X Marks tartan at Fraser & Kirkbright

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

Given this is 16oz I would be interested. And I will offer my skills as a clearing point for ordering and shipping the material as I have done for the XMarks pins. It might be easier to have one person order a large length, than all of us order single 4m lengths. If that works, I would probably engage Pete or Matt Newsome to do the actually cutting, or some other kilt make, but those seem the most likely, as I may well go for another Matt box pleat or send it to Pete since most seem to be SOKS members and avail myself one a CCK kilt!

[MacWage]

Guys!!!!

REMEMBER:
The sevege is EXTREMELY BAD!!!!!!!
I would, personally NOT use that for a kilt.

I MIGHT get some for some other projects. If ANYONE in the Upstate South Carolina or Atlanta area is interested, PM or EMAIL me, so we can bulf order and save on the shipping. I drive to Atlanta about weekly, so I could meet folks in both areas.

My projects:
-Vest
-Cadadh
-Scarf
-?????

[ccga3359]

Linky

[The Wizard of BC]

It's 9:30 pm Fri. night and I just returned from the mainland to return the damaged X Marks Tartan to Gordon at Fraser & Kirkbright.

Here's the story on this fabric....

This is the damaged fabric that I rejected. It is my opinion that the Selvedge is totally unusable. (Please see the pics in the thread referanced above.) In many places the damage extends greater than 2" into the selvedge edges. Where we originally hoped to find usable lengths I later found small rips in the opposite edge.
There are also oil and grease spots on many areas from what I assume was the bearing that failed on the finishing machine.
The entire two rolls have internal stresses that can be seen when you lay the fabric out flat. The Tartan pattern is not straight and there are ripples and bulges that won't lay flat.

In my opinion this fabric with the damage was not what our members paid for so I rejected the entire lot and returned it to Gordon. Gordon was a true gentleman and accepted my decision without question and has agreed to re-weave the entire order at his own expense. In an attempt to recover some of his loss he has offered the fabric to the public as remnants.

It is only my opinion but I would not use this fabric for a kilt. Not a kilt of any kind except perhaps a mini cheerleader kilt that is made of small pieces. It is perfectly suited for almost any other use you can think of. Vests, ties, flashes, linings, sporrans, car seat cushions, your cat's bed, almost anything but a kilt.

The price is completely reasonable and Gordon really needs to get something for this fabric. If anyone has a project that is just crying for a small piece of X Marks Tartan I say let's help Gordon out and buy the entire lot.

But kilts, no, unless you are ready to accept something just for the low price.

For further details on the re-weave of the 16oz. X Marks Tartan please see my post under the X Marks Tartan thread.

[Riverkilt]

Kathy Lare made up a vest out of X Marks Tartan for me.

Photo is crummy, but the vest is nice. Have even worn it with my X Marks kilt (Gasp!).

But, an idea for use of the rejected material. Particularly since there's been a vest thread going on the Freedom Kilts forum.



Ron

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Ron has a good idea. This cloth may not be suitable for kilts, but this may be the perfect opportunity for those who have X Marks kilts (or will be getting X Marks kilts with the next fabric run) to get some fabric for some accessories. Remember, this cloth is not normally available unless a bulk order is put in. So here is your perfect opportunity to get some cloth for...

A vest, as Ron has mentioned....
A fly plaid....
A sash for the wife....
A scarf....
A pair of traditional cadadh hose...
An "X Marks the Scot" tartan banner for parading or flying at your clan tent....

Lots of opportunities!
Matt

[mkmound]

Ron has a good idea. This cloth may not be suitable for kilts, but this may be the perfect opportunity for those who have X Marks kilts (or will be getting X Marks kilts with the next fabric run) to get some fabric for some accessories. Remember, this cloth is not normally available unless a bulk order is put in. So here is your perfect opportunity to get some cloth for...

A vest, as Ron has mentioned....
A fly plaid....
A sash for the wife....
A scarf....
A pair of traditional cadadh hose...
An "X Marks the Scot" tartan banner for parading or flying at your clan tent....

Lots of opportunities!
Matt

Hmmmmm . . . . . . so could someone provide dimensions and yardage estimates for these items? (taking into account the loss of the damaged selvedge edges)

E.g.,

• vest . . . 1 yd / m
• sash . . . 15 in. x 90 in. = 2.5 yds normally yields four 15 in. widths, minus 1 for the damage = 4 sashes
• fly plaid . . .
• flag . . . typical size??

Thanks!!

[mkmound]

Steve,

Thanks for the detailed assessment of the goods. Some questions . . .

. . .

This is the damaged fabric that I rejected. It is my opinion that the Selvedge is totally unusable. (Please see the pics in the thread referanced above.) In many places the damage extends greater than 2" into the selvedge edges. Where we originally hoped to find usable lengths I later found small rips in the opposite edge.
. . .

So anyone planning to use this would need to plan to lose 2" on both edges. Given 59" wide fabric, that leaves 55" usable, right?

. . .
There are also oil and grease spots on many areas from what I assume was the bearing that failed on the finishing machine.
The entire two rolls have internal stresses that can be seen when you lay the fabric out flat. The Tartan pattern is not straight and there are ripples and bulges that won't lay flat.

. . .

Do you think that the oil and grease could be cleaned? By washing with a good grease remover, or by dry cleaning?

Are the internal stresses such that after cleaning and pressing, could they be flattened out with the pressing?

. . .
It is only my opinion but I would not use this fabric for a kilt. Not a kilt of any kind except perhaps a mini cheerleader kilt that is made of small pieces. It is perfectly suited for almost any other use you can think of. Vests, ties, flashes, linings, sporrans, car seat cushions, your cat's bed, almost anything but a kilt.

. . .

So potentially suitable for anything which will be hemmed or fringed?

One other thought on this . . . and it is an opinion with which others are certainly free to disagree . . . my view is that this is a special tartan for our "on-line" clan, and it seems wrong somehow (to me) to use it for some use like car seeat cushions or a cat's bed.

Also, if used for a flag, is the weave strong enough to withstand being whipped by the wind, assuming that the edges were properly bound? Would it need to be bonded to something stronger, or maybe two layers bonded together (iron-on interfacing, etc., ?) to withstand the weather?

Just my rambling thoughts . . .

Mark

[ccga3359]

One other thought on this . . . and it is an opinion with which others are certainly free to disagree . . . my view is that this is a special tartan for our "on-line" clan, and it seems wrong somehow (to me) to use it for some use like car seeat cushions or a cat's bed.

So much for exclusivity to XMarks only. This is being offered to the general public after all.

[The Wizard of BC]

OK,OK. My saying that the Tartan could be used for car seats and cat beds was only my warped sense of humor!!!!!!!!
I was not serious. I can think of many suitable uses for this fabric and just as Matt said it would be perfect for fly plaids, scarves, and shawls.

I'm a kiltmaker and had to assess the fabric for it's intended use because that is what our members asked me to do. Yes, I could have held on to the fabric and attempted to sell it in pieces to members who wish to make shawls but I've got kilts to make and Gordon needs to get his money back for it. It was decided that this was the best way. It is his fabric. I rejected it and did not pay for it.

Yes, some non X Marks person could buy some of the fabric but I doubt that there are going to be a flood of X Marks kilts suddenly show up on e-bay.
And if the members hurry and buy it all for small projects it will still be exclusive to us. So pony up and call Gordon.

To answer the questions - --

One roll of the fabric I cut in half trying to get usable lengths, but the other roll is still full width, so yes, a 54-55 inch wide piece is available from Gordon.

It may be possible to clean the fabric. I did not try.

The stressing of the fabric did pull on the yarns and there are bulges. I did not try to steam it to get it to lay flat. But if the fabric is used for small projects it should not be noticable.

Yes, the fabric is very suitable for any project that will be hemmed or fringed or sewn into something which does not rely on the fabric hanging straight as in a kilt.

If used for a flag or banner and the edges were hemmed or bound it should be perfectly ok.

Guys, this is really good 16oz. fabric. The weaving of this is far better than the previous runs. If it had not been for the finisher screwing it up, I think everyone would have been very happy with it and it would have made beautiful kilts.

Gordon has be perfectly up front about this. He notified us immediately upon finding the damage. He offered to replace it out of his own pocket. The only reason he sent it over to me was in a hope that I could find some usable kilt lengths and get our members who ordered and paid for it their fabric.
Now the man is out a ton of money. He has this fabric that he needs to sell as remnants, so lets help him out.