A north-east textile designer hopes she has set a pattern for things to come after her tartan was included on a prestigious national database.
Donna Wilson, from Banff, created Aberdeenshire’s first official tartan in June last year with the help of youngsters from six local primary schools.
She spent a week working with children from Aboyne, Dales Park in Peterhead, Kintore, Lochpots School in Fraserburgh, Meldrum, Auchterellon and Mill O’Forest, who were tasked with choosing a colour which best represented the area they live in.
The tartan is made up of copper (the colour of whisky from the Glen Garioch distillery) a pinky red (the colour of Stonehaven’s strong sunsets), a frosty green (representing the lichen in Aboyne’s Ladywood Forest) forest green (for the woodlands in Kintore) and lilac blue and minty green (for the seas, spray and skies on the northern coast).
It features on a range of products to promote Aberdeenshire abroad.
The plaid has now been recognised on the Scottish Government’s official Register of Tartans, which was established in 2008.
Donna, 37, who now operates her own design business in London, said she was “delighted” to receive the accolade.
She said: “I think that it’s great that the tartan has been recognised like this and it makes me really proud to have been involved.
“I had never designed a tartan before and I’m not really a weaver so it was a bit of a learning process for me.
“The kids from the local schools were just fantastic, they looked closely at the environment around them and came up with some really creative ideas that they put into presentations.
“Tartan is such an important part of our tradition and heritage, and to be included in the register is a real honour.”