Did you guys know that today is actually the official Tartan Day?! Its a real holiday! And I don’t mean it like the calendars that call everyday National Somethingorother Day. This is a real holiday celebrated in North America to mark the signing of Declaration of Arboath, which is the Scottish Declaration of Independence. It was signed in 1320, and started being recognized as a marked holiday in the mid 1980s.
You’ve probably noticed I’ve been really digging into plaids recently, making blankets of tartans, as well as other plaid patterns. I am really enjoying it! So its pretty cool to have a day where I’ll be able to centre on tartans in general 🙂
A LOT of love goes into these tartans. But at least in my opinion, it is SO worth it.
This is the tartan I did most recently.
Im in the process of one right now that I began while I was away at the retreat on the weekend. So, being that its tartan day, I figured I’d show you the unfinished product so you can see what all goes into it! Detail time!!
First, we have what I call the base of the blanket.
I know. It looks like it should be a complete blanket here, but it isn’t. Its actually more like a grid. Its 120 rows of spaces. This took ALL weekend to make. Hours on hours on hours. Its not quick.
Chains are next. Chains are a labour of love.
For this blanket, I need 93 chains. Since I have already started and measured up, I need each chain to be roughly 220 stitches long. So I have the pleasure of counting to 220 ninety-three times. As if I needed to say it, its also not quick. For this current plaid, I’m using these colors. I did all the black ones first because the darker the color, the harder to see, therefore the hardest to work with. Got them out of the way 🙂
Then I have to weave all the tassels through. If I really give ‘er and do it in one shot, it takes around 3 hours. Once they’re done, the body of the blanket is done.
Then there are tassels to cut. Ninety-three for each side. But two for each spot. So 372 all together. Then I have to tie them on.
And then I have to twist them, or braid them, or whatever the customer wants. That takes another few hours.
You can see why I have to charge for these suckers, right? Its definitely not super complicated, but its tedious. It takes time. The only complicated part is rebuilding the plaid on a graph so I can nail down the exact design before I start. That gets a little mathy.
Conveniently, I really enjoy making these plaid blankets 💜 I’ve really appreciated all the positive feedback along the way as well! Thank you, friends, for your support and care!