Custom lenght casual kilt

[David Thornton]

I received my first kilt last night, 8 yard, heavy. I am most impressed! And my wife thinks I look good in it.
It is a little fancy & heavy to wear everyday, and I already want another one anyway. So where can I get a less formal kilt for daily wear that isn't a 24inch drop?
Thanks
David

[KMacT]

David,

If you now have a heavy eight yard wool kilt, why not try a light poly viscose kilt from, for example, USA Kilts (www.usakilts.com). I believe that their casual kilts are made from about four yards of fabric. The price is right, Rocky says delivery in 5-6 weeks, and by all accounts the customer service is unmatched. Or a step up from that would be the semi-traditional, also in PV material. Both are custom made.

Kevin

[Mychael Sporrano]

Hi, David-

It is nice meeting you. For a great casual kilt, I can highly recommend Pittsburgh Kilts [www.pittsburghkilts.com]. Check out the galleries there to see if anything strikes your fancy. Jeff is quick and does a great job- he has a wonderful custom operation and charges a fair price.

Mychael

[M. A. C. Newsome]

David,

You can also try a four-yard wool variety, rather than Poly-Viscose. I know a lot of guys on this forum swear by the stuff, but I've tried various non-woolen kilts in the past, and after wearing a traditional wool kilt, they just didn't do it for me. Your mileage may vary, but that was my opinion.

But you still have options. Your traditional kilt most likely has somewhere around 8 yards of cloth, making it a very spiff looking, but very heavy garment.

Let me suggest a four-yard kilt. Most of your major kilt making firms offer some variety of a four-yard kilt. The ones we offer through the Scottish Tartans Museum gift shop are Lochcarron's "Casual Kilts":
http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/kiltpagecasual.html
These are essentially the same as your traditional kilt with two exceptions. First, the kilt is made from four and not eight yards of cloth, so the pleats are not as deep. Second, it is machine sewn, and not hand sewn, which is purely to keep the cost down so that Lochcarron can offer a lower-priced option.

Other firms will also have a four-yard option, though they may call it something different.

Your other option is to go with the traditional four-yard kilt, which is a box-pleated kilt (which I happen to make).
http://kilts.albanach.org/
These kilts are also four-yards, but are box pleated rather than knife pleated, and entirely hand sewn. This was the style of the very first tailored kilts of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. You can read more about the history, and the advantages of a four yard kilt, on my web site.

I recommend the 16 oz weight wool for a four-yard kilt, 13 oz is ok, but no lighter. You'll find that due to the reduced yardage, a four-yard kilt in even the heavy weight cloth is lighter and more comfortable than an eight-yard kilt in a light weight cloth.

And, of course, they are all entirely custom made to your measurements.

Aye,
Matt

[RockyR]

Hey David,

I wear both 8 yard and 4 yard wool (13 and 16 oz) and various length PV kilts (PV is an 11 oz fabric). I've found that PV seems to breathe /wick moisture / evaporate much better for summer months in Pennsylvania while I prefer my wool kilts in late fall and winter when I want something warmer.

MOST of the kiltmakers on this board provide custom garments in whatever length you would like... it's just a matter of deciding what material you want to go with (generally PV or wool), who has the reputation you want and what wait time you find acceptable. There's a LOT of information on loads of different kiltmakers up here. If you want info that ISN'T here, post a question about it. The informed consumer makes the best customer.

[David Thornton]

Now we're getting somewhere!
I suspect that I will prefer wool as I did not like some of the poly kilts I saw at the last games. I'll be more specific with my line of questioning here and I'll contact some of you who have responded.
I have done many many searches for clearance, off the peg, special, custom, casual and everything else I can think of just to get an idea of what the range of prices for a kilt can be. I have found a lot of nice 4-6 yard pre made kilts, but they are 24" drop. Being vertically challanged, this will not work. So I thought I would try to get some idea here on how to get at leat one more kilt in my closet that I would feel good about wearing more frequently.
Thanks again.
David

[Jimmy Carbomb]

First of all, the 24 length can be hemmed with that material... no problem. It's not as difficult as it looks, and any tailor could do it in no time.

As for the casual kilt, you can pick-up a light, medium or even heavy wool at many locations. Suggestions are with the Scottish/Irish shops that rent them out for weddings. I have three in my area that all sell handsewn, authentic traditional kilts for far less than new... and they're NICE! Try calling around to the Formal Rental stores for theirs, and whether they have them or not. Ask here on XMarks for someone that has outgrown one of theirs. I've had to toss seven of mine due to growth, and (gosh darn it) had to replace them with new ones.

Expect to pay for quality material and craftsmanship. It's worth the time to do the leg work in order not to be disappointed with the material or the outcome. I can get handsewn, traditional wool kilts in my area for the $200-$250 price range... which is half what it would be new. They'll also last longer than a couple years like some "lesser" kilts. This same place also has wool casuals for under $150. If you're willing to forego on a certain tartan, and go with what's available (but to your liking) than you're going to do well. It just takes work to find them in your area.

Nothing worth having is easy.

[Christopher]

One other option is scottishkiltsnet.com. They offer a 5-yard, 13-oz, worsted wool cassual kilt for about $260USD. I have two kilts from them. One is a traditional hand-sewn, 8-yard, 16-oz, worsted wool, made to measure kilt that is truely spectactular. The other is a machine stitched, 8-yard, 13-oz worsted wool, stock kilt (which they don't offer on their web site right at the moment) that is also fantastic. Their stock kilt fits really well and the quality is every bit as good as their more expensive options. I have no doubt that their 5-yard casual kilt will be just a good...and at $260USD you can't help but win!

[Rufus]

Hey David,

I just wanted to let you know about the sale page at Burnett's and Struth. They'll have pre-made wool kilts at great prices. Only problem is being able to find one in your size. I bought one from them a while ago off the sale page, and highly recommend them.

Just wanted to let you know about another option like the one Jimmy listed.

[Colin]

Hey David,

I just wanted to let you know about the sale page at Burnett's and Struth. They'll have pre-made wool kilts at great prices. Only problem is being able to find one in your size. I bought one from them a while ago off the sale page, and highly recommend them.

Just wanted to let you know about another option like the one Jimmy listed.

But they haven't updated the bloddy thing since February.