Made in...

[Grouse Claw]

Thanks All. That is very illuminating. I'll not pursue the issue with the maker. The kilt, in the end, says it all.

[MacGumerait]

Grouse Claw ,

I purchased an 8 yd " Balmoral Series " kilt from Scotweb last year and it was superb . There were no sewn in labels , however , they did include a specifications tag that listed the all the measurements of the kilt , the tartan name , the mill and the mill's product number . It was very well made , a quality kilt by any standard . As you stated " The kilt , in the end , says it all " .

[M. A. C. Newsome]

So, in the end, some kilts ordered from larger suppliers and third party retailers have labels, and some don't. And some kilts ordered from individual kilt makers have labels and some don't. :-)

I've always made sure that any kilt I ship out has my own name on it -- it's a point of pride. I tell people I won't put my name on any kilt I wouldn't be proud to wear myself. I've gone through several different versions of personal labels over the years, some print and some woven. Here's the current version which I am happy with and plan on keeping for a while.



Although all the cloth I use for my kilts is woven in Scottish mills, I don't always have a label from the weavers. But when I do I affix that to the kilt as well as my own label.

The Scottish Tartans Authority is promoting a branding scheme by making swing tags and such available to manufacturers that identify the product as being either "woven in Scotland" or "made in Scotland," etc. I have noticed that the last few lengths of cloth I have gotten in from Lochcarron have had these swing tags attached, and so this would also be something that could be included on the kilt (or other finished product) made from the cloth.

[Paul Henry]

I agree with being proud of the kilts I sew m so I always put my label on them with whatever label I get from the weaver as well



Sorry Matt, but I do have a slight problem however with calling cloth woven in Scotland "100% Scottish wool" as the actual wool is most likely to have come from Australia or New Zealand, certainly that is the case with Lochcarron and DC Dalgleish.

[JohntheBiker]

This thread might answer a question I have been wondering about, which is where do you order nice embroidered tags with your name to sew into the kilts you have made?

A google search of clothing label makers will get you a choice of folks who will do limited runs of custom labels. No recommendations, unfortunately. I the only one's that I have dealt with were large run manufacturers.

[Barb T]

I, too, am really proud of the kilts I make, and I sew my maker's label (shown in Tobus' post) into all the kilts I make. I DO like Paul Henry's leather ones, though!!

I ordered the labels custom woven over 15 years ago when I was just starting to make custom-made kilts. I remember vividly how expensive they were in comparison to the "$5-for-100" printed labels on a roll that you used to be able to order at sewing shops. I was debating which to buy and agonizing about the cost. My husband just looked at me incredulously and said, you mean you'd even consider putting a 5-cent label in a $600 custom-made kilt?? I ordered the custom woven ones......and have never regretted it.

BTW - cost is still about the same as it was back then - couple hundred $$ for 1000 labels.

[sydnie7]

Since this thread is still rolling. . .

Originally I just PM'd Tartan Tess with a recommendation of where not to purchase labels, but the story itself is worth a chuckle. When I starting making "Flamingo Kilts," I ordered woven nametags from an online source. Their website contained dire warnings that labels would be produced exactly as typed into the order form, so I carefully proofread everything before submission.

The labels arrived. . . as FlamingoKnits.

I called to explain that my flamingo, having only three toes, found knitting too difficult and therefore chose to make kilts. (OK, I was a bit hotter than that LOL). I asked how my carefully typed-in company name had morphed. The company representative had no answer to that question, but her response was classic:

"But the labels normally take 6-8 weeks to produce, and we got them to you in just 4 weeks!" She seemed quite put-out that I didn't appreciate the speedy delivery of labels with the wrong company name!

We worked out a re-order and, you guessed it, those came out wrong as well (IIRC it was now "Kiltz" with a zed rather than an "s"). On my third try, I finally got FlamingoKilts.com labels which went into each of the kilts I produced. I also sewed in a care instruction tag, BTW, and produced a "care and feeding" card that went along with all the kilt hose cuffs.

Nice labels shown above, folks! If anybody wants to start a company called FlamingoKnits, I can give you a great deal on labels LOL

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Sorry Matt, but I do have a slight problem however with calling cloth woven in Scotland "100% Scottish wool" as the actual wool is most likely to have come from Australia or New Zealand, certainly that is the case with Lochcarron and DC Dalgleish.

Quite right, most if not all tartan cloth woven for kilts comes from sheep raised in Australia or New Zealand. If I remember correctly I wanted to have "100% Wool. Woven in Scotland." on the label at first, but I think there was an issue with the lettering all fitting on the line, at a size that could be handled by the machine, if I recall correctly. There was some technical issue that caused me to truncate it, at any rate. My main goal was to both convey the fiber content and the country of origin of the cloth. So while you are correct, this is technically not accurate, I think to most wearers of my kilts it conveys the intended message. At least that's my hope!

[Paul Henry]

Quite right, most if not all tartan cloth woven for kilts comes from sheep raised in Australia or New Zealand. If I remember correctly I wanted to have "100% Wool. Woven in Scotland." on the label at first, but I think there was an issue with the lettering all fitting on the line, at a size that could be handled by the machine, if I recall correctly. There was some technical issue that caused me to truncate it, at any rate. My main goal was to both convey the fiber content and the country of origin of the cloth. So while you are correct, this is technically not accurate, I think to most wearers of my kilts it conveys the intended message. At least that's my hope!

I completely understand, and imagined that was the case, but in this country it would most likely fall foul of trading standards, as it isn't "what it says on the tin" to slightly misquote a UK advertising slogan!

[mookien]

I always took "100% Scottish Wool" to mean the sheep had Scottish ancestors and/or understood Scottish Gaelic or Scots, ... and sheepdog of course. I hope that helps, as usual.