WITCHES of SCOTLAND Tartan

The creation of the WITCHES of SCOTLAND tartan

In 2023 Claire attended the V & A Dundee Tartan event and was blown away by the dazzling array of tartans and stories that people told about them : some told of family names, clans, places that meant things to them. It was then she realised that tartan could be used as a living memorial to remember those people, mostly women, killed as witches, honouring their history and reminding us in the 21st century that we can and should do better, that misogynistic violence against women is not an inevitability and that we all need to work towards its eradication.

Zoe and Claire spoke to Leonie Bell, Director of the V & A who told us that the woman we wanted to speak to was Clare at Prickly Thistle. A woman who had brought back the tartan business to the Highlands of Scotland.

Clare was an inspired choice, and, in collaboration with her the Witches of Scotland tartan was designed, incorporating the colours and the threads with the story of the Witches of Scotland.

We registered the design with Clare’s help with the The Scottish Register of Tartans which sets out the details of the symbolism. This tartan is owned by Witches of Scotland and we have granted exclusive permission to Prickly Thistle to make it. We want to support the women of Scotland and bring you authentic tartan, made as it ever was, direct from the heart of the Highlands. We are not granting authority for anyone else to make the tartan at this time.

The symbolism behind the WITCHES of SCOTLAND tartan

The black & grey colours are intended to represent both the dark times of this period and ashes of those burned. It also incorporates red & pink colours, symbolic of the legal tapes used to bind papers both during that time and now.

The threadcount of this design incorporates the years 1563 and 1736, represented as single entries, 1+5+6+3 = 15 and 1+7+3+6 = 17. These are shown in black and grey surrounding a white check of 3 threads, these threads represent the core objectives of the organisation, which are to ensure a pardon, an apology and memorials are achieved.

The large black section of 173 threads is intended to represents the 173 years of darkness and red & pink sections are repeated 3 times, for the 3 prime objectives of the Witches of Scotland organisation.

The making of the WITCHES of SCOTLAND tartan

We had thought that we would take a few months to work out how we would get the cash together to get some tartan made, but the day it was registered some eagle eyed tartan fan posted about it on social media and it went viral!

We immediately jumped into action and set up a kickstarter to pay for the first batch - we thought if we got £5,000 worth of pledges we would be able to make some scarves… Within a day we had £70,000 worth of pledges and we asked Clare if she could make more - another batch pledge £70,000 was put on and again sold out in a day! The first batch is being made and will be delivered in April/May of this year, the next batch will be July.

How can I get WITCHES of SCOTLAND tartan now?

The Kickstarter was far, far beyond anything we ever imagined would happen - and we are now being asked to make more and more! So : We can confirm that Prickly Thistle is currently set to have a Witches of Scotland loom working full time the rest of the year and is likely to have a second loom in 2026 too. We can confirm that we will be making the tartan for the foreseeable future, so please don’t panic that you will miss out!

Tartan is the opposite of fast fashion, it is made by Prickly Thistle (15 women and one man) who are creating beautiful items that will last a lifetime and beyond - it is our hope that this tartan will be cherished and passed down through future generations that they too may learn the stories of our ancestors. For this year we are making scarves, throws and A4 pieces. We are going to start making kilts too this year and in the future, probably 2026, we are looking at supplying tartan in small batches for folk to make their own items, again, please bear with us - we are all at the very start of what we hope is a very long tartan journey. Each piece of tartan that leaves Prickly Thistle is authenticated by Zoe and Claire, so you know you have the real thing.

Sign up to our mailing list at the foot of this page to be informed as soon as the next lot is available for sale.

Can't wait to get your hands on the tartan?

If you simply cannot wait to get your hands on the tartan - and we know how you feel, our publishers have come up with an interim solution! Our book : How to kill a witch : a Guide for the Patriarchy is going to have the tartan pattern (not the fabric!) under the dust sheet - so that when you take the dust sheet off you have a Witches of Scotland tartan book! We love the idea of taking the book cover off and folk being out and about and seeing it, thinking IYKYK - thats a Clan Witches of Scotland member. The book details the history of witchcraft accusations in Scotland, and includes our precis of documents written a tthe time including Newes from Scotland and Daemonology Book 11 on Witches. The book travels to the present day and what we need to do to keep witchcraft accusations from happening again. You can get your copy in the UK here …. Our US /Canada publisher is still to confirm whether or not they can do the tartan pattern, and we will let you know as soon as we do!

Who can wear tartan?

We are often asked “I’m not Scottish can I wear tartan” and the answer is a resounding YES! Tartan is made to be inclusive - to allow folk to show their connection together. Anybody and everybody can wear the tartan of their choice.

How do I join Clan WITCHES of SCOTLAND?

We are also asked “How can I join Clan Witches of Scotland” and the answer is simple. If you agree with the ideas of the Witches of Scotland Campaign, and you too are determined to speak out as a quarrelsome dame (that includes the men too!) against institutional inequality and the ever present and increasing of misogyny in society then welcome, you are part of Clan Witches of Scotland. Sign up to our mailing list at the foot of this page to stay updated with news about our work.