The California State Tartan is the official tartan

Tartan

Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...

 of the State

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

Created July 23, 2001 and defined under law in California state government code 424.3,

(a) The tartan defined in subdivision (b) is the official State Tartan, and may be claimed by any resident of the state.

(b) The official State Tartan is generally described as a pattern or sett consisting of alternate squares of meadow-green and Pacific blue that are separated and surrounded by narrow charcoal bands. The squares of meadow-green are divided by a gold seam that is supported by charcoal lines on each side. There are three redwood stripes, the middle of which is broader, that are added to each side of the gold seam. The Pacific blue square is divided by a sky-blue stripe, which is supported on each side by charcoal lines.

The tartan is specifically defined by the following weave code:
Y..B..G...S..G...S..G...S..G...B...A...B..K... Ancient Colors
8..2..20..4..20..8..20..4..20..32..56..2..8... Full Pivots

This weave code means that the threads begin with 8 threads of yellow, followed by 2 threads of black, 20 threads of green, 4 threads of scarlet, 20 threads of green, 8 threads of scarlet, 20 threads of green, 4 threads of scarlet, 20 threads of green, 32
threads of black, 56 threads of azure, 2 threads of black, and 8 threads of sky blue. At that point the weave pivots and returns, beginning with 2 threads of black, and continuing the sequence in reverse order through 8 threads of yellow, at which point it pivots back again.

External links

• California State Insignia page from the California State Library
  California State Library
  The California State Library collects, preserves, generates and disseminates a wide array of information. It was founded in 1850 by the California State Legislature. Today, it is the central reference and research library for state government and the Legislature. The California State Library...