Where to buy tartan in UK?

[Iain Ruaidh]

Hi All
I'm thinking about making my first kilt in England, UK.

So where do I buy my tartan pls?

Strathmore Woollens and Lochcarron appear to sell direct at good prices.
Where do I get Marton Mills, House of Edgar or DC Dalgliesh from?

[figheadair]

Hi All
I'm thinking about making my first kilt in England, UK.

So where do I buy my tartan pls?

Strathmore Woollens and Lochcarron appear to sell direct at good prices.
Where do I get Marton Mills, House of Edgar or DC Dalgliesh from?

Some considerations:

• What weight, 16oz?
• Selvedge or Tuck Edge?
• What tartan; i.e. stock or bespoke?
• Scottish Mill or are you content with Marton Mills?

[Iain Ruaidh]

I like the House of Edgar Irish tartans but also others.

Probably 13oz.

But I get that 16oz is easier to work with and this would be my first go.

Just want to find where to get the ones that don’t appear to sell direct to retail.

[figheadair]

I like the House of Edgar Irish tartans but also others.

Probably 13oz.

But I get that 16oz is easier to work with and this would be my first go.

Just want to find where to get the ones that don’t appear to sell direct to retail.

The best option would be to speak to someone that has an account with the various weavers (PM me if interested).

For clarity:

Strathmore Woollens - Don't weave thier own cloth.

Lochcarron - sell direct.

Marton Mills - I thought they sold directly but I could be wrong, in which case you would need to go via an agent.

House of Edgar - need to go via an agent.

DC Dalgliesh - I thought they sold directly but I could be wrong, in which case you would need to go via an agent. Their material is very expensive by comparison.

Andrew Elliot Ltd - need to go via an agent.

[PassingW]

"Andrew Elliot Ltd - need to go via an agent.[/QUOTE]"

I add my opinion that the Andrew Elliot Ltd 16oz selvedge tartan is superb. Thank you Peter!

[MurrayInGA]

I bought from Lochcarron during their 'winter sale' last year. Excellent deal, like 20% off.

[Iain Ruaidh]

Thank you all for the info so far..
@figheadair I will PM you in a few months time when my kilt fund goes critical and I have to Go For It!

Meantime, I'm going to look up Andrew Elliot. New one on me!

[joe=totale]

Hi folks. Thanks for a very interesting thread. I'm currently checking out options for buying tweed / tartan in the UK, so this has been helpful. (Although I am somewhat overwhelmed, even limiting myself to weavers in Scotland / Yorkshire).

I think there was a question about whether Andrew Elliot is available to buy direct from the weaver - and I think they might. They list a price per metre for all their fabrics, and I think their Stock Estate Tweed is their heavy weight option (100% new wool, 150cm wide, £60 per metre.)

There isn't an option to "add to shopping basket", but their Contact Us page invites emails if you're interested in buying.

I hope this is helpful. I'm very new here, so certainly not trying to teach experienced hands how to suck eggs

[joe=totale]

I got so carried away with my previous reply, that I forgot to ask my question, hopefully relevant to this thread. Can anyone recommend UK suppliers/ranges that are known for providing a good, useable selvedge? I'm keen to avoid "tuck under" and it would help me narrow down my long list of companies.

If helpful, I'm currently thinking of going for a heavyweight, pure wool, and probably a tweed rather than proper tartan.

[I've been reading @figheadair's paper on historical selvedges and it's quite fascinating how these have been treated. It's a shame we're losing some of these quality elements as mass production techniques take over in the interest of lower cost of manufacturing]

[figheadair]

I got so carried away with my previous reply, that I forgot to ask my question, hopefully relevant to this thread. Can anyone recommend UK suppliers/ranges that are known for providing a good, useable selvedge? I'm keen to avoid "tuck under" and it would help me narrow down my long list of companies.

If helpful, I'm currently thinking of going for a heavyweight, pure wool, and probably a tweed rather than proper tartan.

[I've been reading @figheadair's paper on historical selvedges and it's quite fascinating how these have been treated. It's a shame we're losing some of these quality elements as mass production techniques take over in the interest of lower cost of manufacturing]

All of Andrew Elliot's cloth has a selvedge; most of HoE's cloth does; and some of Lochcarron's material does (so you'd need to check).

I have been working with Lochcarron and their new British range of wool which in my opinion is the best tartan on the market. They have been excellent at recreating a traditional selvage based on my research. Here's a project currently being woven.

Strathspey Waistcoat reconstruction-3-sm.jpg

Strathspey Waistcoat reconstruction-2-sm.jpg