I placed an order from Barb Tewksbury back in December for a traditional 8-yard, 16-oz, knife pleated (to the sett) kilt. The tartan was to be a custom weave of weathered/reproduction Colquhoun from DC Dalgliesh. Originally I had ordered 18 yards of single-width cloth. But right about that time, DC Dalgliesh decided to make reproduction colours a standard for certain tartans in double width. Mine was one of the first they made. So I changed my order to 9 yards of double-width.

4 yards of it went into this 8-yard kilt, and I have 5 more yards of double-width tartan now, waiting to be made into a waistcoat, day plaid, and other future projects.

But anyway, it's been a long wait for the cloth and then the kilt-making, and I tried not to let the Jonesing get the better of me. Finally, Barb let me know that it was finished, and now I'm one of the happiest kilt owners out there!

Here are a few pics of it from various angles (sorry, the wind is blowing pretty good today, so it's not laying like it should in all the pics).



A couple of close-ups of this gorgeous tartan:



One of the really neat things I love about this kilt is that the straps are dark brown leather and the buckles are brass.




I am stunned by the quality of this kilt. This is my first "real" tank that is actually hand-sewn and made with all the correct structural parts inside. (Many of you will remember my recent issues with another 8-yard kilt having to be retrofitted by Steve because it was stretching.) Barb's craftsmanship is just outstanding. Now I can see why hers is considered the gold standard by many. I am in love with this kilt!