Scottish Tartan Museum - a step above again

[Wompet]

Hope this is the right place for this. It's the start of a Do-It-Yourself job, so it seems like the right place.

About six weeks ago, I ordered 4 yards of Hunting Stewart, 18 oz. double-width, from the Scottish Tartan Museum. Yesterday while I was at work, FedEx delivered my package, and I picked it up at the rental office after work today.

When I opened it, instead of 4 yards double-width, I found 8 yards single-width. And this is a good thing.
Why? Because the Hunting Stewart is an irregular tartan. I was originally planning on cutting it to single-width and then joining the lengths (which would have involved hemming it as well ), if the halves could be lined up. If they couldn't be lined up, then I would have material for two box pleated kilts.

By changing my order, Matt Newsome and those fine folks at the Museum have made it possible for me to construct an 8 yard, 18 oz. tank of a kilt with no need for joining or hemming.

Matt, thank you. And if this wasn't your idea, please thank whomever it was.



Almost forgot - that Hunting Stewart was less expensive at the Scottish Tartan Museum's regular price than it was the KiltStore with the XMarks discount. I added three books to the order, and it was still less. Something to keep in mind when ordering tartan.

[James MacMillan]

Great!

Now break out your digital camera, and start taking the flix, so you can post the finished product from start to finish!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Hi Wompet! Glad you got the cloth in good order. A few thoughts, just for the education of the general rabble.

Certian tartans, like Hunting Stewart (also Campbell of Argyle, and Buchanan) are assymetrical, and so cannot be cut, turned and joined to make a single width length from a double width peice, as is the usual practice. So when ordering cloth to make a kilt, it's usual to order a single width length rather than double. The mills won't argue with you because this is how they are used to supplying kiltmakers for these tartans.

And on a related note, the House of Edgar, who wove this cloth, will soon be providing all of their tartans in single width lengths. They have replaced their looms with new models that prodice cloth in signel widths (30" wide) with a traditional kilting selvedge. As their old stock of double width cloth sells out, all new cloth will be woven single width. This means that during the transition period, any cloth you order from House of Edgar may be supplied either single or double width, depending upon the tartan. (You'd still get the same amount of material -- if you ordered 4 yards double, you'd get 8 yards single. Actually a little more material, as the 30" wide singel width is a bit more than half of the 54" wide double).

Aye,
Matt

[pipesndrumsnun]

Can't wait to see the pictures!

[davidlpope]

And on a related note, the House of Edgar, who wove this cloth, will soon be providing all of their tartans in single width lengths. They have replaced their looms with new models that prodice cloth in signel widths (30" wide) with a traditional kilting selvedge. As their old stock of double width cloth sells out, all new cloth will be woven single width. This means that during the transition period, any cloth you order from House of Edgar may be supplied either single or double width, depending upon the tartan.

Matt,

isn't this the exact opposite of what Lochcarron did a couple years back? (i.e. switch from single/double width to all double width) Any idea if the selvedge will be the tuck-in variety or the Dalgleish style?

Cordially,
David

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Matt,

isn't this the exact opposite of what Lochcarron did a couple years back? (i.e. switch from single/double width to all double width) Any idea if the selvedge will be the tuck-in variety or the Dalgleish style?

Cordially,
David

Yup, pretty much. Most modern looms that the various tartan mills are using are rapier looms, which produce a tucked selvedge. It's a nice closed selvedge, good for kilting, but you'll notice it is "thicker" at the selvedge than the rest of the cloth. This is because each and every thread is tucked into the cloth and then cut before the next thread is woven.

When Lochcarron had to replace their older looms a few years back, the new looms were this kind of rapier loom.

There are a few mills that are using old looms which still have the cleaner selvedge wherein each color is woven using a continuous thread that is not cut until the color is changed. D. C. Dalgliesh is one of them. So is House of Edgar. Their looms are something like 100 years old or thereabouts and in need of replacing.

This is speculation on my part, but I gather that House of Edgar wanted to keep their traditional selvedge on their kilting cloth, as they are one of the only large tartan producers that were still producing cloth this way. Their letter indicated that they had their new looms custom made to spec to allow for this kind of selvedge. So good for them!

So yes, the selvedge will be the same as that you see on Dalgleish's cloth.
M