From the Pasture to Your Wardrobe

Our products begin where all things tartan rightly should; in the glens
and on the hillsides of Scotland. There, where the damp British Isles cold
permeates the landscape, free ranging sheep grow an especially dense warm fleece.

Come springtime, dog and shepherd gather these hardy animals into stone moorland holding pens for sheering. The best wool is selected for the Lochcarron Mill in the tiny Borders town of Selkirk.

There, skilled craftspeople weave it into Maine State Tartan© fabric. Before leaving the mill, every centimeter of fabric is inspected by “finishers”. Any irregularities are identified and corrected by hand, using nothing more than a needle and thread.

Then, in the workroom of our rural farmhouse we produce our fine products.

We could finish the raw edges of our scarves using a serger that cuts and binds in one operation.  We think that French seams look and wear better, even though they require three sewing operations per seam. Between the second and third folding, all excess fabric is painstakingly removed with small razor-sharp appliqué scissors. Time consuming?  Certainly – but it makes the seams neater and tidier.

The slipstitch we use in lieu of machine stitching twists the thread. This ultimately causes the front
of the necktie to curl. To prevent this, we straighten the thread every ten or so stitches. Tedious?
Yes. Necessary? You bet!

Before leaving our workrooms, each item is subjected to rigorous inspections and just like the finishers in Scotland, we hand correct any minor flaws with needle and thread. Infrequently, a piece will not pass muster and cannot be made right.  It is discarded. We do not offer price-cut “seconds” When an item is deemed to meet our highest standard, it is ready for shipment from our home to yours.

These are but a few examples of the attention to detail  we lavish on our products. We know that you can buy a similar looking item produced overseas for a lower price at innumerable mass-merchandising outlets. But we also know that you want the best. We want the honor of providing it to you.

Wear your Tartans of Maine product with pride; knowing that from the sheep and all the way to your wardrobe, every step of its creation has been honest and organic. Skilled craftspeople have contributed their particular expertise and dignity to it.