... literally.

Over the past few months at various kilted gatherings I've listened to gentlemen of knowledge discuss the changes in Lochcarron's kilt cloth. I didn't want to believe that one of the best mills in Scotland could be losing its edge. I am sewing some kilts from Strome fabric now and have been troubled with the quality. There are three issues:

1. The hand or texture of the cloth is very fluffy. It's a little hard to sew because it won't hold a fold very well. Not even as well as Marton Mills' cloth which is half the price. I'm just coming off working with Strathmore W60 and the difference is palpable in this regard. Perhaps this is partially due to the fact that they are switching to jet looms?

2. I was quite shocked after tearing the fabric for the first kilt to discover that the sett does not match up one edge to the other! The sett was unaligned by almost an inch. Luckily I had enough for a second kilt so I had to figure out which side would work and ensure that the other edge would work for the next kilt and luckily they do. I don't know what I would have done if they didn't. I don't have time to send the cloth back and wait for a replacement and even then I'm not confident that it would be any better the second time around.

3. Perhaps most disappointing of all is that the tucked selvedge has loose strands which weren't tucked properly in several places along the edge. Rather than turn directly back on each other they skipped a few threads, leaving a hung loop or thread and doubling back in the wrong colour. I've pulled them free and will stitch them down on the inside of the kilt to make it look as good as I can. You can see the edge here:



All this adds up to quite a disappointing purchase and as a result, even though this is the only example I have worked with, I'm not sure I can recommend this product if it is indicative of the 'new' Strome. I'm looking forward to working with Dalgleish's K1 and have plans to sew with House of Edgar's Old & Rare line. Getting my hands on Geoffrey Tailor's cloth and Fraser and Kirkbright's as well should give me a clear example of the major players, but as things stand so far, I'd put Lochcarron's kilt cloth near the bottom of the list and not the top.

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