Cape Breton Island Canada Tartan Collection
Cape Breton Island Tartan Collection
Celebrate Cape Breton Island with its own tartan — black for the coal, grey for the steel, green for the highlands and gold for the sun setting over the Bras d'Or lakes.
- Featured
- Most relevant
- Best selling
- Alphabetically, A-Z
- Alphabetically, Z-A
- Price, low to high
- Price, high to low
- Date, old to new
- Date, new to old
About the Cape Breton Island Tartan
The Cape Breton Island tartan was designed in 1957 by Elizabeth Grant, and its colours follow the lines of a poem by the Cape Breton writer Lillian Crewe Walsh, in which each shade is given a meaning drawn from the island itself.
It is a district tartan rather than a clan sett: it belongs to the island and to everyone connected with it, so no Scottish surname is needed. For an island where Gaelic was the everyday language of whole communities, it has become a much-loved emblem.
Cape Breton Tartan Pattern and Colours
Each colour carries its meaning: black for the coal that was mined here for generations, grey for the Cape Breton steel, green for the highlands, valleys and fields, and gold for the sunsets shining on the Bras d'Or lakes.
Cape Breton Heritage
Cape Breton lies at the north-eastern end of Nova Scotia, an island of highlands, sea cliffs and the great inland sea of the Bras d'Or. From the late eighteenth century it received a wave of Highland Scots, many of them cleared from Scotland, who settled the glens and shores in such numbers that Gaelic became the common speech of the island for well over a century.
Coal and steel built the industrial towns around Sydney, and the mines and mills shaped generations of island families — a history the tartan itself records in its black and grey. Cape Breton fiddle music, step dance and Gaelic song carried the old tradition into the modern age, and are known today far beyond Canada.
Who Is This Collection For?
This collection is made for Cape Bretoners at home and away, Highland Scots descendants, Gaelic speakers and learners, fiddlers and dancers, mining and steel families and anyone who wants a tartan that names the island.
- ✓ Cape Breton families at home and away
- ✓ Highland Scots and Gaelic heritage
- ✓ Bras d'Or and Sydney connections
- ✓ Fiddle music and step dance
- ✓ Canadian ancestry gifts
- ✓ Grey, black and green style
How to Wear Cape Breton Tartan
Cape Breton tartan works well across caps, shirts, hoodies, scarves, ties, jackets, blankets and keepsake gifts. Its sober grey and black palette is unusually easy to pair, and suits both ceilidh nights and everyday wear.
Cape Breton Tartan FAQ
Quick answers about the Cape Breton Island tartan, who may wear it and what its colours mean.
Is the Cape Breton tartan a clan tartan?
No — it is a district tartan for the island, so anyone with a Cape Breton connection may wear it.
Who designed it and when?
Elizabeth Grant designed it in 1957, with colours following a poem by the Cape Breton writer Lillian Crewe Walsh.
What do the colours mean?
Black for coal, grey for steel, green for the highlands and valleys, and gold for the sunsets on the Bras d'Or lakes.
Why is Cape Breton so Scottish?
Large numbers of Highland Scots settled the island from the late eighteenth century, and Gaelic was the common speech for generations.
Is Gaelic still spoken there?
Yes — Cape Breton retains a living Gaelic tradition, with speakers, learners, song and music.
Who can wear the Cape Breton tartan?
Anyone with roots in or affection for the island — it belongs to the place, not to a family.
Wear the Cape Breton Island Tartan
Discover Cape Breton tartan clothing, accessories and gifts — coal black, steel grey and the gold of the Bras d'Or sunset.
View Cape Breton Tartan