Edinburgh: Tartan Design Workshop with an Artisan Kiltmaker｜United Kingdom

With the help of an Artisan Kiltmakers working with you on a computer with a professionnal software, design a meaningful tartan — whether to celebrate family heritage, mark a personal milestone, or give shape to an idea that matters.
Rooted in tradition yet entirely personal, this experience blends cultural insight, textile expertise, and creative collaboration.

Your session takes place in a room of the beautiful building of the French Institute of Scotland in Edinburgh Old Town, where you’ll be welcomed with tea and shortbreads. Over the course of up to three hours, you will be guided step by step through the creation of your tartan.
We will produce a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) of your future tartan together. A few weeks after the experience, you will receive a printed version of the CAD and the registration certificate that authentificates the registration of your tartan to the Scottish Register of Tartans.

What can you expect during your tartan design session?

We start with an introduction to tartans:
What is a tartan? How is it constructed? How do you read its structure and symbolism?

You then select the colours of your future tartan.
We'll make you choose between 3 to 6 colours — typically one or two primary tones, and a selection of minor or contrasting shades. We will help you make the right decision and give you advice.

You’ll then be presented with a range of pre-constructed design layouts (developed in advance by us), based on your colour count. You will select one to develop further.
Your chosen colours are applied to the design for an initial visualisation.
We’ll adjust the scale and structure of the tartan based on your feedback — including resizing blocks or lines, adding or removing minor details to achieve balance.
We’ll produce a computer-aided design (CAD) of your tartan.
You will be able to request as many modifications as the duration of the workshop (up to 3 hours in total) will allow for.
Finally, the design you select is refined and confirmed by signing a design approval document.

At the end of the session, you'll receive a digital version of the CAD of your tartan design.
A few weeks after the session, you'll receive by post, a printed version of the CAD and the registration certificate.