polyester viscose pilling

[corbmonster]

Hello friends,
I spent a few days at the TX ren fest in a polyester viscose kilt. I had to wash it when I got home, so I hand washed in the tub with a little detergent. Cool warm wash, cold rinse, hang dry. I noticed some pilling on the outside apron. Close to the fringe, above where my right knee would be. Nothing was rubbing it. My sporran wasn't that low.... So guys: what probably caused it, and what can I do about it? I'm not sure if it was there before the wash, or after. Also, for the leather straps, I used some saddle soap on them while they were wet to replace some of the oils lost / keep them from drying out. Was that a good idea or bad idea? Thanks!

[California Highlander]

Hello friends,
I spent a few days at the TX ren fest in a polyester viscose kilt. I had to wash it when I got home, so I hand washed in the tub with a little detergent. Cool warm wash, cold rinse, hang dry. I noticed some pilling on the outside apron. Close to the fringe, above where my right knee would be. Nothing was rubbing it. My sporran wasn't that low.... So guys: what probably caused it, and what can I do about it? I'm not sure if it was there before the wash, or after. Also, for the leather straps, I used some saddle soap on them while they were wet to replace some of the oils lost / keep them from drying out. Was that a good idea or bad idea? Thanks!

I've washed my inexpensive PV (actually poly acetate) kilts and they do have some pilling, but this is after a lot of wear. One I wear frequently for yard work and it's seen the most wear and the most washes. But pilling is not terrible. These are the kilts you'd get off eBay and not Marton Mills PV.

Saddle soap, not sure. I use baseball glove oil.

[corbmonster]

Thanks for the tip on the oil. I bet that would condition it better.

[The Wizard of BC]

Can you tell us please who made your kilt? Alternately where did you buy it? Are there any labels inside the kilt?

Just trying to determine the actual fiber content to better advise you.

[auld argonian]

Seconding Steve's question. Sounds like the fabric is't PV because PV doesn't seem very prone to pilling. We've seen kilts that are actually made of Acrylic, which is prone to pilling, erroneously called Poly Viscose here several times in the past…there was a long standing question about "16 oz. PV" floating around the forum for a while and it was pretty well settled that what was being referred to as 16 oz PV was actually Acrylic. The PV material that I have has a finish more like worsted wool while the acrylic has a more fuzzy texture.

Best,

AA

[Mikilt]

Hello friends,
I spent a few days at the TX ren fest in a polyester viscose kilt. I had to wash it when I got home, so I hand washed in the tub with a little detergent. Cool warm wash, cold rinse, hang dry. I noticed some pilling on the outside apron. Close to the fringe, above where my right knee would be. Nothing was rubbing it. My sporran wasn't that low.... So guys: what probably caused it, and what can I do about it? I'm not sure if it was there before the wash, or after. Also, for the leather straps, I used some saddle soap on them while they were wet to replace some of the oils lost / keep them from drying out. Was that a good idea or bad idea? Thanks!

I have acrylic kilts that pill. I do my best to maintain them with fuzz remover.

remington-fuzz-away-fabric-shaver-mdn.jpg

[Riverkilt]

I've owned 27 Marten Mills/USA Kilts polyviscose kilts and have never seen pilling on any of them. Guessing your kilts are made of some other fiber blend. I'm with the rest asking for more details on your kiltmaker and their fabric information.

[corbmonster]

Thanks for the reply's everyone. The kilt I got was from a vendor that gets supplied from buy a kilt. It is this one in particular. An 8 yard PV kilt in Scottish National. It looks nice for what that's worth. The pilling isn't bad. It's not much. But I can feel it. And I just wanted to know if their was a common mistake people make, that perhaps I over looked or was unaware of. I did get a fuzz ball shaver off amazon. Should be here soon.

[corbmonster]

Update: It is not a Polyester - Viscose blend. It is Acetate - Viscose blend.

[bwat]

I think your kilt is from the same manufacturer as mine I bought from MacDonald Sporrans on ebay (they seem to be the same company as buyakilt.com). I got a small amount pilling on the front of one just behind the sporran after a week of use. I put it down to my having my cheapest sporran on me all that week. Other kilts from the same manufacturer haven't been damaged from other sporrans it seems. Also all these PV (ok, acetate & PV) kilts have been through the wool cycle on a washing machine at least a few times and it didn't hurt them a bit.