Sporron positioning question?

[Cheryl Mc.psd]

Hi there.

My piping school asked me to get a sporran for our "uniform" ( Our kilts don't have to match and we are allowed to wear our own tartan. I'm not wearing the uniform is this photo BTW) The problem is it's soo loose I have to modify it for it to stay on. (I'm wearing the kilt an inch and a bit over by belly button BTW) This is how high it will be with a hole punctured at the closest segment of the leather. Should I go higher and take out some chain links as well or just put the clip higher on the chain on top of the new hole position?

I'm also wondering If I should modify my kilt as well. It's a casual wool kilt with only straps on one side and velcro being used on the other side. There are no belt loops either. I'm not sure if resting it on one buckel is enough to be secure. Should I add belt loops? I don't have scraps of McGill tartan but I have scraps of royal stewart.

Thanks

[knotty]

The sporran does look a lil high to me. If you could bring it up half the distance to the top of kilt should be about right. You might want to modify the chains.

Craig

[Chas]

Cheryl, there is a lot more to sporran positioning than looks.

Function (what is the sporran supposed to do), how much it has to move around (drummers have then on their hips) and finally anatomy (boys and girls are different).

Final height is up to you. You have to be able to use it and it mustn't get in your way when you are working.

I would recommend a strap rather than a chain. The sporran will slide on a strap, whereas the sporran and straps have to move together. Loops will always show (no matter how well they are made), so you might as well have a pair made from a solid colour or even leather.

As far as I am concerned, your outfit looks OK as it is.

Regards

Chas

[creagdhubh]

Looks fine to me!

[OC Richard]

Looks just about right to me!

What has always struck me as odd is how models who are modelling Highland Dress for current Highland Outfitters' catalogues/websites tend to wear their sporrans very high. Never looks right to me. Just lookee here:

http://www.geoffreykilts.co.uk/ofargyll.html

Here we can see a group of gents accustomed to wearing Highland dress. There is a bit of variety of sporran height:



Pipers of course wear kilts all the time. Here's a group in 1950, at Oban. Note the relative uniformity of sporran height:



and a group of the world's top pipers in 2005. The fellow with the trophy has his sporran quite high, the others not:

[KenB]

Looks good to my eye.

[MacMillans son]

Looks good to me Cheryl. Understanding that there is not a hard and fast rule, the guideline that I've heard is to have the top of the sporran about a hands width below your belt. If you were wearing a belt, it appears that your sporran would be right with that guideline.

Welcome aboard by the way!

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

I would say if you were wearing a belt, it is just right.

[mookien]

Cheryl: Welcome from the mountains of northern New Mexico!

I, too, suggest that you exchange the chain for a leather strap. The location of your sporran in your picture is fine, but you should decide the optimal position based on how much the sporran flops around when you are walking/marching. Generally speaking the higher the sporran, the less it will move around. You'll just have to experiment a bit and find out what position works best for you. Good luck.

Nice outfit by the way. Love your tartan flashes. Hope you enjoy the forum.

John

[Cheryl Mc.psd]

Putting an outfit together is an art to it self, just like animation, lighting, and texture art you will get too different opinions from equally skilled artists.


I'm a bit envious of the drummers, the sporran doesn't feels awkward on the side. It feels less awkward at that height. I might go lower. I don't own a belt meant for a kilt. The school kept the uniform requirements small so us newbies don't have to brake the bank after buying our pipes. good thing I don't have to wear a vest. It's always hot on Canada day.
With out the sporran this is the outfit I wear to a piping related event or just a random day. My uniform not showed here consist of a white shirt and hoses and blue flashes and a glengarry with no dicing.


Judging by OC Richard's the pipe band suggestion, I'll wait until the next lesson were they review our uniform. I'm a newbie so I will be in the middle of the pipers in the parade so my mistakes will be less noticeable. But I'll try my best to not look (or sound) like a sore thumb.


Oh and thanks for the welcomes.