Really REALLY heavy: too heavy?

[Kid Cossack]

Ladies, gents, rabble and rabblettes:

I'm sold on the wool. Used to be, I was convinced---convinced, mind you---that there just had to be a better material for kilts, among other things, than wool. Now, however, I have changed my mind. Tartan worsted? Tweed? Sign me up!

When I was reviewing the Harris Tweed Shop's list of tweeds (which can be found here: http://www.harristweedshop.com/tweed-index.html ), I noticed that some of the tweeds were, well, heavy. The Harris tweeds are 19/20 oz. and the Keepers tweeds up around 26 ounces.

Shazam!

Well, I imagine that an eight yard tank in 26 ounces would either be ridiculous, or sublime. A shorter yardage kilt, however, like a four yard box pleat, or a five yard Kingussie . . . Would that work?

Sometimes my good ideas are bad ideas, and sometimes, just every so often, they're good ideas.

Would the 26 ounce Keeper tweeds be suitable for a Kingussie or box pleated kilt?

[McFarkus]

I have one of What Price Glory's 22 oz Seaforth Highlander military box pleat kilts. It is heavy, almost like blanket weight, but great this time of year.

[Standard]

I'd vote for sending the 26oz to Lady Chrystel to have a "Bunker" made out of it. Sounds like just the stuff for a cold day on the plains with the wind blowing. It would certainly be a warm one. However, I can imagine it weighing a ton.

[Riverkilt]

My leather kilts weigh about six pounds....but can't get them in tartan without some tedious painting.

Ron

[auld argonian]

I guess that I'm just not getting the object of your desire here...

...are you looking for a very heavy kilt with the intention that it will keep you warm or are you asking whether or not that heavier weight stuff is too heavy to make a kilt out of?

Best

AA

[Nighthawk]

My leather kilts weigh about six pounds....but can't get them in tartan without some tedious painting.

Ron

On a serious note, I personally can't wear anything heavier than a 16 ounce material. 22 oz sounds like 5 yards of pure hell to me. If you do get something made from that heavy material, please post a review- I'd be very interested to read it/.

[Kid Cossack]

In inverse seriatem order, I shall address my correspondents!

auld argonian: In my experience, up to 22 ounces/linear yard, the rule for wool is "mo thicka, mo betta." Pleats are "pleatier" and hang is "hangier", while wrinkles are "less wrinklier." I am mostly curious as to whether there is an upper limit. It is not so much warmth I seek, but a sturdier, lower maintenance kilt. (Plus, I find some of the Keepers tweeds to be simply smashing in appearance.)

Ron: Aye, those leather kilts of yours have caused many an appreciative comment. One of these days . . . .

Standard: Lady Chrystel is edging her way onto the list of "people from whom I must have a kilt." I am unfamiliar with the Bunker model, but fear that a 26 ounce/linear yard weight could be "too much of a good thing" (disregarding Mae West's famous comment) in a double box pleated kilt. Since I have one tweed, and one tartan, box pleat from Matt Newsome, and since Barbara Tewksbury made an absolutely smashing box pleat for my brother-in-arms, currently serving as Platoon Sgt at the Wounded Warrior Battalion at Camp Lejeune, I was thinking of turning to Mrs. Tewksbury for this one.

McFarkus: I've got a Gordon from WPG (and replaced the straps/buckles). I love it's weight, but the apron seems a bit annoyingly "fixed." For me, based on the puny attempts at kiltmaking which I have done, I find my preferences to run to a slightly smaller apron (perhaps 3/8, vice 1/2) and a goodly final reversed pleat, for easier "sprawl" capacity.

In general: I have sewn up a pair of kilts, one in Fraser and Kirkbright 16 ounce, one in an unknown tweed. The F&K is Kingussie-style, the tweed a monstrous mish-mash of knife pleating. Each is slightly over four yards, neither has any interfacing, nor straps. (They must be "belted into submission.") They are very definitely "proto-kilts" but I get a kick out of wearing them, they have served as test-beds for determining my own, slightly bizarre, tastes and preferences.

My preferences run to "three layers" of wool, and a somewhat unstructured appearance. Perhaps this is an evolutionary thing, reflecting my quite limited sewing skills.

And I do like tweed, oh yes I do.

[kevinkinney]

Howdy all,

I've made 12 to date, and the easiest to stitch, and by far the best I've felt about my work have been a box pleat in regimental weight Mackenzie, the same in Douglas, and a knife pleated beast in the Seaforth. These are at least 19 ounces per square by my postal scale, though I suspect just a bit heavier.

The hardest fabric to stitch, and the ones that require the most maintenance are the feathery 10 ounce fabrics. They were not a bargain after all, but they are wonderful colors and comfy in the summer.

I'd love to get something in a 22 ounce to play with. Me and my trusty industrial iron will beat it into shape.

Cheers,

Kevin.

[Ancienne Alliance]

Hello !

Yes 22oz tweed bunkers are a challenge to make, but they do look great.

I noticed Robert does wear his 18oz tweed more often though.

you can have a look at these here:
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/lady.chrystel/kilts.html


Best,

L.C.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

As has been pointed out already, some older regimental kilts were made from 22oz cloth (18 oz is the norm today). Those 26oz tweeds look interesting. Make sure you find out the width of the fabric before you order.

If this were me, personally, I'd love to have a four yard box pleated kilt in one of those tweeds. I think I'd really enjoy wearing it. I have a four yard kilt I made for myself out of some older Harris tweed cloth. I'm not sure of the weight because I've never put it on the scale, but it's likely at least 22 oz and it wouldn't surprise me if it were 26 oz. It's like a horse blanket. It wears extremely well, and when I wear my matching jacket I'm nice and snuggly warm in the winter time. :-)