How do you go about it as a potential mill customer?

[bookish]

I have made some initial requests for quotes on tartan weaving. I have enquired about D.C. Dagliesh and Martin Mills.

D.C. Dagliesh does not work with private individuals and refers people to clan.com. I assume any business that has a relationship with D.C. Dagliesh could do this. I asked a CLAN representative about cost, whether or not custom dyeing is an option, and if I could buy samples of their stock threads. I was told that being supplied stock threads was not an option, and I can imagine scenarios where colors change subtly based on seasonal availability or cost of yarn production.

I was a little disappointed by this process, but I can see several scenarios regarding why the mill would prefer to not talk to those who are not familiar with the business. I am sure it takes time to educate individuals, and passing that burden onto middlemen who do kiltmaking means the kiltmaker may convert the person who made the request for information into a customer, or at the least make a small commission or charge a fee for the work of ordering fabric the way the mill would like. I assume a business with a relationship with D.C. Dagliesh might be able to get sample yarns from the mill based on the relationship they have, whereas I might not.

I did not see any statement on the Martin Mills website that they do not take orders from private individuals, and I made an enquiry. The first response for any request for information seems to be, "Are you a business or an individual." This is from a sample size of 2 responses out of 2 requests. I have yet to hear back after stating that I am not a business.

In my requests, I ask for the minimum order and cost per meter or yard for double-width 16oz wool tartan that is custom woven, and if custom dyeing is an option, what are the additional costs associated with that.

So, with the state of the industry as it is, how do you go about contracting tartan weaving as a non-business entity?

I would love to get to know what each mill has to offer, and to find out what each mill charges for these services, and I would like to come off as respectful and not demanding. I understand that many individuals have developed professional relationships with mills, so a non-professional being able to make such requests and place orders for themselves means that kiltmakers and shops don't get the chance to convert sales from those non-professionals.

How do you all view the quest for contracting tartan weaving as a private individual?

Thanks for your thoughts!

[Tobus]

I've only done one custom mill run as an individual (others were co-ordinated through a kiltmaker). It was my experience that the larger mills prefer not to deal with individuals. If they'll even talk to you, their price will usually indicate that you should look elsewhere.

Have you talked to anyone at Andrew Elliot Ltd. or Prickly Thistle?

[Flotineer]

If you have a kiltmaker in mind, maybe just get them to do it for you. As a kiltmaker, they’re in the trade. Mine got thread samples and everything - relayed to me through her. Then, I ordered far more than a kilt’s worth and kept the excess beyond my kilt.

[DCampbell16B]

You may want to consider contacting a weaver rather than a mill for a special weave as you are interested in. Peter MacDonald is on this forum, and might be able to direct you to someone you could work with.

That said, to make an kilt first time there are thousand of tartans avaliable now to get you started. Find something similar to what you have in mind.

[bookish]

Have you talked to anyone at Andrew Elliot Ltd. or Prickly Thistle?

Early in my research, I had messaged Clare of Prickly Thistle about the Climate Stripes tartan, but not about a custom weaving. I like the messaging and branding of Prickly Thistle. I have not looked into Andrew Elliot Ltd. Thank you for the suggestions!

[bookish]

If you have a kiltmaker in mind, maybe just get them to do it for you. As a kiltmaker, they’re in the trade. Mine got thread samples and everything - relayed to me through her. Then, I ordered far more than a kilt’s worth and kept the excess beyond my kilt.

This is reasonable advice. Thank you.

[bookish]

You may want to consider contacting a weaver rather than a mill for a special weave as you are interested in. Peter MacDonald is on this forum, and might be able to direct you to someone you could work with.

That said, to make an kilt first time there are thousand of tartans available now to get you started. Find something similar to what you have in mind.

I am not sure I have enough context about the industry as a whole to understand the distinction between a weaver and a mill, though I think Tobus's response to me probably points in that direction. I appreciate the advice to find an off-the-shelf tartan, as it were, to get started with.

I am trying to look ahead for the purposes of financial planning, though I suppose I might have enough information to generate a ballpark figure to aim my savings toward. I do want my tartan to be the best that I can afford with colors that match my intention and design, and the more information I have, the better I can realize that goal. I suppose I'll just save up what I think it might cost (or to what my budget is) and make my enquiries at that time.

[Kitfoxdave]

There are several companies that have a path for custom tartans. USA kilts and St Kilda Kilts are two that work with more than one mill. Typical minimum order is about 10 meters. They both have pricing information online, as well as tartan designer software tools.

You can have custom dye colors done, but there is an upcharge for that.

Youtube has some USA kilts videos of the process of custom tartan. These will hopefully help you.

I have been collecting embroidery thread to determine the final colors I want for my custom tartan, and plan to send them along with my request when I get to that point.

There is an individual weaver on the west coast, that does small custom weaving jobs like making a sample of a sett... it has been a while since I looked into it last year.... but a Google search for Custom weaver in USA will likely bring up her details.

Good luck with your project!

[bookish]

There are several companies that have a path for custom tartans. USA kilts and St Kilda Kilts are two that work with more than one mill. Typical minimum order is about 10 meters. They both have pricing information online, as well as tartan designer software tools.

You can have custom dye colors done, but there is an upcharge for that.

Youtube has some USA kilts videos of the process of custom tartan. These will hopefully help you.

I have been collecting embroidery thread to determine the final colors I want for my custom tartan, and plan to send them along with my request when I get to that point.

There is an individual weaver on the west coast, that does small custom weaving jobs like making a sample of a sett... it has been a while since I looked into it last year.... but a Google search for Custom weaver in USA will likely bring up her details.

Good luck with your project!

Thank you! I am trying to save up to make sure that I have enough for the weaving. Martin Mills got back to me with their base cost, and given a video that I saw from USA Kilts (assuming that MM is the mill that they refer to regarding custom yarn dyes), I can assume a custom color might be something like $100 each color, and there are 4 colors that I would like to be custom.

USA Kilts has a fine social media presence and good production value on their YouTube videos. I am sure that they have good quality products. I want my first kilt to be hand stitched and to have the "fish tail" cut out of the pleats at the waist, otherwise, I would consider them for my first 8-yard kilt. I will definitely consider them for a future kilt project. I'll look at USA weaves, as I hadn't thought of that. I do want to support Scottish weaving as much as possible. I feel like supporting a Scottish cultural product with Scottish artisans at least in some measure is worthwhile, but I don't necessarily have a problem with American artisans carrying Scottish culture where appropriate.

[AustinDiver]

I have a tank that was hand sewn. The cloth was from Dalgliesh. I wanted another kilt to match the first. Clan.com was sort of a pain. They messed up the weaving. They scaled the registered personal tartan differently than the original weaving. The kilts did not match. They did not ask for approval before hand.

Kinloch Anderson asks a lot of money and pushes you towards double wide weaves even when asking about options for single width (House of Edgar). The prices they quoted me today were for double wide Lochcarron. I am not knocking Lochcarron. The original inquiry was for single width options from House of Edgar.

If you are making a kilt, LochCaron will work with you. They have their own kilt makers on staff.

If I go through with this, I would rather not deal with clan.com again for custom kilts. They contract the kilt making out possibly to McNaughton or St Kilda.

Gordon Nicholson will not work with Dalgliesh. If I order the cloth and have it delivered, Nicholson would made the kilt at one point.

St Kildas helped me with a weave in PolyViscose from Marton Mills. I wanted some cloth for a few kilts so that I did not put wear on the 16 oz Tank. Marton Mills sent the cloth for the kilts to St Kildas and sent the rest to me for making table runners, etc.

I would be willing to give Andrew Elliot a try. Since I have the PVS kilts in the pattern, the perceived need is not as strong. The tank would be used for formal and the PVS could be used for more casual/less formal.


One thing to keep in mind is that none of these companies are huge by any stretch of the imagination. I saw some sales numbers of Lochcarron and I was surprised.