Why are 8 yd kilts most desired?

**figheadair** · 27th April 17, 04:58 AM

What's really interesting is to take a tape and measure the amount of material in an 8yd kilt. More often than not it has less, quite a bit less in some cases, despite the customer being sold/charged for the full amount.

**Pleater** · 27th April 17, 10:19 AM

When making a kilt it is a good thing to have 8 yards of fabric to begin with - that is a 4 yard length of 54 or 60 inch fabric, as to get things exactly right, the correct part of the sett in the centre of the apron and the centre back matching it, you lose some fabric at the right hand edge of the apron and the join - which usually has to be hidden within a pleat.

The weight of the cloth and the amount is down to the wearer's choice, and circumstances, but you need to take into account that you can't take a patterned fabric and have the correct element of the sett be in exactly the right place to enable every inch of the cloth to be used.

Anne the Pleater

**Profane James** · 27th April 17, 05:47 PM

Wake up sheeple! Don't drink Big Tartan's kool-aid!!!

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**OC Richard** · 27th April 17, 06:18 PM

Some people seem to be assuming a 5 yard v 8 yard dichotomy.

There's some yards in between, and that's where I prefer my kilts.

Many "band kilts" have a bit less than 8 yards, for the sake of price, and for me the ideal kilt is one of heavyweight tartan and 6-7 yards in it.

I have a heavyweight kilt with around 9 yards in it (the kiltmaker told me it was best that way) and an uber-heavyweight MOD style kilt with 8 yards and to me they feel too heavy in the back.

It all comes down to preference, what looks and feels best to you.

**kiltedbandit2** · 1st May 17, 01:28 AM

All my kilts are 8 Yards. Pleating is deep so they hang very well. You can vary the weight so a lightweight tartan or material will be cooler than a heavyweight material. Stating the obvious I know but that's how it is. I'm a Scottish Country dancer and like the feel of a fuller kilt when dancing.
Looks good too!

**John_Carrick** · 1st May 17, 01:57 AM

Fiat 500s are great cars and have many advantages over larger makes and models, depending on your usage and environment.
Is a Fiat 500 better than a BMW?

I wish I could source the supplier of high quality 4/5/6 yard kilts because from what is available now in the UK (and I don't know other markets), there are PV kilts up to 8 yards around £50, 5 yard casual kilts around £150-200 in good tartan, which are usually not completed to the higher standards of the 8 yard kilts which retail in the region of £300-£500, depending on whether you get a machine or hand finish, and the tartan itself.

In my own experience, in terms of look, robustness, smartness, I have worn nothing better than an eight yard kilt from a good Scottish kiltmaker.

**kiltedbandit2** · 1st May 17, 02:30 AM

Originally Posted by John_Carrick

In my own experience, in terms of look, robustness, smartness, I have worn nothing better than an eight yard kilt from a good Scottish kiltmaker.

I would have to agree John. As long as I can afford it I will always go for a handmade, 8 yard kilt made locally (ish. I use Geoffrey Tailor in Edinburgh). Before I get lynched I appreciate not everyone can or wants to. Personal choice of course.

**Taffy Jack** · 1st May 17, 07:55 PM

Originally Posted by Stan

I really like my 5 yard kilts too. I own 15 wool kilts. Two are 8 yard military weight (18-20 oz) and 7 are 8 yard 16 oz.
The balance are 13 oz. 5 yard, and one is five yard 16 oz.

My favorite to wear for long term (all day) comfort is the five yard 16 oz kilt. Why? It's lighter and just about no one would know what the yardage is. It's also 2 pounds lighter.

I own precisely one kilt, and given that it's the only one I've ever worn, my credible expertise for kitl-to-kilt comparisons is non-existent. However, reading comments in various X Marks threads made me curious about the much-vaunted "tank" weight of an eight-yard kilt (my one and only is a "premier" from Rocky at USA).

I'm not huge, but fairly good-sized at about 210 lbs. and close to six feet from the earth. My kilt just didn't seem that enormously heavy to me the first time I wore it, which was for about nine hours with 5.5 of that sitting down, stuck in traffic. The second time I wore it was all day long, and again it failed to overwhelm me with its terrifying bulk.

So I decided to weigh it. I weighed myself three times on a digital scale with a kilt and empty sporran, no belt, and three other times with a pair of unremarkable jeans in my "typical" mode: standard-width belt with a Leatherman, and nothing in the pockets.

Across those six weigh-ins, the weight between the two garments varied by less than a tenth of a pound.

**OC Richard** · 3rd May 17, 05:40 PM

For me the important things are a heavyweight fabric (superior in look, feel, and resistance to wrinkling) and full traditional construction.

I have traditional heavyweight wool kilts in 7, 8, and 9 yards and they all look and feel like traditional kilts.

I just prefer having less fabric on my backside, less weight there. Because all of those kilts have the same amount of fabric in the front, it's only the back that gets heavier as more yardage is added.

**OC Richard** · 3rd May 17, 05:42 PM

Originally Posted by figheadair

What's really interesting is to take a tape and measure the amount of material in an 8yd kilt. More often than not it has less, quite a bit less in some cases, despite the customer being sold/charged for the full amount.

That was the eye-opener for me, when a band issued me a kilt that was wonderfully comfortable though it was made of heavyweight tartan.

I measured and it had, what, around 6 1/2 or 7 yards in it.

So next time I ordered a kilt for myself that's what I ordered.