Kilt Storage for Long Periods. . .

[Lockwood]

A friend at work has an older kilt made by Roberts of Trongate, Glasgow. His mother bought it some 30+/- years ago while visiting Scotland. The kilt is Gordon Modern, 16oz wool, and hand stitched; it's beautiful!

It is for a 32" waist and doesn't fit him or his son so he wants to store it for the grandkids. How can I freshen it up for the long haul? It feels very dry and there is some stitching that needs fixing. The definition between the darker colors is fading and the colors seem to be getting darker.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[artificer]

I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice on "freshening up" the kilt, a visit to a trusted tailor, or even better, a trusted kilt maker, might be in order to repair whatever stitching needs fixing.

For long term storage your best bet would be to store it flat in acid free tissue paper, preferably in a cedar drawer or chest.

Regarding the colours fading/changing over time, that's the way things go. Fabrics fade, even newer ones with synthetic dyes.

There are actually entire ranges of colour-ways that are meant to reproduce the look of older tartans-
ancient, weathered, reproduction.

ith:

[sydnie7]

My sister has a kilt (from her husband's family) that was stored in a freezer for several decades after the original owner's death. I don't know how it was wrapped, but that sure kept the moths from it! It has since been thawed out, reworked, and is worn regularly (including duty as the groom's garment when her middle son got married).

P.S. Just for perspective, the young man was wearing his great-grandfather's kilt.

[Wil]

Take it to the cleaners and have it boxed for long term keeping (like a wedding dress). They will clean it, stuff it (if need be), wrap it and box it. But first have it fixed prior to boxing.