First kilt fabric choices?

[Kitfoxdave]

As a fellow Floridian on the Treasure coast, I highly recommend a Poly Viscose kilt for your first kilt....they are considerably cooler than the 13 oz wool kilts in the Florida heat and humidity!
I wear a kilt daily in this environment and have done so for a few years.
In addition to being lighter weight and cooler when the temps exceed 85 degrees.... PV kilts are washable (cold water gentle cycle) hang to dry (overnight in a garage works well, outside =fade in strong sunshine!)
Where to buy? There are choices... USA Kilts casual kilt are really nice (velcro fastening is real good if your waist measurement is going up and down) I own 4 of these... St Kilda Kilts made to measure PV kilt is a great choice as well! They are also great people to do buainess with.

13 oz wool kilt, for nice occasions are suitable up to about 75 degrees outside... good in A/C venues.... look real nice. Are heavier, but can be worn in a Cat 1 hurricane as long as you are mindful of wind direction... (yes I have tested it!) Cleaning is more of a challange, I would recommend talking to a local pipe band to see who is a good cleaner in your area.

In short, for your first kilt, do yourself a favor and get a PV kilt from a GOOD maker with UK sourced tartan such as Martin Mills. This will likely be the kilt you wear from March through October... The comfort compared to shorts is extremely better!

I own about 13 kilts, a couple acrylic (poor choice) 5 PV Martin Mills tartan from USA kilts and St Kilda Kilts, 2 16 oz 8 yard wool kilts, and the rest 13 oz 8 yard wool kilts.

Wish you all the best on your kilt aquisitions... one is a good start...

[Kitfoxdave]

I forgot to mention that USA kilts is running a clearance on PV kilts in their Sterling Tartan line... a good place to start!

[jsrnephdoc]

I forgot to mention that USA kilts is running a clearance on PV kilts in their Sterling Tartan line... a good place to start!

OC Richard's photo of 3 Serial Kilters is informative (I think). It suggests that the PV might tend to buckle more easily with movement rather than holding a gentle curve as a nice wool kilt will. The other limitation, of course, is that there are a huge number of tartans, but < 80 woven in PV by Marton Mills

[RockyR]

I forgot to mention that USA kilts is running a clearance on PV kilts in their Sterling Tartan line... a good place to start!

Thanks for mentioning our sale, Kitfoxdave! Here's a link to the products that are available in the sale tartans

https://www.usakilts.com/catalogsear...nt.+Tartans%29

[RockyR]

I'll chime in with my opinion on the OP's question:

I'd stick with Poly Viscose (true, PV cloth woven by Marton Mills in the UK) if you're looking for something in the lower end of the price scale and a cloth that's machine washable.

Alternatively, I'd get a lower yardage wool kilt (5 yards) in 13 or 16 oz cloth.

[geomick]

Thanks for mentioning our sale, Kitfoxdave! Here's a link to the products that are available in the sale tartans

https://www.usakilts.com/catalogsear...nt.+Tartans%29

I decided on a Sterling Blue since blue is a dominant colo(u)r missing from my kilt collection (mostly reds and greens dominate)