Kilt Konfusion

[Valandur]

Hello,


Many years ago (2001 IIRC), a friend of mine who was born in England was getting married here in Louisiana (US). I was to be in the wedding party and as he had Scottish roots he wanted to dress in costume with kilts and all. So there was a local shop that sold kilts which I visited to see what they offered. I got quite lucky because they had a kilt in my tartan (Buchanan, ancient weathered) that they had marked down from $350 to $150. Needless to say I grabbed it!


The kilt was a bit big for me. I think it's sized for someone with a 35 inch waist and at the time I had a waist of about 32 inches, so it fit a bit loose on me and looked rather odd if you were real close because I had to buckle it all the way up throwing the lines off a bit.


A few years later I decided to get a kilt made. Not really liking the ancient weathered look I wanted to go with the Buchanan Modern tartan. I began looking around for some and noticed it was rather pricey. I happened upon an Ebay auction where a length of tartan in Modern Buchanan was being sold and bought it.

This was around 2003, quite a while ago. After many years I've decided that I want to actually get a kilt made. In my area, northern Louisiana, I've come across no one who can make a kilt. I've gotten suggestions from various fabric store people but they have still proven to be useless. I'm now entertaining the notion of sending my material off to get a kilt made. But being so new to kilts I don't know who to trust to make a good kilt without ripping me off. I've also considered sending my old kilt off to see if it can be altered to fit correctly.

Here is why I'm posting, aside from seeking who would be good to deal with tailor wise. The wool I bought from Ebay has no tags, nor do I have any information about it. I've got no clue what weight of wool I have, nor do I know how much material I have. My Lochcarron kilt's material feels pretty heavy, I'm thinking it might be 16oz. Comparing it to the wool I bought, that material feels lighter, but I can't say whether its 13oz or 10oz? Also, measuring the material to see how man yards I have is somewhat of a problem. My material measures 54" wide by 142" long. Taking the length and dividing it my 12, then by 3 comes out to 3.94 yards, but that cant be right because I wouldn't have bought less then 3 yards (I don't think).

So if anyone can help me with information I would really appreciate it!

Here's a pic of what I've got..

http://imageshack.us/a/img442/698/photojun11181434.jpg

well it won't load here, the file is too big.

[The Wizard of BC]

Let me see if I can help.

First let's work on how much fabric you have.

We measure fabric in two different ways. The first is how it comes off the bolt. The second is how we use it to make a kilt.
Fabric can be woven on a narrow or wide loom. A narrow loom will produce fabric approx. 27" wide and a wide loom around 54" and 60" wide. We have nicknamed these single and double width.
Your fabric is double width so each linear fabric yard will let you make two kilt yards by ripping the fabric in half lengthwise.

Your fabric is 142" long or 3.94 linear yards. This means you have 7.88 kilt yards of fabric. If your hip circumference is less than 44" this should be enough.

I say 'should' because the Buchanan Tartan is non-symmetrical. Depending on the fabric, you may loose some usable fabric getting the pattern to line up.



Now let's talk a little about fabric weight. Tartan fabrics are are usually sold in a certain number of ounces per linear yard. This can be confusing because fabric is woven in different widths depending on the loom.

We have sort of taken a standard of; 1 fabric yard = 36" long X 60" wide or 2160 square inches.

Your fabric is 54" X 142", 3.94 fabric yards, or 7668 square inches.

Now, find a good scale that will give you a reading in ounces. If you don't have a scale, go to your local post office.

Weigh your fabric.

If your fabric weighs about 39 ounces or 2.5 lbs you have 10oz fabric.
If your fabric weights about 51 ounces or 3.2 lbs you have 13oz fabric.
If your fabric weights about 63 ounces or 3.9 lbs you have 16oz fabric.

[Spartan Tartan]

from Rhode Island.

[O'Searcaigh]

First, Hello and from The Big South Fork, north central Tennessee!

The above advice from Steve is "spot on" and you couldn't ask for a more expert answer. If your other kilt (the one that is too large) is only two or three inches too big, the easiest thing to do is just move the buckles a bit. There is usually about a two inch "give or take" to a kilt (one of the reasons I love them) and a few inches adjustment by moving the buckles can save a lot of problems having a kilt "taken in." However, I have had one altered (needed more than a few inches) and at the time I also had it shortened a bit (taken off the top/waist so as not to affect the bottom or have a "hem.") That cost me $60.00 from a professional kilt maker and was well worth it. I commissioned her to make another kilt for me because the "altered" one came back a perfect tailored fit. You could always try making your own kilt (wouldn't advise starting with your good wool material though). Barb T's "The Art of Kilt Making" is an absolutely outstanding instruction manual. I "made" a couple of kilts before using her instructions/techniques, then one afterward. That one turned out great and I learned a lot. Maybe even enough to try it with "good" material (wool) the next time!
Glad to have you with us. Happy kilting!

[Father Bill]

Welcome to the "Great Rabble!"

[Standard]

to the Rabble, and thanks Steve for the tutorial reminder for the rest of us of the measurements we use, and how we come about the terms.

[JohntheBiker]

from Toronto, Canada

[Psynister]

and the Great Rabble, from the Texas panhandle.

[McFarkus]

from Chicago

[Nile]

Hello Valandur, and welcome to X Marks from the swamps of lower Delaware.

There you have it; the value of XMTS when you have a question or concern. Steve's answer not only helped answer your question but, it provided important information for a lot of us.

You're going to like this place and the people who come here!

Nile