The Cole – Dale Tartan

When Tessa Cole and Ian Dale decided that they were to get married, Tessa's mother Beryl (a resident of Audlem and a weaver) got to work on a textile design – a woven tartan heart panel for the wedding invitations.

Both Tessa and Ian studied at Edinburgh University and now live and work in Scotland so a Tartan seemed appropriate.

It was decided that the colours to be used in the pattern should follow the colours found in Tessa's engagement ring.

A period of intensive sampling then started with yarn being dyed, small trial warps being wound and sample pieces of cloth travelling up the M6. Colours and spacings for the design were finally agreed and the initial production phase started.

White yarn soaking for days was then transformed into the 6 different colours needed for the cloth leaving the kitchen unavailable for its normal purpose for many hours. The warp was wound and threaded onto the loom and over a few days enough tartan was woven to allow work on the invitation cards to be started.

Everyone was delighted with the result; many more uses for the tartan were proposed – so round the process again for a longer length of tartan cloth.

At this point it was realised that the tartan could perhaps be registered under the Scottish Government scheme to encourage the development of tartans. Forms were completed and money changed hands: was the Cole – Dale tartan unique or had this precise colour combination been claimed elsewhere?

The answer arrived with confirmation of the registration and the certificate of registration shown in the photograph with a small piece of the cloth. So no matter what the result of any future Scottish independence referendum Tessa and Ian should be allowed to remain in the country wearing or displaying their own tartan as often as they wish.

The formal registration has of course generated requests for more tartan and the dyeing and weaving process is underway again.

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