help with tartan weight

**Father Bill** · 15th July 12, 06:39 AM

Not as much farther north as most folks think! The southernmost tip of Canada (Pelee island - 1 1/2 hr drive from here, mostly west) is actually farther south than the northern border of California if you check on lines of latitude! Now your climate is admittedly much sunnier than ours, but we do have the humidity to deal with.

**David Thorpe** · 15th July 12, 08:18 AM

Number of pleats and pleat depth are as much of a factor as the difference between 13- and 16-ounce weight with regard to how cool a kilt feels in hot weather. Also remember that it is an open-ended garment, so none of those factors are as significant as with trousers.
13-ounce wool does not hold pleat creases quite as well as 16-ounce. However, even with my 11-ounce kilt, this has not been a problem so far.

**sailortats** · 15th July 12, 08:41 AM

it never ceases to amaze me at how well my 13 oz wool kilts, and my pv kilt for that matter, hold their pleats and never wrinkle. And I am not particularly easy on my kilts.

**MacMillans son** · 15th July 12, 09:38 AM

Popular consensus seems to be that heavier weight fabric with less yardage is a better way to deal with heat and humidity than lower weight fabric and more yardage. If you are doing a historic box pleated kilt, the yardage will be inherently low so go with heavier weight material. If you are making a Great kilt than your concern for comfort is somewhat irrelevant as being wrapped in any material is not going to be comfy situation in hot or humid conditions regardless of its weight.

Burnett's and Struth, located at the top of this page, often times has good deals on fabric. Give them a look too.

Best of luck!

**MacMillan of Rathdown** · 15th July 12, 09:49 AM

Originally Posted by MacMillan's son

Popular consensus seems to be that heavier weight fabric with less yardage is a better way to deal with heat and humidity than lower weight fabric and more yardage. If you are doing a historic box pleated kilt, the yardage will be inherently low so go with heavier weight material. If you are making a Great kilt than your concern for comfort is somewhat irrelevant as being wrapped in any material is not going to be comfy situation in hot or humid conditions regardless of its weight.

Burnett's and Struth, located at the top of this page, often times has good deals on fabric. Give them a look too.

Best of luck!

***

**jhockin** · 15th July 12, 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by Leoghan

.... a lot of money to drop and id like to know exactly what id be getting.
on another side note, is there a better place to order good tartan from (with comparable prices) as Scotweb?
.

as far as price is concerned, you might like to check-out Fraser & Kirkbright ( I've made a number of kilts from their fabric):
http://www.wooltartan.com/index.htm

**John_Carrick** · 16th July 12, 03:46 PM

I ordered this one from Heritage of Scotland. It was supposed to be 13oz but it did seem very lightweight indeed and in their Edinburgh shop a few weeks ago they admitted it was only 10 oz. It has a hem all around the bottom, which does not seem to be an issue. It was much complemented when I was wearing it out and about and I felt it was a nice kilt to wear. It creases a bit, especially under the sporran, it blows in the wind but I would take this one to a hot climate rather than one of my 16oz kilts. It was also about 40% of the cost of a 16oz Strome kilt.
John

**John McQuillen** · 16th July 12, 04:16 PM

Hi Leoghan,

Others have said it too, but I honestly recommend 16oz. I live in Sydney Australia, its 80% humidity here in the middle of winter (although the temp has dropped off so you don't feel it)..... In summer humidity is 90%+ with some quite high temps at times. On a hot summers day I would sweat even if I was wearing nothing but swimming trunks. I have worn different weights of wool and PV in kilts and found that 16oz is just as cool as lighter weight but looks much better in the way the kilt moves.

Only time I wouldn't buy 16oz is if I bought PV for a casual kilt that would be subjected to heavy abuse.

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 16th July 12, 04:21 PM

This is an example of a traditional selvage.

This is an example of a tuck selvage.

Both are fine for kilt making, though the traditional selvage is preferred. If you are thinking of making a four yard box pleated kilt I would definitely recommend 16 oz.