Why a kilt costs what it does...a re-re-re-hash

**Barb T** · 2nd June 10, 05:33 AM

I have to say that it is painful to hear someone say the "supposedly low" profits in kiltmaking. As if we're trying to pull the wool over someone's eyes and sneak some profits in there by lying about costs or about how long it takes to make a kilt.

I've been making kilts for many years. I make kilts by hand using traditional methods. I sew fast (ask Steve Ashton - he's watched me make kilts). I do not cut corners in terms of the interior construction that no one can see but that is critical to a kilt that will stand up to years and years of hard wear. I do not cut corners in the tailor basting that helps hold a kilt for proper pressing and shaping. I don't have a standard formula - each kilt is custom designed to the measurements and the person's shape. From the time I open a package of tartan that I've ordered from a mill to the end of removing all the basting, it takes me about 20 hours to make a kilt. Could someone do it faster? Sure. They could take fewer stitches in the pleats. They could be less careful about matching the stripes or making the pleats exactly the right size. They could leave out the tailor basting and interior construction. Could someone do it faster *and* better? To be honest, I would challenge anyone on that point.

I charge $325 plus the cost of the tartan for a kilt. That $325 also includes the cost of buckles, straps, canvas, lining, and thread. So, I'm not actually making $325 profit. It takes me 20 hours to make a kilt - you can do the math to see the fabulous "hidden profits" that I am making in this business....

**MacBean** · 2nd June 10, 06:14 AM

The kilt to pants price ratio is startling, but not because kilts seem expensive. Instead, the price of pants is amazingly low. Consider the shipping from far-off lands, labels, pricing, warehousing, ordering, stocking, sales clerks salaries, management, rent, taxes, etc., I'm suprised that they can sell them for what they do even if they obtained them for free. As for the folk abroad who make them, and all the folk down south who no longer make them... Anyway, Alan's figures are probably way low.

**bricelythgoe** · 2nd June 10, 07:24 AM

Originally Posted by Barb T.

I have to say that it is painful to hear someone say the "supposedly low" profits in kiltmaking. As if we're trying to pull the wool over someone's eyes and sneak some profits in there by lying about costs or about how long it takes to make a kilt.

I was just making this point: If there is little to be made in kilt making, then how do people make a living doing it? There has to be money made somewhere, unless it is just a part-time thing. If it is not made in the kilt, than it is made elsewhere.

As far as "pulling the wool over someones eyes" I enjoyed the pun, but do not believe that you do that. Just because a user on here or even a kilt maker on here says it, does not mean it is true. I will always call into questions someone that says something MUST cost a lot of money. Red flags fly up all over the place when I hear that.

**techdragon** · 11th June 10, 09:11 PM

Originally Posted by bricekolob

I was just making this point: If there is little to be made in kilt making, then how do people make a living doing it? There has to be money made somewhere, unless it is just a part-time thing. If it is not made in the kilt, than it is made elsewhere.

It is tricky but do-able. I have been making kilts by hand for 4 years now and it supports me and my two kids as I work full day, six days a week at it. The big shows I do each year are a great bonus. It is little made on each kilt but the volume - I can do about 200 kilts a year a a good solid pace - makes it work.

-Jeanie

**Barb T** · 12th June 10, 04:21 PM

And I know that many of you on this forum know this, but I make kilts because I love to make kilts. I truly enjoy getting to know (typically electronically) the people I make kilts for, and I get a great deal of pleasure from how much they enjoy my work. I am a professional kiltmaker, but I frankly don't try to make a living at it.

My main money-earning profession is as a professor of geology. I love that too. I love to teach, and I love the opportunities that I have to do research in Iceland and Egypt, and it keeps my synapses snapping. Quite honestly, I know myself well enough to know that I would go quietly batty if I made kilts 100% of the time.

But - even though I do not try to make a living as a kiltmaker, I firmly believe that it is unfair both to me and to other kiltmakers to undercut in terms of cost, just because I am not trying to make a living as a kiltmaker. So, my labor costs are on par with what other good kiltmakers charge. Do I make a lot of $$ making kilts? No. Does it make a difference in my life? Yes. I now have a young graduate student in Egypt. The money that I earn making kilts has made it possible for me to tell her that I will be able to come to Egypt and do field work with her, regardless of whether the National Science Foundation decides to fund my recent grant proposal.

Some of us make a living by kiltmaking; some of us are kiltmakers but don't make a living at it. We are equally professional.

**slohairt** · 13th June 10, 03:51 PM

Barb raises a very good point: It is important to charge the 'going rate' even if you only make kilts part-time, or just as a hobby. Many individuals who work in a craft find it irritating when someone comes along and just works for 'cost' because they regard it as simply a fun past-time.

It's also worth noting that kilt-making is, for some, a family tradition and a 'culturally significant' activity. (For me it is both.) Not too many people can say that about their job, and you can't really put a price on that either.