Enquiring minds want to know?

[The Kilted Reverend]

I have a question for the rabble about the weight of a 8 yard kilt in different material weights.

If I remember correctly the SWK Standard is an 11 oz. What is its appox. weight.

I have ordered a new kilt in 13 oz. I am worndering about is weight.

I also read that a 16 oz "tank" weighs about 4lbs.

So the question is what is the difference in the 11oz 8yder. and the 13 oz. 8yrder.

Slainte,
TKR

[Bugbear]

The SWK standard is not eleven Oz; mor like five or six Oz.

I'm sure The Wizard of BC can give you a list of aprox weights of finnished kilts in the different fabric weights. I think my SWK wool heavyweight is thirteen Oz wool, but I have no way of weighing it right at the moment.

[ForresterModern]

I have several each 13 oz and 16oz fabric 8 yard tanks, one "5" yard 16oz, and one 8 yard PV at home and will weigh each on my postal scale later today when I get home for you. If I get motivated I might even try measuring the overall lengths of fabric used in each, as we all know that not all 8 yarders are really 8 yarders, etc...

I am a 45 waist, 47 hip, 26 length if that helps with any of your estimations. Only had my original kilt maker tell me I needed a 9 yarder. The rest were all made to my measurements and cost generated at a generic 8 yard price.

[Pleater]

The weight of a wool fabric should be the actual mass of one running yard of 54inch wide fabric.

To discover the weight of the wool which went into the kilt you'd need to divide the vertical measurement of the kilt in inches by 54 then multiply the result by the number of yards in it, then multiply by the weight per running yard in pounds.

So a 24 inch by 8 yard kilt in 10oz material - 24 divided by 54, times 8 times 10 divided by 16 - is going to start out as 2.22Lb of fabric.

In 16 oz it would be 24 divided by 54 times 8 -3.5Lb (the 16s cancel eachother)

Some of the fabric would be lost if the pleats were cut out in the fell, and some gained from the addition of the waistband and loops.

In addition there would be other materials added for the reinforcing and lining plus buckles and straps.

The additions for a light weight kilt might be lighter than those used for a heavyweight, but I think not all that much as there would be the same need for strength in the underpinnings and joinings.

That is assuming the kilt is made with the normal tailoring.

Now Class - open your exercise books and work out the weight off ..

Oh sorry I was just getting into teacher mode there -

But I am sure you get the idea.

Anne the Pleater

[wyldathart]

* pulls out his calculator

[JolyStNicholas]

huh??

[SteveB]

No calculators! This is a Math Class exercise. Do it in long form so that you can prove that you listened to the teacher.

Ooops,
Out of Headmaster mode now.

[raibeart_dubh]

I have a question for the rabble about the weight of a 8 yard kilt in different material weights.

If I remember correctly the SWK Standard is an 11 oz. What is its appox. weight.

I have ordered a new kilt in 13 oz. I am worndering about is weight.

I also read that a 16 oz "tank" weighs about 4lbs.

So the question is what is the difference in the 11oz 8yder. and the 13 oz. 8yrder.

Slainte,
TKR

I don't know about an 8 yard 13 ouncer, but I have a 13 oz. 5 yard and a couple of SWK standards. My 5 yard 13 oz. is definitely heavier than the SWK standards.

[The Wizard of BC]

To get a better sense of what we are talking about when we refer to fabric weights perhaps it would be helpful if we define some terms so that we are all speaking the same language.

Wool Tartan fabric generally comes in two widths. Single-Width is 27" to 30" wide and Double-Width is usually between 54" and 60" wide.

The way we measure the weight of fabric is to take a 1 yard long piece of Double-Width fabric and put it on a Postal Scale.
If your fabric is Single Width us a piece 2 yards long to get the same size piece for comparison.

So, 36" long X 60" wide is called a "Fabric Yard".

What we call an 8 yard Kilt does not always have exactly 8 yards in it. In fact the Kiltmaker will buy only 4 yards of Double-Width fabric, slice or rip it in half and join the two halves to make the Kilt.
Measuring fabric this way we have to use a different term. We call a length of fabric 8 yards long but only as wide as the Kilt is from Waistband to Hem a "Kilt Yard".

Now, a word of caution. Not all weavers adhere to this standard. And some Kiltmakers have never heard of it so just go with their best guess.
I have seen Kilts advertised as "Heavy-Weight 16oz." but when weighed to this standard come out significantly different.

Now we get to the part where you have to use some arithmetic.

If a Fabric Yard is 36" long and 60" wide we can find out how many square inches are in it. The piece is 36"X12"=432" long.
It is 60" wide. So 60"X 432" = 25,920 square inches of fabric in 1 Fabric Yard.

Now let's find out how much your Kilt should weigh.

Please remember that no one can predict exactly how much fabric will be in a finished Kilt without knowing the customers Hip Size and the Sett Size of the Tartan.
But if the Kilt is already made we can get real close to estimating how much fabric was used.

Take a Tape Measure and carefully measure along the Hem of the Kilt in inches.
Then measure the length of the Kilt from the Hem up to the Waisband in Inches.

Multipy these two numbers together and you will find out how many square inches is in your Kilt.
Divide that number by 25,920 and you will get the result in Fabric Yards.

Don't be suprised if you find your Kilt has something other than exactly 4 Fabric Yards in it. The resulting yardage can be anywhere between 2 yards for a Box-Pleated Kilt made for a man with Hips around 40" up to 4 or 5 yards for large men.

Now you need a Postal Scale or at least one that will measure in Ounces.
Weigh the Kilt.

As a rule of Thumb;
A Traditional Style Kilt for a man with Hips approx. 40" to 45" will weigh 3.6 to 4.2 lbs. if made from 16oz. fabric.

If made from 13oz. fabric a Kilt made for the same man will weigh approx. 2.9 up to 3.5 lbs.

The same Kilt if made from 10oz. fabric will be approx. 2.2 to 2.6 lbs.

If you have a Kilt made from Acrylic fabric Please do these measurements very carefully. I have found Kilts advertised as "Heavy-Weight", that when acutally weighed out by this system result in fabric weights of approx. 4 to 6oz.

[Barb T]

as we all know that not all 8 yarders are really 8 yarders, etc...

Just so that everyone understands - an "8 yard kilt" will rarely measure at 8 yards made up. But this is NOT because the kiltmaker is trying to cheat you.

-Suppose that I have ordered 8 yards of tartan for an 8 yard kilt. I have to first decide where to put the center front stripe. That might mean that, even after leaving enough to fold the facing double, I might cut off 3 or 4 inches, or even 5 or 6, from the fringe edge. This is a particularly likely if the sett is large.

-And then, if the kilt is made from a double width piece of fabric, I'll likely lose well more than a full sett at the center back. I'll need to have the right stripe in the center back, start the next pleat in the right place, and still leave enough to make a join at the right place in the fabric.

-When I get to the underapron side, the same thing happens with the center and having tartan left over, even if I allow enough to double-fold the facing.

And, depending upon the size of the sett and the size of the person, I may actually not be able to get all of the 8 yards into the kilt and have pleats of reasonable size. So, as a kiltmaker, I would make a decision to use less than the full length if the pleats would wind up tiny at the waist if I used it all.

So - a kiltmaker gains nothing by ordering 8 yards of tartan and then skimping on the kilt. What is he/she going to do with what's left over besides make you a pair of flashes?? So, please, I hope that you all won't go out and measure your kilts and be ticked off if your tape measure doesn't say 8 yards.

And whether someone needs 8, 8.5 or 9 yards for a kilt will depend on two things, the size of the sett and the size of the pleats you're willing to have. For tartans of "medium" sett (6-8"), I recommend more than 8 yards of tartan if someone's hips are more than 44". I can certainly make a kilt for someone with 47" hips out of only 8 yards of tartan, but, unless the tartan has a small sett, the pleats will be wide - maybe as much as an inch and a quarter. A kiltmaker who tells a larger man that he needs 9 yards isn't being unscrupulous - the kiltmaker is simply being honest in saying that, to have a kilt with pleats that look like a trad 8 yard kilt typically looks, it will take more than 8 yards of tartan for the size of the sett chosen.

If you give two kiltmakers your measurements, and you're told 8 yards by one kiltmaker for tartan A and 9 by another kiltmaker for tartan B, it may be simply a function of the difference in sett size. It may also be that the second kiltmaker assumes that you'd rather have more, but narrower, pleats instead of fewer, but wider pleats.