Poor choice of kilt

[lewtherin]

Yes I know what you said was the truth, This kilt was a total 5 inches above my navel, and it still was below my knee. Yes they did hem it from the bottom, that I ask them to do. They did a suburb job and i don't believe anyone could tell it had a hem. I am 5' 11" tall, and kneeling on my knees and measuring to 1 inch above my navel is 22 inches, the Kilt I bought was 26 1/2 inches long. I bought the kilt only knowing just a very little about the garments and what to look for, It was priced 400 GBP and I talked it down to 275 GBP, I knew that there must be something wrong with the Kilt and when I got it home and examined it closely, I found 28 small holes under 29 of the pleats, another reason to have it cut and hemmed. Even my wife said it hung better with the extra weight the hem made. The ladies I took the kilt to for repair make Kilts there, I didn't know this but they make the kilts for the area high school Kilties, the all girl high school bands, they dont make many , about 200 a year, but they make them all by machine, I know this is not what the true Scottman would want, but it serves the purpose it is intended for. My is hemmed, but it will never be in a contest to where it has to be completely authentic but you know what, no one here will know, only me and I am fine with it, I can still celebrate my Scottish heritage and have fun with it. In the future, I will be hard pressed to even buy an eight yard kilt again, this one I have after it was shortened still weight 5 pounds. I have problem of it slipping down gradually when i walk because of the weight. Maybe I committed the cardinal sin by cutting and hemming a kilt, to those I offended, I do apologize for the sacrilege, But I can remember when the only true Kilt was made of wool, now other fabrics are making it into the market, I am not trying to make a change in the way of the kilt, but I would appreciate some pass here. I am not a true Scott, but I am not trying to be, Just trying to have fun in my own way. thank you for your comments

[Geoff Withnell]

The correct length really depends on your body's proportions. I am 6 ft. tall, and as measured by Rocky at USAKilts, wear a 22 inch length kilt, because a good portion of my height is in my torso, not my legs. 21 inches would not necessarily be all that short.

[lewtherin]

Same with me Geoff

[OC Richard]

Wow you bring up quite a few different, and interesting, topics!

the Kilt I bought was 26 1/2 inches long

Now, that's a long kilt! It would look a tad long on me, and I'm 6'4".

I will say that for over a hundred years all military kilts were that long, regardless of the man's height. Yes, men who were 5 foot tall wore them.

I don't believe anyone could tell it had a hem... it's not what the true Scotsman would want... it will never be in a contest to where it has to be completely authentic... no one here will know...

I gathered these comments together because I feel they speak to the same issues:

1) who are we trying to please?

2) does one solve a problem by surrounding oneself with people who don't know enough to recognize the problem?

About #1, I want my kilts to look good, for me. I'm not trying to please anyone else, including true Scotsmen and the judges of an Authentic Kilt Contest. (Is that a thing?)

About #2, hemmed kilts are pretty obvious, especially in heavyweight tartan. The pleats look oddly bulky in the back, and the bottom of the front apron looks odd. Anyone who is an experienced kilt-wearer can spot it. It doesn't mean it's a bad thing, but it's something one notices. It's fairly common in pipe band kilts, where the same kilts are used over and over for different people with different measurements. It's why you see so many pipe band people in ill-fitting kilts.

When I'm performing on my pipes I strive to be perfectly in tune at all times, and strive to play each tune as best I can. It's possible that there isn't a single person in the audience who knows the difference. But I know, and I'm the one I have to please. Being in front of an ignorant audience doesn't lead me to saying "close is good enough". It isn't.

Same for my kit. There might be no-one in the room who would know if I'm wearing my kilt crooked, or my hose uneven, or my sporran too high or too low, or my ghillies laced too high, or my bonnet crooked. But I know, and that's all that matters.

I have problem of it slipping down gradually when i walk because of the weight.

I don't think it's due to the weight, but because of improper fit. It's why kilts are bespoke, that is, custom made to a man's unique measurements.

In the military they have long worn kilts heavier than yours, and theirs don't slip down. I have a military-spec kilt (8 yards of 18oz fabric) and it stays up just as well as my kilts in 13oz and 16oz fabric. All these kilts were made for me, not bought "off the peg", which I think accounts for it. They don't slip in spite of me not having a "waist" per se (my waist and hip measurements are the same).

cardinal sin of cutting and hemming a kilt, to those I offended, I do apologize for the sacrilege...

It's no sin, it's no sacrilege, it offends no-one. But it does result in a kilt that doesn't look as good as it would if it had been shortened properly, or better yet, made to measure for you.

I am not a true Scot... I am not trying to be, Just trying to have fun in my own way.

Yes indeed, I'm no Scot either, just a hillbilly. I would never pretend to be anything else.

For me it's not about pretending to be Scottish. It's about having pride in a good turnout. It's about being aware of, and honoring, tradition. That's my thing, anyhow. That's me having fun in my own way.

I'm not saying that my way is more valid than your way. They're just different ways. You're a self-described new kilt wearer, and I've been wearing kilts over 40 years, so it's not surprising we might see things differently.

[Barb T]

That's scary. I doubt they know how to do that properly- you shorten from the top, because the bottom edge is the selvedge of the fabric. Kilts don't have hems at the bottom (real kilts, anyway).

Correction - although most kilts made in medium and heavy weight tartan do not have hems because the selvedge is a good kilting selvedge, kilts made for Highland dancers out of 10-12 oz tartan very commonly DO have hems. This is in part because the selvedge in some lighter weight tartan is not very good and in part because kilts made for younger people are made with hems to allow a child to grow. And these are, in fact, REAL KILTS. Hand stitched, with exactly the same kind of interior construction that is put into a heavy weight kilt for a piper.

I also have had to put hems in a few men's kilts because the selvedge was really awful. Maybe none of you remember the issues we had with a couple runs of XMarks tartan, but I put hems in those kilts. These were real kilts that looked as good as ones without a hem and did not hang funny or have a bulky looking bottom. And believe me - there is no one in the kilting world who is pickier and more critical about quality than I am.

About #2, hemmed kilts are pretty obvious, especially in heavyweight tartan. The pleats look oddly bulky in the back, and the bottom of the front apron looks odd. Anyone who is an experienced kilt-wearer can spot it. It doesn't mean it's a bad thing, but it's something one notices. It's fairly common in pipe band kilts, where the same kilts are used over and over for different people with different measurements.

I have put hems into our heavy weight band kilts for kids in the band when necessary so that we don't have to invest in a new kilt as a young piper or drummer grows. If it is done properly and pressed properly, the hem is NOT noticeable at all unless you actually feel the bottom of the kilt.

I've also made kilts from Harris tweed that did not have a selvedge at all. Even in a box pleated kilt, the hem was not noticeable. If I can find a pic, I'll post it. Again, these are "real kilts".

So, bottom line, let's not proliferate the notion that the way to distinguish a "real" kilt is whether or not it has a hem....

[neloon]

My daughter's hemmed kilt lasted from age 10 to age 18 with just occasional hem adjustment. That's the way it always was and still is in Scotland for boys and girls.

Alan

[ThistleDown]

My second (or third) kilt I wore from age nine through twelve and had been worn before I received it. It has been worn by four others since then and its hem has been altered several times.

[lewtherin]

Thank you Barb, I appreciate what you said, you speak of one of authority and experience. And you are correct, you would never know that this kilt is hemmed unless you feel of the bottom, I have pictures of before and after and you can not tell by looking any difference. It still flips when I walk. This is not my first Kilt, my first was about 35 years ago. True, I am not an expert on kilts, I bought this kilt knowing it was too large for me, but also I knew I could have it altered to fit me. And I only paid 275 GBP for the kilt, I knew if it didn't work, I could trash it and not be out alot of money. Again I appreciate your comments, you are a kind Lady.