So, Who Actually Sews Up Pakistani Made Kilts?

**pdcorlis** · 2nd March 06, 09:39 PM

Originally Posted by Raphael

what's wrong with Chinese wool?

Jeeze Rocky - you just can't catch a break in this thread can you? I guess it shows to go ya that you just can't please all the people huh?

**GlassMan** · 2nd March 06, 11:03 PM

I want to jump in here to Rocky's defense.

I just got my Blue MacKay Premier Kilt in a fine Scottish Wool and it's wonderful.

Also, I just did a check online and found that the primary producers of wool are Australia & New Zealand, which together make up over 3/4 of the entire world export market of wool. The rest of the top 20 exporters are also almost all Commonwealth Nations with the exception of Uraguay & Argentina. Scotland was lumped in with the UK, but as a national unit the UK was among the top 20 exporters.

China & Hong Kong are the worlds largest importers of wool. While the UK has minimal imports and those are primarly from Australia & New Zealand.

So while it is incredibly fashionable in the US to claim that almost anything is made in China, this is one situation where the Chinese have an almost non-existent domestic production.

In this case it would seem that if the wool in your kilt isn't Scottish than it is almost certainly from Australia or New Zealand.

**g koch** · 3rd March 06, 12:07 AM

I s'pose that news I heard about Chinese goat flu pandemic was all in my head as well....

Thanks for the fact spanking there. Guess I was talking thru my hat again.

Is the P/V made from Scottish trees?

Are there Scottish trees?

**Shay** · 3rd March 06, 01:20 AM

Originally Posted by g koch

Are there Scottish trees?

There are about six kind of tartan trees in Scotland- they're all different colors, )IIRC, red, green, blue, yellow, black and white) and the wood is carefully stripped from the trunk's many offshoots and pounded flat into fiber to make the threads that are later loomed into tartans. Using heartwood or wood closer to the bark will change the the brightness and density of the color. Since the six trees are rather scarce across the country, the Scots long ago figured out that wool could be dyed almost any color at all, and used that instead. (Also, wool kilts didn't chafe half as much)

However, some of the old wood kilts info is still around...

Since wood kilts (Or, to distinguish them from the growing number of woolen kilts, 'woodies') were so time-consuming and labor-intensive, they were only worn on special occasions, like courtship rituals or sporting events. I tell you, if a man wore his woodie to meet his sweetheart, the family would insist on a wedding before long- anyone with that much interest in a girl can only mean there's big things for the young lady in the future! And while it seems odd they would have worn their woodies to sporting events, nothing brings out the family pride like winning a caber toss! Those things are huge enough that the viewers had to sit far back from the field, and the woodies would have been like a big flag flying to let the family know their man was on the case.

What a sight it must have been.. Echoes of this habit still persist today, even though almost all kilts now are made of wool, and Scotland's tartan trees stand undisturbed for generations. I have a elderly neighbor come from Scotland, and in the interest of historical curiosity, he's offered to show me his family woody. I can't wait to see it- it may be old and not as stiff as it once was, but I'm sure it will be spectacular!

**UmAnOnion** · 3rd March 06, 04:47 AM

Originally Posted by Shay

There are about six kind of tartan trees in Scotland- they're all different colors, )IIRC, red, green, blue, yellow, black and white) and the wood is carefully stripped from the trunk's many offshoots and pounded flat into fiber to make the threads that are later loomed into tartans. Using heartwood or wood closer to the bark will change the the brightness and density of the color. Since the six trees are rather scarce across the country, the Scots long ago figured out that wool could be dyed almost any color at all, and used that instead. (Also, wool kilts didn't chafe half as much)

However, some of the old wood kilts info is still around...

Since wood kilts (Or, to distinguish them from the growing number of woolen kilts, 'woodies') were so time-consuming and labor-intensive, they were only worn on special occasions, like courtship rituals or sporting events. I tell you, if a man wore his woodie to meet his sweetheart, the family would insist on a wedding before long- anyone with that much interest in a girl can only mean there's big things for the young lady in the future! And while it seems odd they would have worn their woodies to sporting events, nothing brings out the family pride like winning a caber toss! Those things are huge enough that the viewers had to sit far back from the field, and the woodies would have been like a big flag flying to let the family know their man was on the case.

What a sight it must have been.. Echoes of this habit still persist today, even though almost all kilts now are made of wool, and Scotland's tartan trees stand undisturbed for generations. I have a elderly neighbor come from Scotland, and in the interest of historical curiosity, he's offered to show me his family woody. I can't wait to see it- it may be old and not as stiff as it once was, but I'm sure it will be spectacular!

Am i the only one here not 100%sure is Shay is being serious here...???

**Robin** · 3rd March 06, 04:56 AM

Am i the only one here not 100%sure is Shay is being serious here...???

You dare to have any doubts?

She's Gentry...and a pirate...you've guts!

**GlassMan** · 3rd March 06, 05:40 AM

Originally Posted by g koch

I s'pose that news I heard about Chinese goat flu pandemic was all in my head as well....

Thanks for the fact spanking there. Guess I was talking thru my hat again.

Is the P/V made from Scottish trees?

Are there Scottish trees?

I like that phrase, "fact spanking." It makes being a geek seem positively kinky!