BEWARE: The tartan shown below is NOT a Merrilees Tartan although it appears as such in the book "Clans & Tartans" by James Mackay printed in 2002 and also in another book "World Tartans" by Iain Zaczek.

The respective publisher of each book has made the same error in using image #1603 (the Old Jacobite tartan) from the Scottish Tartans Authority index instead of image #1602 which is the official registration number of Merrilees Field Tartan (right).
The MFA has alerted the publishers to these errors and it is presumed that the mistakes will be rectified in future editions.
Our 'official' tartans can be found at www.scotland.com – listed as Meg Merrilees Fancy Tartan – and at www.tartansauthority.com as Merrilees 1602 & 6369.

There is a recognised Merrilees Tartan (below, centre) that was first produced by William Wilson of Bannockburn in 1829 to celebrate Meg Merrilies, the fictional gypsy character in Sir Walter Scott's novel Guy Mannering. It is technically called a 'fashion tartan' and was continued to be produced until the 1920s, inevitably becoming associated with our surname. It is comprised of black, grey & cream squares with dark blue and orange/red stripes. We refer to this as our 'field tartan' as we also have a Merrilees Dress Tartan (below, right) which is comprised of dark blue, white and grey squares with purple and light blue stripes. We are not sure when this tartan was first produced but it has now been added to the International Tartan Index of the Scottish Tartans Authority (#6369). Both tartans can be ordered from kilt suppliers or direct from the Dunsdale Mill in Scotland, and we can proudly wear either in the form of kilts, scarves and ties etc.