MacDonald Muted: Which Weaver?

[slohairt]

I'd go with the House of Edgar's muted. Better colours and excellent selvedge.

[ForresterModern]

Curiously, I had initially planned on getting this kilt in House of Edgar's 16oz. MacDonald Ancient (£265.33) but...



...the longer I looked at it, the more the orangy-red (displayed by my computer screen) got on my nerves... I now know that I really want the 16oz. fabric... It's really a shame that HoE doesn't produce the Muted colourway in 16oz.

I have a 16oz HoE Nevis MacDonald Ancient tank as you can see from the pictures below. The red is a bit bright and slightly orangish but not overly so, and it is pretty well overwhelmed by the bright ancient green and ancient blue background. That picture is computer generated and actually brighter than the actual fabric.


The tie is Ingle-Buchan 10 oz on top of the HoE Nevis 16oz 8yd kilt.


Same HoE Nevis 16oz 8yd kilt outside in sunlight in Edinburgh.


Same HoE Nevis 16oz 8yd kilt in sunlight in Arizona---and it was not too hot to wear it there in 100 degree heat.

Another even more inexpensive option would be Batley's 13 oz Ancient MacDonald which is actually significantly less bright than the HoE Nevis. I just got one from Scotweb on clearance and it fits great and looks great (sorry no pictures yet). It is similar in coloration to the Ingles-Buchan tie or maybe even a little muted and darker overall. I will try to post comparative pictures tomorrow if I have time.

jeff

[fluter]

This sounds too high to me. If I'm reading the words correctly, I could get 3 swatches delivered for about $21 US, total price via Royal Mail small parcels.

If that's not practical, find someone with the swatch books. A field trip to Kitchener to visit John might even be indicated, but maybe there's someone closer to your home. I suspect a conversation with a knowledgeable kilt maker would give you much useful info.

Anyway, best wishes for your ultimate decision. We will await the pictures eagerly.

I had already checked the costs of ordering swatches through ScotWeb,
.

[Fit2BKilted]

I have a 16oz HoE Nevis MacDonald Ancient tank as you can see from the pictures below. The red is a bit bright and slightly orangish but not overly so, and it is pretty well overwhelmed by the bright ancient green and ancient blue background. That picture is computer generated and actually brighter than the actual fabric.

Thanks very much for this, Jeff! I had noted both the HoE 16oz. Nevis-line (Double-Width) of MacDonald Ancient as well as the HoE Luxury Heavy Weight (16oz.) Single-Width---which is what was pictured. If the colouring of both of HoE's lines are similar, then the Ancient becomes a contender again... especially the Nevis---that's a mighty-fine-looking kilt! I'm relieved to learn that the tones in that colourway aren't quite so vibrant as computer imaging would have one believe.

Same HoE Nevis 16oz 8yd kilt in sunlight in Arizona---and it was not too hot to wear it there in 100 degree heat.

Another even more inexpensive option would be Batley's 13 oz Ancient MacDonald which is actually significantly less bright than the HoE Nevis. I just got one from Scotweb on clearance and it fits great and looks great (sorry no pictures yet). It is similar in coloration to the Ingles-Buchan tie or maybe even a little muted and darker overall. I will try to post comparative pictures tomorrow if I have time.

jeff

If I were in the market for a 13oz. kilt, I would consider it; but, as it is, only Batley's MacDonald Muted is still in contention... that ScotWeb Clearance item was just a teensy bit too roomy or tight in the wrong places for me, otherwise we might have had a mouse-clicking race for it---I'm glad you're happy with it!

I heard from my family that an L & M Outfitter's distributor has opened shop in Kingston recently (I gather that's where much of my Xmas haul was purchased), so I may nip in on Tuesday when I'm in K-town, hoping that they have a Sample-book for both HoE and Batley!

Thanks again, Jeff.

[Fit2BKilted]

This sounds too high to me. If I'm reading the words correctly, I could get 3 swatches delivered for about $21 US, total price via Royal Mail small parcels.

If that's not practical, find someone with the swatch books. A field trip to Kitchener to visit John might even be indicated, but maybe there's someone closer to your home. I suspect a conversation with a knowledgeable kilt maker would give you much useful info.

Anyway, best wishes for your ultimate decision. We will await the pictures eagerly.

If my negotiations with ScotWeb aren't fruitful (the prices I quoted in this thread for swatches were direct from my basket [with X-marks Discount Active] on ScotWeb's website), would you be able to get 3 swatches to me, here in Canada, for that price ($21.00USD)? I'm going to try Kingston first (only 2.5 hours drive) before I resort to a pilgrimage to 'New Berlin' (now "Kitchener", an 8-hour drive from Ottawa), as cool as it would be to see John of Keltoi---I'd probably end up with my dream Reverse Kingussie that way ;-)

[ForresterModern]

Thanks very much for this, Jeff! I had noted both the HoE 16oz. Nevis-line (Double-Width) of MacDonald Ancient as well as the HoE Luxury Heavy Weight (16oz.) Single-Width---which is what was pictured. If the colouring of both of HoE's lines are similar, then the Ancient becomes a contender again... especially the Nevis---that's a mighty-fine-looking kilt! I'm relieved to learn that the tones in that colourway aren't quite so vibrant as computer imaging would have one believe.



... that ScotWeb Clearance item was just a teensy bit too roomy or tight in the wrong places for me, otherwise we might have had a mouse-clicking race for it---I'm glad you're happy with it!


Thanks again, Jeff.

You are most welcome Fit.

I actually bought the clearance Batley Ancient MacDonald back in October but only recently received it as I ordered something else at the same time which took way longer than expected to get made up and sent, so I doubt you would have beat me to the Kilt anyway. For some reason they left it up on the clearence list for almost another month after I had already paid for it. For a while I thought maybe they had two.

I have a few other pictures of the HoE Nevis kilt I will try to post or send to you PM if I can get a few spare minutes.

Jeff

[ForresterModern]

As promised here are a few comparison shots of the 16oz HoE Nevis and the Batley 13oz in MacDonald Ancient:



No flash, indoor lighting, HoE Nevis on the left, Batley 13oz on th right.



Closer up view, with flash, HoE Nevis on left, Batley 13 on right.

I would say the non-flash picture is more representative of the true colors, but YMMV depending on your monitor.

The HoE colors are more vivid and bright while the Batley's are more sedate and slightly less dense. The Hoe Nevis fabric is ever so slightly coarse but more substantial weight, while the Batley is more smooth but clearly lighter weight and well finished. Both have a rapier cut tuck in selvedge, which may have some rough spots but are generally good on both fabrics. All the previous pictures in previous posts above are of the HoE Nevis as I just got the Scotweb made Batley 13 a couple days ago and have not gotten around to smoothing out the wrinkles and taking any good photos yet.

Hope this helps.

Jeff

[Fit2BKilted]

As promised here are a few comparison shots of the 16oz HoE Nevis and the Batley 13oz in MacDonald Ancient:



No flash, indoor lighting, HoE Nevis on the left, Batley 13oz on the right.

It's hard to believe that those are both the same colour-way (Ancient)... The colour depth is really evident! The House of Edgar tartan looks almost Modern next to the Batley, even though they're both Ancient. I wonder if that is a common feature of Batley products (washed colours)? Of couse, they're different weights... 16oz on left, 13oz on right... in my limited experience, I feel that that makes a big difference in perceived colour.

I'm still enamoured by the prospect of the Batley Muted MacDonald... Nonetheless, this gives me pause to consider how deep the colours really are (compared what may be displayed on the screen).

Thanks again, Jeff!

[ForresterModern]

Fit

There is a definite difference between the two with the HoE Nevis being very vivid, rich and bright and the Batley definitely more muted, less rich and sedate. I like both for these very reasons. That is my experience across the board with HOE and Batley in general.

jeff

[RockyR]

HOE's 'ancient' color pallet is much darker than every other mill's (Lochcarron, Bat, MM, Str) 'ancient' colors. Many customers have noted that when we show them all the different swatch books here in the shop from the different mills. It's not better or worse, just different.