D.C.Dalgliesh was originally set up in Selkirk Scotland in 1947 in a small mill by Dick Coultard Dalgliesh (a leading expert on tartans) in 1947, with his wife Anne. With my father running the business back in Selkirk my mother was off looking for new customers for the newly formed company . Through time we out grew our original premises and so built a new factory in Selkirk that we still occupy today.
In these premises we have always used traditional methods of producing the tartan , starting with small pattern looms that produce cloth 29 inches wide and then eventually with larger looms producing cloth 56 inches wide. This gives us the advantage of producing one of specials for individual customers and also producing larger amounts for people requiring a larger run of tartan for bands and such like. As we use these shuttle looms all the cloth we produce has what is called a natural edge ideal for kilts as the cloth does not need hemmed so when finished the bottom of the kilt lies correctly plus this is the way they have been produced since way back.
Through time and with the help of tartan books we have in our collection (Vestiarium Scoticum , Old And Rare Scottish Tartans by D.W.Stewart to name a few) we have built up one of the largest collections of tartan samples that have been used by various authorities including Dr. Philip Smith from America in his leading set of books.
Today we are still a small family run business and now have a third generation in the company as my son Euan has now joined the company , so with the help of our skilled and trusted workforce (that we owe a lot to) we try to keep quality and customer care as our main aim.
K.R.Dalgliesh
