A tartan is a plaid pattern design with special cultural significance, usually used to represent one’s community and heritage and most famously associated with Scottish and Irish kilts. We designed the Searsport tartan, officially adopted by the town in October of 2024, to foster community identity and provide a unifying banner for all people who love Searsport to wear or have in their homes and businesses. Regardless of origin or heritage, everyone is welcome to wear this tartan and celebrate being a welcome part of the community. Wear it while relaxing at home, going to the grocery store, or even attending a festival like the Maine Celtic Celebration that happens annually in neighboring Belfast. Additionally, please feel free to weave it — it is registered in the Scottish Register of Tartans without restriction, so that anyone may weave it or wear it. Technical details for weaving are further down on this page.

Tartan History and Design Methodology

The town of Searsport, Maine was originally founded by many families of Scottish and Irish descent. The core heritage tradition of the town is seafaring, particularly deep sea captains and businesses to support such ventures.

After months of reviewing town records, artifacts in the Penobscot Marine Museum, and consultation with the Searsport Historic Preservation Commission and the Searsport Historical Society, the 15 founding families who had the most historic impact on the town (in the context of maritime traditions) with Irish or Scottish heritage were identified. Irish and Scottish families were the ones considered, as they are the only ones with tartans to reference.

We used the Scottish Register of Tartans to identify the tartans associated with each family, either based on clan (for Scots) or county affiliation (for Irish).

We then conducted statistical analysis of the original 15 tartans. The thread counts, color palettes, and other composition characteristics were analyzed and compiled. The new tartan’s specific colors and color prevalence were chosen based on percentages of frequency of color families and specific color values in the reference tartans. Additionally, the thread count and composition was produced based on a synthesis of Irish county tartans from the reference tartan pool.

The tartan design was submitted to the elected governing body of the town for approval, was granted that approval, and was adopted as the official town tartan in October of 2024. It is also registered in the Scottish Register of Tartans.

Colors, Thread Count and Weaving Instructions

All tartan fabric traditionally has a 2/2 twill weave structure. The same is true of the Searsport tartan. One sett (pattern repeat) is 340 threads. Each color in the color palette corresponds to a specific hex code and has an official name defined, per the Scottish Register of Tartans, and will be cited below. That being stated, the perception of color can be fairly subjective, so additional names for the same colors and more thorough description will also be provided. We are still working on identifying a wool manufacturer (until we get our textile mill online) who has all the exact right colors in the same weight/fiber — if you find one, please let us know!

We have found the right colors in an 8/2 cotton by Maurice Brassard:

For convenience, here is a link to the Weaving Information File (WIF) for one sett, which has the appropriate hex codes for the color.

The threadcount, in simple color terms is:

4 yellow, 4 brown, 4 yellow, 4 brown 4 yellow, 60 green, 4 red, 4 blue, 4 red, 56 blue, 4 black, 56 blue, 4 red, 4 blue 4 red 60 green (one sett — repeat from beginning as desired)

For those who prefer the system used by the Scottish Register of Tartans, the color palette and thread count are:

K=#101010#BLACK;DR=#880000#DARK RED;AY=#DC943C#ANC YELLOW;DG=#003820#DARK GREEN;A=#5C8CA8#AZURE;DT=#441800#DARK BROWN (Color Palette)

AY4 DT4 AY4 DT4 AY4 DG60 DR4 A4 DR4 A56 K4 A56 K4 A56 DR4 A4 DR4 DG60 (Thread count, one sett)

Lastly, for those who prefer a more thorough description of color, here is the palette and a breakdown of each color:

These color names are the ones associated with the specific hex code.

Anzac Yellow: A warm, golden yellow similar to Goldenrod but slightly darker.

Morocco Brown: A rich, warm (red undertone), dark earthy brown.

Burnham Green: A highly saturated, very dark cold (blue undertone) spring green.

Red Berry: Dark, highly saturated shade of red with a hint of magenta undertone.

Horizon Blue: Pale blue, often described as a light, airy, and soft. Reminiscent of the sky at the horizon, I feel like it has a very slight gray hint.

Deep Night: Extremely dark gray, so near to true black that many may not be able to tell the difference between it and black.

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions!