Facebook Live Q & A Friday Feb 2!

[LKM]

Unfortunately I will miss the Q & A as I will be working at that time. Will some of the questions and answers be posted somewhere afterwards?

As far as Welsh tartans go there are several out there, yet it seems that most are either special weaves or sold by the Welsh Tartan Center, or WTC, who as I understand it owns the last tartan mill in Wales. WTC weaves 14 oz wool material that is not flimsy or loosely woven, yet not as sturdy as a 16 oz weave from some other mills. WTC added restrictions on the tartans they designed and are very picky on who weaves these tartans. WTC also will not weave Welsh tartans that they did not design, I have had conversations with them about this. For some reason WTC does very little in PV yet there is the Glyndwr tartan that does come in PV and the Prince of Wales tartan looks great also.

As for making a kilt, or cilt, in a Welsh Tartan I would trust the kilt making skill of USA Kilts over that of the Welsh Tartan Center. I have seen what USA Kilts can produce and in my opinion it top quality.

[RockyR]

Unfortunately I will miss the Q & A as I will be working at that time. Will some of the questions and answers be posted somewhere afterwards?

As far as Welsh tartans go there are several out there, yet it seems that most are either special weaves or sold by the Welsh Tartan Center, or WTC, who as I understand it owns the last tartan mill in Wales. WTC weaves 14 oz wool material that is not flimsy or loosely woven, yet not as sturdy as a 16 oz weave from some other mills. WTC added restrictions on the tartans they designed and are very picky on who weaves these tartans. WTC also will not weave Welsh tartans that they did not design, I have had conversations with them about this. For some reason WTC does very little in PV yet there is the Glyndwr tartan that does come in PV and the Prince of Wales tartan looks great also.

As for making a kilt, or cilt, in a Welsh Tartan I would trust the kilt making skill of USA Kilts over that of the Welsh Tartan Center. I have seen what USA Kilts can produce and in my opinion it top quality.

Yes, the live session will be available afterwards. We are also going to start cutting up a single question & answer into a short video and post some of the more interesting questions after the fact.

TO address the other points, the Welsh Tartan Centre is owned by friends of ours. Up to this point in time, their wool cloth is woven by the Cumbrian Woolen Mill, which is the last mill in Wales. We've done a joint venture with them to have the Glyndwr Red tartan available in PV, which we carry and they carry.

I'll see if I can boil these questions (the 3 or 4 posts above) about the cloth into a single question and answer it on the FB live session. :-)

These questions are great... keep them coming!

[tokareva]

Good Q and A session

Very glad to hear they are going to improve the
quality of the fabric. I will be ordering when its done, and plan to get at least two.
Please let us know of any updates regarding the transition, thank you.

[SunriseEarth]

Great session, Rocky! I was glad to see it!

[RockyR]

Good Q and A session

Very glad to hear they are going to improve the
quality of the fabric. I will be ordering when its done, and plan to get at least two.
Please let us know of any updates regarding the transition, thank you.

If you email me with the tartan you're looking for, I can tell you if the yarns have been changed over or if they have old stock still. rocky@usakilts.com

[RockyR]

The video is live on Youtube. You can see it here: https://youtu.be/EZCcfgcxsf4

[OC Richard]

The video is live on Youtube. You can see it here: https://youtu.be/EZCcfgcxsf4

Thanks for that!

I only got through part of it. My thoughts so far

1) I like Rocky's accent.

2) I completely disagree with the matching leathers thing. It's contrary to 300 or so years of Highland Dress tradition. From our earliest images down to modern times leather Day sporrans and Hunting sporrans have almost universally been brown, the brogues and belts have almost universally have been black. Even as late as the 1970s when I began kiltwearing I only saw black shoes, only saw brown sporrans, for years. The matching leathers thing is another example of projecting Saxon dress norms onto Highland dress, along with matching colours, putting belt loops on kilts, wearing belts to hold kilts up, having the waists of kilts go lower and lower, unbuttoning the bottom button of waistcoats, etc.

[RockyR]

Thanks for your comments, Richard! I'd like to point out a few things:

1) I don't have an accent... the rest of the world has accents.

2) [this is not meant to sound harsh or rude, so please read this paragraph as I wrote it... with a smile on my face] You'll note 2 things in the video... 1. When I speak, I give my opinion and state that it's my opinion. I am not saying "it's the only way" to do something. I'm tempering comments with the fact that often, it's just my opinion. 2. We're an American kilt company, selling kilts in America, mostly to Americans, who will wear their kilts in America around other Americans. I'll give you a minute to process all those "Americas". We do try to keep our company roots firmly in tradition and not step too far outside, but we are speaking to Americans who will be wearing their kilts here and interacting with other Americans that have preconceived ideas about matching colors.

Thanks for watching and for the feedback. I hope you understand the rationale behind our 'slant' on things.

[tpa]

I completely disagree with the matching leathers thing. It's contrary to 300 or so years of Highland Dress tradition. From our earliest images down to modern times leather Day sporrans and Hunting sporrans have almost universally been brown, the brogues and belts have almost universally have been black. Even as late as the 1970s when I began kiltwearing I only saw black shoes, only saw brown sporrans, for years. The matching leathers thing is another example of projecting Saxon dress norms onto Highland dress, along with matching colours, putting belt loops on kilts, wearing belts to hold kilts up, having the waists of kilts go lower and lower, unbuttoning the bottom button of waistcoats, etc.

In the 50's when I started to wear kilts, yes, dark brown sporran, black shoes, no belt but the kilt had brown straps. When I got a Montrose Doublet which required a belt and formal sporran, the sporran and belt were both black as were the shoes still. However I see no problem in matching leather colour to some degree as these days there is so much more choice, it's progress though whether for the better or worse is a matter of opinion. Kilts have evolved from great kilts to where they are today, dyes and colours changed, sporrans have changed, shoes have changed significantly even if you discount ghillie brogues, hose have arrived on the scene. Granted compared with many fashions, the changes have been gradual but it won't stop and as long as for the most part people are tastefully attired, I don't see any point in worrrying about it.

If more people appreciate the benefits of wearing a kilt the better. I find lower much more comfortable, though this depends to a degree on body shape. The doublet requires a high waist and belt and any waistcoat requires a length or kilt waist that doesn't show a gap any more than you would consider having a gap with a 3 piece suit acceptable.

I think that part of the reason that kilts are not everyday wear in Scotland for many more people is that they still only have one kilt which they own or have hired, regard it as Sunday best or better and don't find a high waisted formal wear kilt particularly comfortable for every day activities, like sitting down! If their only kilt experience is one hired and worn with all the trimmings for a wedding, it does not translate too well into an everyday experience. That is just my theory and opinion and I now have one black sporran to wear occasionally with black shoes and belt but on a day to day basis it is brown sporran, belt (if needed to carry other items) and shoes and sometimes brown leather waistcoat.