A tartan reborn

[Calgacus]

Despite my 100% Scottish ancestry, if my connections to clans and tartans had their own Facebook page, their status would be ‘It’s complicated’. I had therefore, for quite some time, been trying to select a suitable tartan for a new kilt that both reflected my ancestry and that I liked aesthetically. After toying with various Johnstone tartans, I finally settled on MacDuff, with which I have strong connections on my mother’s side. The only problem was I wanted this tartan in some form of ancient or muted palette, and the only ones available were special weaves, woven only to order. As I am sure you are all aware, the costs involved in special weaves are prohibitive, at least they are to my wallet, and so I found myself at an impasse.


It is at these times that Serendipity occasionally shows her sweet face, and so it was to be on this occasion. Unbeknown to me, John Duff (Orionson) was in the process of commissioning just such a MacDuff tartan. The tartan in question was to be an exact replica (or as exact as possible) of the cloth composing a very rare box-pleated kilt dating from circa 1790. The kilt had been in the USA for some time but had recently been returned to the STA in Scotland. John had arranged to borrow the kilt and had found a Scottish artisan weaver, Robin Elliot of Andrew Elliot Weavers, who was willing to reproduce a small run of the cloth at a very affordable price. Of course the moment I heard of this, I asked John if I could get on board the project and he kindly said yes. (Thank you John!!)


Here is a link to the original thread:-
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...rtunity-85191/

The kilt is remarkable. Despite being over 200 years old the colours are well balanced, rich and vibrant, yet very pleasing to the eye, unlike some of the more brash ‘modern’ colours.


Over the next few months, John and Robin worked hard on the details, colours were matched, yarns were specially dyed, and the 10” sett was reproduced. Finally, in early October, the cloth was ready to be woven. I journeyed down to Glasgow and met up with John, and Paul, who is to make our kilts from the cloth. Next day, all three of us set off to Selkirk to see the loom at work actually weaving our tartan. What follows is a series of photos from the day.


1. Detail of the original C.1790 kilt. Note the homespun finish, and the fact that it is ‘pleated to nothing’.
2014-10-03 10.58.15 by Richard the Rogue, on Flickr

2. The warp on the loom.
2014-10-03 11.46.17 by Richard the Rogue, on Flickr

3. Discussing the finer details of the project.
2014-10-03 11.45.50 by Richard the Rogue, on Flickr

4. The tartan on the loom, and some of the yarns (the bobbin with the darker green of the warp is missing).
2014-10-03 11.41.06-2 by Richard the Rogue, on Flickr

5. Old and new. The original kilt lying on the reproduction tartan on the loom.
2014-10-03 11.53.10 by Richard the Rogue, on Flickr


6. John, the kilt, and the tartan.
2014-10-03 12.39.37 by Richard the Rogue, on Flickr

One of the unique features of this tartan is that the greens of the warp and weft are different. I believe that making a consistent green was difficult, as it involved first dying the yarn blue with indigo, then dying it for a second time with a yellow vegetable dye, such as crotal. The weaver appears to have chosen two different batches of green, one darker and one lighter, in order to produce a balanced result in the finished cloth. The black is not really black, it is a very dark olive drab green/brown colour.


The cloth once woven will have the minimum of finishing applied to it. It will be washed, but no other finishing processes will be applied, in order to come as close as possible to the rustic finish of the original. Obviously, being woven from machine-made yarn, the reproduction cloth will always be rather more ‘perfect’ than the original, but both John and I wished to do what we could to replicate the ‘feel’ of the original.


Now, having a genuine 18th century kilt actually in my hands was just too good an opportunity to miss. I noticed that it was not a million miles away from my size, and so with nobody around to stop me, I did what anyone in my position would surely do... and tried it on!


7. Modelling the kilt, front view.
Kilt 1790 front by Richard the Rogue, on Flickr

8. Modelling the kilt, back view.
Kilt 1790 back by Richard the Rogue, on Flickr

Before you pick me up on it, the rest of my outfit is not really historically appropriate, but I hadn’t set out with the intention of putting the original kilt on. I did however borrow John’s sporran (an Artificer beauty) as it was at least a bit closer to the period.


So, what does it feel like, wearing a genuine 18th century kilt? Well, several things struck me. Firstly, it is very high-waisted. It is made from a single uncut width of tartan with the selvedges retained top and bottom. One of the original fastening tapes was missing, so I used my belt to hold the kilt in place. I had a good three inches or so of kilt protruding above the belt. It’s possible that the kilt was originally made for somebody taller than my 5’ 9”, but I suspect that kilts of the period were not cut to length and that the top of the kilt just landed where it landed. Also, due to the fact that it is a very simple box pleat, the fell of the kilt is not really tapered and seemed better suited to sit centred around the waist, rather higher than the fell of a modern kilt. Putting it on instantly reminded me of this image-



9. Clan Rose, by McIan, 1845-47
Rose by Richard the Rogue, on Flickr

The second thing that I noticed was that the kilt seemed to be made for somebody with a similar or possibly slightly larger waist than myself. I have a 33” waist, and I’d guess it was made for someone with a 34”-36” waist. The tape & button arrangement that would originally have fastened it has a wide range of adjustment and it was probably originally able to suit a wide range of waist sizes.


The third thing that I noticed was that although the kilt felt normal at the front, there was so little cloth at the back that I felt virtually naked! It was quite disconcerting for the first minute or two, but once I got used to it I found it to be extremely comfortable.


10. The weaver, the commissioner, the kilt maker, and myself.
2014-10-03 13.27.51 by Richard the Rogue, on Flickr

We are now awaiting our kilts and accessories being made, and I will post again with photos of the finished articles once they have arrived and I have had a suitable chance to take some reasonable photos. Winter is fast approaching, the lack of light makes taking decent photos much more challenging, and I want to do justice to this remarkable and unique project.

Once again I'd like to sincerely thank John for letting me in on this fascinating project.

[plaid preacher]

What a great story, and a wonderful looking tartan. I love the shades used. Wear it in good health.

[IsaacW]

I have been curiously watching this process! I find it exciting as both a kilt lover and history nerd. How exciting that you wore the original! I am jealous and interested.

Isaac

[IsaacW]

Also, out of curiousity, are you both going for (sorry if I forgot from it having been said) short yardage boxpleats like the original?

I am seriously thinking of investing in a new kilt that is a bit more of my own background. When doing this, i am thinking of something of a historic and traditional lines... 4-5 yds in box or even knife pleat... not an 8 yd.

IW

[Calgacus]

Also, out of curiousity, are you both going for (sorry if I forgot from it having been said) short yardage boxpleats like the original?

I am seriously thinking of investing in a new kilt that is a bit more of my own background. When doing this, i am thinking of something of a historic and traditional lines... 4-5 yds in box or even knife pleat... not an 8 yd.

IW

Hi Isaac,

No, I'm not. I have decided to go for a 'traditional' 8 yard knife pleated kilt, plus a bias-cut waistcoat and some red (not tartan) flashes made from off-cuts of the material. Technically, they will be tartan flashes, but they will be cut so that the tip is red, matching the red of the kilt. They will be worn in such a way that only the red tip will be showing. I will also have enough cloth left over to make a plaid, however it's doubtful how much this will ever get worn, so it might get converted into something else later on. Paul's going to knit me some matching garter ties too.

I did think about various other options however. I considered a 4 or 5 yard box pleat kilt, but decided that for me it was neither fish nor fowl. If I wanted something to reflect the original, I'd have an exact replica of the original made, not a 'modern' box pleat kilt. I'd rather have an 8 yard knife pleat, but that's just my personal preference. I did consider an exact replica, but realistically, how much might I wear it? Also, although the cloth is as close as possible to the original without being hand woven from hand-spun yarn, it's not absolutely identical, so would never be an exact replica. Now, if the cloth were to be hand woven from hand-spun yarn...

I'm also not sure how well the 10" sett would work with a modern box pleated kilt.

There is also the possibility of a second run in the future, so I may be more adventurous then, should it go ahead.

[Laird_M]

Nice to see a littel bit of history reborn. Well done to all those involved.

[IsaacW]

Thank you for the well thought out answer @Calgacus. If I may ask. How did the original feel when wearing it compared to an 8 yd, knife pleat? It looks sharp with your "modern" jacket and accessories (which is similar in style to what I prefer), but without pleating to any set or stripe, it does look odd to the modern eye. I am used to an 8 yd. military-box-pleat. I love the yardage, feel, sway, and sometimes the weight... but also like the tradition of a shorter yardage and possible lessening of the weight a bit (as well as a lessening of the cost on a custom run of tartan, which I may need to do for what I want).

Isaac

[Truitt]

A wonderful project! Well documented with fantastic pictures. Thank you for the post!

[Calgacus]

Thank you for the well thought out answer @Calgacus. If I may ask. How did the original feel when wearing it compared to an 8 yd, knife pleat? It looks sharp with your "modern" jacket and accessories (which is similar in style to what I prefer), but without pleating to any set or stripe, it does look odd to the modern eye. I am used to an 8 yd. military-box-pleat. I love the yardage, feel, sway, and sometimes the weight... but also like the tradition of a shorter yardage and possible lessening of the weight a bit (as well as a lessening of the cost on a custom run of tartan, which I may need to do for what I want).

Isaac

It feels a LOT lighter, especially at the back. So much so that it was actually quite disconcerting at first. After a few minutes however, I got used to it and found it very comfortable indeed. Bear in mind that this kilt is a little different from a modern box pleated kilt. It is very simply constructed, being stitched into I think six box pleats, with no stabiliser or lining. It was held in place by my belt. It originally had straps and buttons for fastening it, but I suspect they were there more to aid putting it on than anything, and that a belt would always have been the primary method of keeping it in place.

[Dughlas mor]

Fascinating post! Thanks for sharing.