirts across the world.

Beautiful ribbons, once only affordable by the nobility of the French society in the 17th century, are now experiencing renewed interest and adoration. In Scotland the manufacturer`s of Tartan Ribbon have benefited from this trend. Throughout our lives, ribbons are associated with special moments, birthday packages dressed with ribbons hint of the treasures to be found inside and bridal flowers and accessories with flowing ribbon streamers add to the promise of a happy future. With the rise of Scotland as a wedding destination Tartan Ribbon is being used more and more in wedding bouquets, to decorate tables and venues, and even for bridal cars. Whereas previously only a few different tartans were available brides and tartan lovers around the world can now benefit from a wide range of polyester Tartan Ribbon manufactured to a very high standard right here in the UK.

Once skirts had got beyond bearskins and woad, this item of female apparel was the indicator of a woman`s status. A bustle said to your French aristocrat that he had a buxom (well-fed) mistress, while layers of impenetrable petticoats indicated to a Victorian gentleman that this woman was on a pedestal, and he should be looking up. These days we have A-line skirts, pencil skirts, mini skirts, pleated skirts and of course if you are a Scottish male you can wear a Kilt. The Kilt is in essence a pleated Tartan Skirt, made of heavyweight worsted wool, with a flat front and buckles to fasten it. The mens kilt has been adapted for women and the ladies tartan kilt skirt is made in the traditional way, but from a lighter weight wool fabric. Most of the Scottish manufacturers ladies Tartan Skirt in either in a mini skirt length or for more mature ladies they can be made below the knee. Or for those not keen on the kilt style you can of course just use some of the beautiful tartan fabrics available and go for a Tartan Skirt in any style you like.