Purchasing a Women's Kilt for my only Daughter....

**CollinMacD** · 21st September 17, 06:29 PM

Since I have no son, I would like to purchase my Daughter a women's style traditional kilt, with our Macdonald Clanranald Modern Tartan. I am very confused when purchasing a woman's kilt, either by PM or replying to this request could somebody offer me guidance. The criteria is my daughter is 40 years old, mother of three, so it is important to purchase appropriate style. I would like to have it made in Scotland, as it would be special. I like the traditional style women kilt knew length, not the long or mid calf.
I would like to know is 11 oz wool good for this, I think 16 oz would be too heavy. Can anybody recommend a good place to purchase a woman's traditional kilt, I went to a couple of places and they seem to be very limited, and it must be the family tartan and of course finally AFFORDABLE. I thing $400.-- for a women's Kilt is a little too much.... I would like not to exceed $300. for one made to order to my daughters measurements she is about a size 10 and 5 foot 2 inches.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, I know the site has sponsors, so if you recommend a place other than a sponsor email or IM me I don;t want to break rules but really need the help... I also what to buy a second one for my granddaughter who is 13 years old but not as critical to the handmade one for my daughter. Any suggestions and guidance would be appreciated...THANKS

**Dollander** · 21st September 17, 07:18 PM

USA Kilts sells a women's kilted skirt for $250, which according to the site is indeed made in Scotland: https://www.usakilts.com/kilt-wool-skirt.html

The shortest length from the drop-down menu is 20", which would be below knee-length on someone 5'2" (I'm 5'8" and mine are 22.5"), though you could contact them and inquire about the possibility of a custom shorter length. And yes, it is available in 11oz MacDonald of Clanranald Modern.

**CollinMacD** · 21st September 17, 07:25 PM

Thank you for your response, I will keep them in mind. The price is reasonable, but I would like to know more about the quality, especially the SWOSH.... I want to give my daughter something very special. I would like to hear from others....

**The Wizard of BC** · 21st September 17, 11:05 PM

In general a lady does not usually wear a man's kilt unless she is in the military or a pipe band. At 3.5 pounds for a 13oz kilt and 4.0 pounds for a 16oz kilt many ladies find a guys kilt far too heavy.

We commonly see the skirts made for, and worn by ladies, called kilts because they are made of Tartan but what you are usually seeing is a ladies Tartan pleated skirt.
The difference is in the amount of fabric, the weight of the fabric and the way it is made.

In general a skirt can be made to look much like a guys kilt. They can have the full width aprons in the front and pleats in the back. But a ladies skirt will usually be made from 10oz fabric. A ladies skirt will also not have the stabilizer and interfacing that are the hallmarks of a guys kilt.

If I may suggest one of our top banner forum advertisers. Burnett's & Struth. Here is a link to their ladies Tartan kilted Skirts.

https://www.burnetts-struth.com/ladi.../kilted-skirt/

Please remember that they are located in Barrie, Ontario, Canada so the pricing may be in Canadian dollars depending on if you have cookies enabled.

$228.00 CAD = $185.00 USD

These are not off the rack but made to measure.

**bonnie heather** · 22nd September 17, 06:28 AM

Originally Posted by CollinMacD

Thank you for your response, I will keep them in mind. The price is reasonable, but I would like to know more about the quality, especially the SWOSH.... I want to give my daughter something very special. I would like to hear from others....

Regarding the SWOOSH ...

As a woman, kiltmaker, and highland dancer, when I hand sew kilts for women, the amount of yardage makes a huge difference on whether the pleats will swing or not.

Most machine sewn kilted skirts have low yardage and pleats with a depth of only 1/2 an inch. The skirt looks like a kilt, but there is virtually no swoosh at all.

On the other end of the spectrum are highland dance kilts. They have fantastic swoosh, and deep pleats,
but for an adult size, it would require at least 5 - 7 yards of tartan fabric. That makes the kilt cost much more than commercially made ladies kilted skirts.

The traditional kilts that women in pipe bands wear are virtually the same as the men wear. They're usually about 8 yards.

The kind of kilts that I've been making for ladies (especially X-marker Angie) are about 5-6 yards, with deep pleats, custom made for individual women's body shapes and curves.

**CollinMacD** · 22nd September 17, 06:59 AM

Thank you Bonnie, sent you private email...

**CollinMacD** · 22nd September 17, 07:03 AM

Originally Posted by The Wizard of BC

In general a lady does not usually wear a man's kilt unless she is in the military or a pipe band. At 3.5 pounds for a 13oz kilt and 4.0 pounds for a 16oz kilt many ladies find a guys kilt far too heavy.

We commonly see the skirts made for, and worn by ladies, called kilts because they are made of Tartan but what you are usually seeing is a ladies Tartan pleated skirt.
The difference is in the amount of fabric, the weight of the fabric and the way it is made.

In general a skirt can be made to look much like a guys kilt. They can have the full width aprons in the front and pleats in the back. But a ladies skirt will usually be made from 10oz fabric. A ladies skirt will also not have the stabilizer and interfacing that are the hallmarks of a guys kilt.

If I may suggest one of our top banner forum advertisers. Burnett's & Struth. Here is a link to their ladies Tartan kilted Skirts.

https://www.burnetts-struth.com/ladi.../kilted-skirt/

Please remember that they are located in Barrie, Ontario, Canada so the pricing may be in Canadian dollars depending on if you have cookies enabled.

$228.00 CAD = $185.00 USD

These are not off the rack but made to measure.

Thank you Steve, all of this is great information...appreciate it very much. I will evaluate all the information, and make a decision.

**bodhran4me** · 22nd September 17, 08:27 AM

I just watched an interesting QandA on Facebook by USAKilts and one of the questions was in regards to ladies and wearing kilts. One of the points he brought up was that the lighter fabrics tend to be less itchy and therefor more comfortable for a woman's (usually) shaven legs as opposed to a man's (usually) unshaven legs. I have read where some mills have a finer, less itchy weave than others. I see GK Textiles in British Columbia has MacDonald tartan at 35$USD/meter (1m=1.o9 yd) in merino wool which is traditionally said to be one of the finest, least itchy wool options. GK Textiles, formerly Fraser Kirkbright, used to do their own weaving in Canada but I believe all their weaving is now done in the UK.

There is some debate about whether or not merino is suitable for a 'proper' kilt . It seems to me because it is softer it didn't take the pleats as well and the lighter weight (listed as 12 oz, so comparable to PV or lightweight wool) did not have the same swoosh you mentioned. Perhaps others with more experience will weigh in on this. I have in the back of my mind that Barb Tewksbury, in particular, has used this material for kilts in the past . She is a well respected US based kilt maker and if she chimes in it would be an opinion worth listening to.

**Macman** · 22nd September 17, 10:26 AM

Hello, Collin, That is a very nice gift to give your daughter. My only wee piece of advice is to let your daughter pick the kilt/skirt: style, length, pleats, which MacDonald tartan, etc. She will be the one wearing it, and my experience with my wife has told me that I am not very good at reading her mind

.

**Steve Ashton** · 22nd September 17, 10:42 AM

Merino sheep are the red heads of the sheep world. They have the finest wool of all sheep.

Merino wool has been considered a premium fine fabric wool for a very long time. Some of the older, more expensive/prestigious kilts are made from Merino wool. Fraser & Kirkbright used to weave exclusively from Merino wool.

I have some experience with the Fraser & Kirkbright fabrics so maybe an insight from a user would help.

I found the merino a joy to work with. It is soft and although weighing 16oz per yard feels like 13oz.

I did find that the pressed creases did fall out sooner than some other wools. This is not a problem for me as I just take my Merino kilts to my shop, baste and re-press anytime they need it. But someone who does not press kilts often or would prefer to do it less often may find it to be the downside of premium quality softness.