"Brushed Plaid": suitability for a kilt

[Morris at Heathfield]

I was recently at JoAnn Fabrics and noticed they had a material called "brushed plaid". It's 100% cotton and appears to be a very thick and heavy flannel. It's thicker and heavier than the PV material they have at the store, and has a nicer selvedge as well (at least, on one side).

Does anyone who has seen the fabric I'm talking about know how suitable it would be for making a kilt?

By the way, it's on sale right now: $5.59 a yard.

[vorpallemur]

I was recently at JoAnn Fabrics and noticed they had a material called "brushed plaid". It's 100% cotton and appears to be a very thick and heavy flannel. It's thicker and heavier than the PV material they have at the store, and has a nicer selvedge as well (at least, on one side).

Does anyone who has seen the fabric I'm talking about know how suitable it would be for making a kilt?

By the way, it's on sale right now: $5.59 a yard.

My local JoAnn's has a collection of (mostly) tartans called something like "English sportswear collection". It's mostly brushed cotton flannels, but some poly-rayon blends. If it's one of those, I don't think it's suitable. The poly blends might be, they're a touch lightweight. And they're only 44" wide, so unless you're very short, you'd need to buy a lot (and have very large left overs....).

[jgcunningham]

My local JoAnn's has a collection of (mostly) tartans called something like "English sportswear collection". It's mostly brushed cotton flannels, but some poly-rayon blends. If it's one of those, I don't think it's suitable. The poly blends might be, they're a touch lightweight. And they're only 44" wide, so unless you're very short, you'd need to buy a lot (and have very large left overs....).

I'm 5'9" by the end of the day. I measure 20" from navel to the top of my kneecap. So allowing for a 2" rise the 44" width fabric will work just fine for me. It's a bit on the light side, maybe 12 oz., but it's also a nice looking Cunningham plaid, which I've been jonesing for over 3 years now. And it's 30% off for a few more days.

[ChattanCat]

Cotton is not a good kilting material in any form. The cotton does not hold a crease and will wrinkle whenever you sit or move in it. Look for poly/rayon blends as these will hold a crease.

[Morris at Heathfield]

Thanks for the advice. I don't care for their poly/rayon, as it feels much too lightweight and has an ugly selvedge on both sides.

I had forgotten to ask about the width, which did seem a bit narrow to me.

I didn't see anything else at this particular store that looked promising (at least, for a kilt), so I think I'll cross it off my list for the present. I seem to recall seeing better materials (not necessarily plaids) at another location, however....

[vorpallemur]

Thanks for the advice. I don't care for their poly/rayon, as it feels much too lightweight and has an ugly selvedge on both sides.

I had forgotten to ask about the width, which did seem a bit narrow to me.

I didn't see anything else at this particular store that looked promising (at least, for a kilt), so I think I'll cross it off my list for the present. I seem to recall seeing better materials (not necessarily plaids) at another location, however....

If you look at the end of the bolt, there's usually a tag that tells what the fiber content, width, and country of origin is. (Usually has the price tag, too, for that matter.)

Unless you buy fabric from a specialist kilting fabric weaver, you're very unlikely to find anything with a better selvedge, almost certainly nothing with a selvedge that's usuable without a facing or hem. It's a side effect of how fabric is woven these days: most of it is done by shuttle-less rapier or jet looms, and the wefts are cut on either side. Shuttleless looms are much faster ( a fast shuttle loom might do 200 picks a minute. rapier or an air jet loom will top out at about 1000.), which means a loom can produce more cloth in a given time, which means it's cheaper.