Tabliers en tartan

A bib apron for cooking, since most splashes and spills land above the waist and a waist apron leaves the chest exposed. A waist apron for serving, baking and workshop use, where you want completely free movement at the arms and are not standing over a pan. If you are buying one, take the bib.

Yes, provided you choose a district, regional or universal tartan rather than guessing at a family sett. Getting a clan tartan wrong is awkward in a way that a neutral tartan never is. If you do want their family sett, ask someone in the family rather than working from a surname.

Yes, because the pattern is woven into the cloth rather than printed on the surface, so it cannot wash off or crack the way a print does. Wash warm rather than hot, avoid bleach entirely, and hang to dry. Expect it to soften over time without losing colour.

The neck strap on a bib apron adjusts by buckle or slider on most styles so the bib sits where you want it. Waist ties are cut long enough to bring round and tie at the front, which is more comfortable when standing at a counter and makes the apron easier to put on alone.

Yes. Set your sett at checkout from over 5000 clan, district and fashion tartans. If your surname is not listed, try spelling variants first, since standardised spelling is modern, then send us the name and we will check whether it is a sept of a larger clan. An apron in the host sett suits a Burns supper particularly well.

Premium acrylic woven to the sett, chosen because it takes repeated washing and holds colour where a printed cotton apron fades within a year. The cloth is heavy enough to protect and light enough to wear through a long evening. Both faces show the same sett, so there is no wrong side. They pair with tartan tableware in the same sett.