11-ounce kilt question

[Riverkilt]

Okay, looks like folks split the difference. I emailed Kathy Lare to clarify what my kilt is. Got this response back.

Dear Ron,

Lochcarron weaves a 10.5 oz. (11 oz.) Reiver tartan which does have a selvedge edge. They have their largest range of tartans in this weight. Some tartans are only available in this weight. I consulted the Traditional Kiltmakers' Guild about this and everyone has made kilts in this weight which they still consider kilting fabric.

Hope that helps clarify things...

Bottom line, 10/11/10.5 ounce is good stuff.

Ron

[Riverkilt]

Curious, just did some surfing. In addition to Kathy, Scotland Yard, Tartan Web, the Great Scot Shop, and the Boston Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society also call Lochcarron's Reiver 11 ounces. And a lot of other sites call it 10 ounces.

Round up, round down....whatever. My kilt hand sewn from Lochcarron's Reiver weight is beautiful.

Ron

Ron

[Barb T]

The Lochcarron price list that I have says that Reiver is 10 oz, and I just took what they said about their own tartan at face value.

Like everything that Locharron weaves, Reiver is beautiful tartan. I used it to make a couple of kilts several years ago, though, and I find it on the light side for a man's kilt. If it were the only material available in a particular tartan, I would use it again if the customer didn't want the expense of a custom weave. But I prefer something heavier for a man's kilt. And, if I were making a kilt for a dancer, I'd choose Dalgliesh's 11-12 oz tartan over Reiver. It's just enough heavier to resist wrinkles.

Well, that's my humble opinion, anyway.

Barb

[Riverkilt]

Aye, the 10/10.5/11 oz kilt is my lightest hand sewn. Kathy warned me of all the things mentioned. I'm happy with it and it seems to wear well for me. My prime interest was in obtaining a kilt in that tartan. If a 16oz Strome had been available I'd have gone that weight in a heartbeat for my "gang colors" kilt.

Ron

[freddie]

Aye, the 10/10.5/11 oz kilt is my lightest hand sewn. Kathy warned me of all the things mentioned. I'm happy with it and it seems to wear well for me. My prime interest was in obtaining a kilt in that tartan. If a 16oz Strome had been available I'd have gone that weight in a heartbeat for my "gang colors" kilt.

Ron

Sorry, I made a mistake. I clicked on Quote instead of Post reply. See below

[freddie]

Some Scottish kiltmakers (in the days before the internet and the Gold brothers came on the scene) used to advertise their tartans as: 16oz heavyweight suitable for gent's kilts - 13oz medium weight suitable for gent's kilts - 10oz lightweight suitable for ladies skirts, ties and waistcoats. Some however did offer a 10oz Tropical kilt, however the general consensus of opinion was that a gent's kilt should be made from nothing lighter than 13oz medium weight cloth.

[Riverkilt]

Thanks Freddie,

Just had my 10/10.5/11 ounce kilt up in the Rocky Mountains this weekend. Didn't feel like a "tropical kilt." Did the job keeping me warm. Wool is good stuff!!



Ron

[freddie]

Thanks Freddie,

Just had my 10/10.5/11 ounce kilt up in the Rocky Mountains this weekend. Didn't feel like a "tropical kilt." Did the job keeping me warm. Wool is good stuff!!



Ron

Yeah, you look nice and snug in that kilt ! I read somewhere that it's not the weight of the kilt that keeps you warm but what you wear on the top half of your body. I guess this proves the point.

[Alan H]

Piper George's Dutch MacKay kilt that I made for him is out of 11 ounce. Yes, it's light, but then again, here in California in the summer, that's not a bad thing.

I have several kilts out of 11 ounce wool/polyester blend, and I love them. They don't have the heft of a 13 ounce worsted kilt, and certainly not the mass of a 16 ounce, but if I wore nothing but that all the time around here, I'd ROAST.

[Fedgunner]

Ron,
When you grow tired of that sweater, please let me know and I will find a good home for it.







(yessss my precssioussssssssss)