Where do you buy Tartan material?

**Andrew Breecher** · 5th April 13, 01:34 PM

Keep in mind (it's been mentioned already but I thought I'd make sure it's clear) that if your fabric is wide enough you only need half the yardage for a complete kilt. I'm not sure if that's mentioned in Barb's book - I'm sure it is, along with what to do if your tartan is asymmetrical.

**David Thorpe** · 5th April 13, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by Andrew Breecher

Keep in mind (it's been mentioned already but I thought I'd make sure it's clear) that if your fabric is wide enough you only need half the yardage for a complete kilt. I'm not sure if that's mentioned in Barb's book - I'm sure it is, along with what to do if your tartan is asymmetrical.

It is not only mentioned - it is covered thoroughly, along with the issues associated with an asymmetric tartan.

**A Robertson** · 5th April 13, 03:02 PM

I know 99.999% of readers here will want to crucify me when I write the following, but it might we worth taking a look! (Here goes - fingers crossed) - You do not say for what occasion the kilt/skirt is for, neither do you say which particular tartan you are looking for.. If it is only for occasional wear, and a non specific tartan - look on ebay. Here in UK, many imported (Pakistan - the origin of many UK kilts) kilts, are available for less than £20 ($30) and 8 yarders for less than £25 ($37). Admitted - not wool, but only the Tartan Police will notice. Is it really worth all the time and effort making one? (Sorry if I have offended the purists!)
Best of luck.

**llyd** · 6th April 13, 05:53 PM

If yer gonna learn to make kilts...do yourself a big favor and start cheap...make a few out of commo.ly available material from the local shops...jumping off into a project you habe no experience with with high dollar material is a recipe for failure...also..I would not necessarily recommend starting with tartan...make a couple kilts from whatever cloth tickles your fancy...pv tweed is a good start as is some heavier cotton tweeds....getting well made pleats and nice straight well constructed fells takes a bit, and having to worry at getting a pleat to sett or stripe right in one go...well...probably not. Also, in addition to buying TAOK..download the box pleat kilt addenum to go with the book....box pleats are soooo much easier to learn...at least they were for me.

**Paul Henry** · 7th April 13, 01:47 AM

Originally Posted by Llwyd

If yer gonna learn to make kilts...do yourself a big favor and start cheap...make a few out of commo.ly available material from the local shops...jumping off into a project you habe no experience with with high dollar material is a recipe for failure...also..I would not necessarily recommend starting with tartan...make a couple kilts from whatever cloth tickles your fancy...pv tweed is a good start as is some heavier cotton tweeds....getting well made pleats and nice straight well constructed fells takes a bit, and having to worry at getting a pleat to sett or stripe right in one go...well...probably not. Also, in addition to buying TAOK..download the box pleat kilt addenum to go with the book....box pleats are soooo much easier to learn...at least they were for me.

I afraid I don't agree, with starting cheap, there is such a difference in using good quality cloth, that it actually makes it easier to sew. Also there is such a difference between using cotton and wool, that you actually use different skills, so using one won't neccessarily help when you come to use the other, for example wool has the remarkable ability to ease and shape with steam ( which is so important) and cotton camo doesn't. Actually having a tartan to start working on can be useful as you can see which lines to go for , and you can esily see where you have gone wrong, and good wool cloth can be unpicked many times without showing any marks.
Of course cloth is expensive but you can pick up bargains on ebay or similar and if you are going to be spending a long time sewing, it deserves to be on a good cloth.
One of the best and easiest kilt mkaing guides ( providing you have some sewing experience ) is Chris Eyre's Pages . of course it doesn't cover everything, but it's free and really worth a read.

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 7th April 13, 04:33 AM

I have to echo what Paul Henry says. I advise people the exact opposite of what you have said. Start with quality materials if you plan on learning to sew your own kilt. That's not a recipe for disaster - it is a recipe for success. If you want to limit your financial investment your first time out, that is understandable. So maybe instead of making your first kilt out of a custom run short length of tartan from Dalgliesh, you'll want to check the "specials" pages of some of your favorite vendors to see if they have a few yards of tartan cloth on sale that you could take advantage of.

But starting with good quality wool tartan cloth woven for kilt making will make your experience so much better - and make it that much easier for you to make a decent looking kilt. I agree with everything Paul wrote about it being easier to work with. I'll also add that your end product will look much nicer at the end of the day, you'll be proud of it, and more likely to want to make more kilts.

I'd also advise NOT to start with solid cloth. Tartan is so much easier to work with - the cloth has a built-in grid on it to make sure you have everything lined up correctly. I'm actually making a solid colored kilt right now, and even though I have made over 700 kilts to date, I still find the solid ones a pain in the you-know-what to deal with. I have to be so much more careful in my measurements and end up with chalk lines all over the place to make sure everything is lining up as it should. Give me tartan to work with any day!

**llyd** · 7th April 13, 05:17 AM

I can't argue with you, Matt, I found not having to mess with lining everything up pretty easy, though...

**David Thorpe** · 7th April 13, 06:22 AM

Originally Posted by Llwyd

I can't argue with you, Matt, I found not having to mess with lining everything up pretty easy, though...

Having to line up those stripes is at least as much of a help as it is a hassle. The stripes serve as guidelines built into the fabric. Matching them ensures that the seams are aligned as they should be. It isn't impossible to end up with a skewed kilt made with quality tartan and careful attention, but you really have to work hard to do it.

**jhockin** · 7th April 13, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by plaid preacher

Fraser and Kirkbright are a Canadian tartan mill ... some of their material is lightweight but many here have made kilts from it. You can probably do a search using their company name and they are on the web. They have some good prices on remnant material, but at the moment no deal on Fraser...although it is in their catalogue

here is a link to F&K website:
http://www.wooltartan.com/

-you'll want to use the 12 oz., at least, for a kilt - if you are patient, and keep checking back, you can sometimes find medium (12 oz.) weight or "heavy weight" (14/15 oz) in the remnant section. The 12 oz makes a very nice kilt, IMO - I used it for my first first attempt & it is still my favourite/ most worn kilt ( so far). Keep in mind the Gordon ( at F& K) sells 60 inch wide/ "double width" - so you'll "only " need 4 yds to make an 8 yd 'tank'.

**seasaidhlinne** · 8th April 13, 08:14 AM

I didn't manage to get Fraser tartan this go around, but now have a lovely piece of Nova scotia Tartan

I paid $5 dollars for it I'm impressed with my thrift shop skills. NOW to start MAKING an actual skirt/kilt under the tutelage of my grandmother who actually knows how to sew.
I will check out a lot of these links though

and definitely will be needing a Fraser kilt

I mean one can never have to many can they?