Is this how all Scotweb kilts look?

[mookien]

Crack me up! Reminds me of some years ago when I ordered a REPLICA U.S. Cavalry wool greatcoat from the U.S. Civil War era. It was beautiful when it arrived - and still is - but I was irate that "someone" had forgotten to hem the bottom of the coat.

Me, being new to such stuff, had no clue that back in those days they were in such a hurry to get the greatcoats to the cavalry, and the wool was such a fine quality, there was no need to hem the greatcoat - and they didn't. So I got what I ordered - my uneducated expectations were the root of the "problem."

That coat has served me well for many many winters now and there's never been any problem with the hem fraying - still looks sharp.

Great story!

Perhaps a post of the kilt being worn??

Excellent idea. We all like looking at kilts anyway, and Colm might get some good feedback regarding his kilt.

[mookien]

I wonder Colm, if you'd get a quicker and more supportive response from Nick by contacting the company than by posting here for our comments.

Father Bill: While I, too, think that Colm should contact Nick, I'm glad that he submitted his post, if for no other reason than, otherwise, we would have been deprived of Matt's excellent comments.

mookien

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Much thanks for all the help. I suppose the customer support team assumed I knew all of this, which I did not. If this is how a high quality kilt is supposed to be then so be it. I certainly prefer a hemmed bottom edge, and I'm dissapointed the summary of the kilt on the website did not specify anything much further than 'high quality'. As I've said, I'm happy with the rest of the craftsmanship and the fabric. I was certainly frustrated with the lack of explanation (from scotweb) in respect to my photographs. Thanks again for the helpful advice, it was the reason I posted here. Maybe I will order the matching fly after all. Have a great weekend.

Colm,

Generally speaking, the only kilts you will buy which are routinely hemmed would be those made from cloth not specifically woven for kilt making. This may include certain light weight worsted wool tartans, Poly Viscose tartans, tweed cloth, and some specialty cloths such as the tartans woven by the Welsh Tartan Centre that Trevor mentioned. Generally speaking, cloth is woven without a selvage, and so a hem would be necessary to finish off a garment and avoid having a ragged, unfinished edge.

Kilts are traditionally made without a hem, because kilts have traditionally been made from cloth woven with a selvage. There is absolutely no need for a hem. So hems on a kilt are the exception rather than the rule.

So if you want a hem in your kilt, this would certainly be something that you would have to specify in advance to your kilt maker, who may or may not even be willing to do it. (I'm speaking in general terms here, not of Scotweb in particular).

[davidlpope]

I certainly prefer a hemmed bottom edge, and I'm dissapointed the summary of the kilt on the website did not specify anything much further than 'high quality'..... Maybe I will order the matching fly after all. Have a great weekend.

Colm,

Not trying to be antagonistic here, but why do you like a hemmed kilt? In my mind the pleats would not be as sharp and the bottom edge of the kilt would be twice as bulky. Additionally, the kilt would look as if it had been made for someone else and had been altered to fit a shorter man, instead of being custom-made for you.

As far as the matching fly plaid, I encourage you to consider purchasing a matching bias-cut waistcoat instead!

Cordially,

David

[mookien]

Colm, ...

As far as the matching fly plaid, I encourage you to consider purchasing a matching bias-cut waistcoat instead! ...

David

Or, better yet, both!

[thescot]

I cannot add much to what has been written, but I must say that wouldn't have a kilt that was hemmed. It speaks of . . . oh, I don't know, a kilt that didn't fit and was hemmed" Someone who doesn't know much about kilt making?

Colm, I can understand your consternation, but if you will examine a few really well-made kilts, you'll see exactly the same attributes that you mentioned in yours. What you mentioned is exactly what one finds in a good kilt.

[LANCER1562]

This thread got me to thinking. So I looked at all of my kilts and found that although my PV kilts from SK have a selvedge of sorts they don't have the little hem between the 2nd & 3rd pleats. My Locharron Mills hand sewn tank and my 5 yard wool kilt from USA Kilts both have the turn under, I'm not sure if they have an uneven edge but then I haven't looked I just know they hang really well.

Thank you Matt for sharing your knowledge of kilt making. Now I know what to look for the next time I buy a made to order hand sewn kilt.

[davidg]

they don't have the little hem between the 2nd & 3rd pleats

Not every kilt will have these but most do. It is the simplest way to deal with the underhang created by the taper of the front apron, and larger front aprons have proportionately larger underhangs

[BCAC]

I ordered a kilt not so very long ago from a kilt maker who has a very high reputation (and a consequently high price and a long waiting list), jonsed for a very long time and when it arrived, it had a hem.

Of course, I questioned this with my kilt maker and I was told that it was to make the kilt look and swing better and that all kilts should have a hem and if the other kiltmakers didn't do a hem it was because they are too lazy to do it. This kiltmaker always makes a hem and said that the extra work to hand hem an 8 yard kilt was to make a better kilt for the customer. I've since found out that this is not true.

The kilt is simply OK, not any more than that and, needless to say, I've changed kilt makers!

[Nick Fiddes]

I've just noticed this thread, so sorry for taking a while to respond. And it's the first time this particular issue has come to my attention. In fact, I think there's little I can add to Matt's excellent summary. (Thanks, Matt.) And I hope that Colm feels reassured by the various responses.

Reading between the lines of what's been quoted, I gather there has already been a complaint to our customer service team, with a response that was obviously not satisfactory from Colm's point of view. I do take on board the complaint that the team could perhaps have done more to explain the technical aspects when contacted. I'm not in the office so cannot review the full correspondence, but will be looking into this and discussing it further tomorrow. The only thing I could add right now is to note that this is our very busiest time of year and, regretfully, there's not always the same time available for very full responses as we'd try to give at most times. So please accept apologies if we've fallen short.

I also note the comment that the nature of the product could perhaps be better explained on the page. We do our very best to do this. But because our kilts are available in such a wide range of fabrics, some parts of the description must inevitably appear during the individual tartan-choosing process rather than on the main kilt page itself. It's not easy to balance making detailed information easily obvious and available, without the page becoming overwhelmingly cluttered. But I'll certainly look again in the light of this experience to see if I can find ways it could realistically be improved. Feel free to PM me with ideas!

The only other thing I'd add would be please to ask everyone to note the 'Sticky' at the top of this forum area, asking anyone with service complaints like this please to do me the courtesy of a personal message first, to see if I can help sort things out. This seems a perfect example of why, since anyone reading only the headline or start of this thread might take away a negative impression of us that I don't feel is entirely fair... and sadly many people don't pursue these things fully, and will go on first impressions. As I've said, I'm always happy to get personally involved if there's a problem - real, or perceived (which is much the same thing). But please do give me the chance.

Finally, to Colm, if you do still have issues you'd like help with sorting out, do please PM me directly. I'm off out for the day right now, but will get on the case asap if you do still have unresolved complaints of any kind.