Just a quick note about yarn dyed fabrics – these are fabrics where the thread is dyed prior to weaving. Sometimes they are called “homespun”, although they are not really spun at home these days of course! This process means the fabrics are soft and drape well and they hold their colour well. It makes them a great choice for garments or quilts.

As a shop based in Scotland we started off selling yarn dyed plaids because they often emulate tartans, although there are not many cotton plaids which actually represent true tartans. In fact, we only have one which could pass as a Royal Stewart tartan, which is this Westfalenstoffe fabric from their “Edinburgh” collection. This is also available as a flannel but not currently in stock (sign up for a stock notification if you are interested). This fabric in made in Germany. Japanese manufacturer Sevenberry does a similar flannel which is great for shirts.

Some of my favourite yarn dyed fabrics are these embroidered ones though, which make great Christmas tablecloths.

If you want true tartans, you could try one of the mills in Scotland, such as Lochcarron (our local one). It will be wool or polyviscose though, not cotton.

We have brushed cotton plaids in various weights, from 150gsm to 250gsm. They tend to be not the cheapest fabrics but as always we only stock good quality fabrics which will not fade in the first wash (do use bleach free deterents though, and use half the recommended dose at a gentle cycle and a lower temperature to save your fabrics and the planet!).

For a new funky collection of woven cotton flannels check out these new Art Gallery Fabrics.

For more lightweight and smaller scale plaids the Sevenberry Classic Plaids are a lovely quality which can be found here.

We have quite a few yarn dyed striped continental style fabrics too, which can be also be found in this section. These are mainly made in Germany or Portugal.

There are a handful of printed checks too, and I have had “tartans” printed for special commissions by costumers, but inevitably the yarn dyed fabrics are best.

I often get asked for such-and-such a tartan in cotton, and I invariably have to point people towards one of the Scottish mills, unless it’s the Royal Stewart they’re after. So, if you do find any named tartans in a cotton or linen fabric, please get in touch as we’d love to stock them!

K