Pink tartan tribute to cancer girl Katie

• A model shows off a dress made by design house ANTA using the Katie McKerracher tartan

But the Katie McKerracher tartan range will be launched this week without the presence of its inspiration, Katie.

The 11-year-old died last January from a rare brain tumour, diffuse pontine glioma. Now her memory is to be honoured with a tartan by Scottish design house ANTA, the centrepiece of which is a full-length, corseted gown costing more than 1,800.

The collection will also include a silk scarf, a girls' mini kilt, a pashmina and a range of ceramics. The dress was designed by ANTA founder Annie Stewart, a family friend of the McKerrachers.

Katie's mother, Ann, said: "The tartan is a lovely way for us to remember Katie because it will always be there. People can throw a scarf around their shoulders, wear a dress or have a rug and it's a Katie McKerracher design. It's a wee bit of Katie that will always be in people's lives."

Stewart said: "The idea is that it's a tartan for a little girl – pink and white and a simple and sweet design."

It is hoped the one-off dress may make a bridal gown. Stewart has also designed a darker, hunting version of the tartan, which will be used for men's kilts and for upholstery, rugs and curtains.

Five per cent of the tartan's proceeds will go to the Katie McKerracher Trust, a charity set up by her parents to help other families affected by the condition.

"Katie would have loved it," said her mother, who lives in Ettrickbridge near Selkirk with husband Andrew and their two teenage sons. "She absolutely loved fashion, and would have just loved the idea that someone was wearing a dress named after her."

The range will debut on Saturday at a fashion show in the family's garden.

The charity, launched this year, has so far raised around 60,000, which it is hoped will be used to help other families in a similar position to the McKerrachers.

Diffuse pontine glioma affects around 35 children in the UK every year. It is a malignant tumour which grows on the brain stem, meaning it cannot be removed. It can be treated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy but the survival rate is under a year.

When Katie was diagnosed in March 2008 her parents found details on the condition hard to come by. "It is very difficult when your child is diagnosed to think straight and find the right information," said Ann. "We hope the charity will be there as somewhere for families to go for financial help or just emotional support and advice."

Next month the family will also set off with 120 friends on a bike ride around the Uists, which they hope will raise more funds for the charity. "There are very few people, thankfully, who lose a child, but we all know how it is," says Ann. "It's just something that I know we will never get over. But what keeps us going is Katie. She's still as much a part of our lives now as she was when she was alive."