I have been doing some research on weavers in colonial times. An indigo dyed blue cloth similar to denim (actually called denim or jean) was made in England and Scotland as a strong work cloth. So this may be what the McKays and Boyds were weaving back in mid 1700s in Frederick, MD.
My Scot ancestor (not Boyd) brought Flax seeds over & planted them in PA, then his son took Flax seeds to West Va. They made linen out of Flax, and the women made dresses out of Lindsey-Woolsey...a combination of linen & wool. Jan ----- Original Message ----- From: <agfoster@headscheme.com> To: <CLANBOYD-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2005 8:36 PM Subject: Re: [Boyd] weaving in Scotland > I have been doing some research on weavers in colonial times. An indigo > dyed blue cloth similar to denim (actually called denim or jean) was > made in England and Scotland as a strong work cloth. So this may be > what the McKays and Boyds were weaving back in mid 1700s in Frederick, > MD. > > > ==== CLANBOYD Mailing List ==== > RING OF BOYDS http://k.webring.com/wrman?ring=clanboydwebring&addsite > > http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=boyd-trees > > >
I would also guess that blue was a hard color to make, since they used a lot of plants etc to make colors. When you look at a lot of the original Tartan colors that were plant dyed you don't see much blue. Maybe that's why blue became a sign of quality, etc. -----Original Message----- From: agfoster@headscheme.com [mailto:agfoster@headscheme.com] Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2005 10:36 PM To: CLANBOYD-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [Boyd] weaving in Scotland I have been doing some research on weavers in colonial times. An indigo dyed blue cloth similar to denim (actually called denim or jean) was made in England and Scotland as a strong work cloth. So this may be what the McKays and Boyds were weaving back in mid 1700s in Frederick, MD. ==== CLANBOYD Mailing List ==== RING OF BOYDS http://k.webring.com/wrman?ring=clanboydwebring&addsite http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=boyd-trees
Licenses for growing indigo were valuable. My wool skirt for the Boyd Sept has a very pretty blue background. I don't know how old the tartan is, but it is simple so it may be an old design. I assume the original was dyed with something like indigo or other blue natural dye. Anna Grace On Aug 14, 2005, at 11:04 AM, Karen McMillan wrote: > I would also guess that blue was a hard color to make, since they used > a lot > of plants etc to make colors. When you look at a lot of the original > Tartan > colors that were plant dyed you don't see much blue. Maybe that's why > blue > became a sign of quality, etc. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: agfoster@headscheme.com [mailto:agfoster@headscheme.com] > Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2005 10:36 PM > To: CLANBOYD-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [Boyd] weaving in Scotland > > I have been doing some research on weavers in colonial times. An indigo > dyed blue cloth similar to denim (actually called denim or jean) was > made in England and Scotland as a strong work cloth. So this may be > what the McKays and Boyds were weaving back in mid 1700s in Frederick, > MD. > > > ==== CLANBOYD Mailing List ==== > RING OF BOYDS http://k.webring.com/wrman?ring=clanboydwebring&addsite > > http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=boyd- > trees > > > > ==== CLANBOYD Mailing List ==== > RING OF BOYDS http://k.webring.com/wrman?ring=clanboydwebring&addsite > > http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=boyd- > trees >