Kilt material differences.

[RockyR]

House of Edgar (excluding Hebridean, Nevis, and Dark Island) fabric has a selvedge as good as Dalgliesh's. As does some of Strathmore's cloth.

Agreed.

[xman]

I was asking this question myself early last year. Here is the thread: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...y-plaid-58052/

I have sewn Marton Mills cloth in 16oz and 13 oz tartan as well as 16oz tweed. it is all fine cloth to work with and very economical, but their selection is a little limited and the turned edge on the tartan fuzzes a little easily.

I recently worked with Strathmore's W60 (13oz) cloth and it was a delight in every regard.

I am sewing Lochcarron Strome now and it seems I got a bit of a bad batch with loose threads on the edge and a slightly unaligned tartan one side to the next. I was able to overcome these issues easily, however. Their colours and thread count are terrific, but the threads are spun a little looser than the other cloths I have sewn so far.

I also have some Dalgleish cloth that I am about to sew which looks and feels is every inch as fine as Strathmore's at least.

Hope that helps.

[ForresterModern]

Having collected kilts either handsewn or machine sewn 8yd traditional knife pleats in Strathmore 13 and 16 oz, Lochcarron 16oz, Dalgleish 12 and 16 oz, House of Edgar 13 oz, Marton Mills 16oz, F&K 16oz, and Batley 13oz, I can attest to all the above comments on the fabric itself with the exception of its "sewability" characteristics, as I am simply a wearer and not a kiltmaker. IMHO Best Selvedges: Dalgleish, Strathmore. Best Hand: Dalgleish, STrathmore and Lochcarron with HOE close behind. There are reasons that Batley, Marton Mills, and F&K are less expensive, in the "get what you pay for" way, compared to the other mills.

But as Barb noted, with the exception of many common tartans you will likely be restricted to one or maybe two mills who make your specific tartan, and likely one or two weights, unless you desire going the custom weave route. I got lucky once and got 16 oz Strathmore instead of the ordered and normally stocked 13oz variety for my Forrester Hunting tartan, simply because they were out of the 13 oz and had some leftover 16 oz from someone else's custom weave job. So far it is the only 16 oz Forrester Hunting kilt around, as best as I can ascertain from our clan folks (who are a bit envious).

[Paul Henry]

Having collected kilts either handsewn or machine sewn 8yd traditional knife pleats in Strathmore 13 and 16 oz, Lochcarron 16oz, Dalgleish 12 and 16 oz, House of Edgar 13 oz, Marton Mills 16oz, F&K 16oz, and Batley 13oz, I can attest to all the above comments on the fabric itself with the exception of its "sewability" characteristics, as I am simply a wearer and not a kiltmaker. IMHO Best Selvedges: Dalgleish, Strathmore. Best Hand: Dalgleish, STrathmore and Lochcarron with HOE close behind. There are reasons that Batley, Marton Mills, and F&K are less expensive, in the "get what you pay for" way, compared to the other mills.
I think that is a little unfair to MM, they may be cheaper but not really "inferior" cloth and certainly much more reliable and easier to use than F&K

But as Barb noted,(as I said on the second posting in the thread......but another thing to consider is that not all weavers do all the tartans, so sometimes you have to go with a weaver that might not be the first on your list......)
with the exception of many common tartans you will likely be restricted to one or maybe two mills who make your specific tartan, and likely one or two weights, unless you desire going the custom weave route. I got lucky once and got 16 oz Strathmore instead of the ordered and normally stocked 13oz variety for my Forrester Hunting tartan, simply because they were out of the 13 oz and had some leftover 16 oz from someone else's custom weave job. So far it is the only 16 oz Forrester Hunting kilt around, as best as I can ascertain from our clan folks (who are a bit envious).

my emboldening

[Calico]

Dalgeish has the best kilting selvedge.

House of Edgar (excluding Hebridean, Nevis, and Dark Island) fabric has a selvedge as good as Dalgliesh's. As does some of Strathmore's cloth.

Thank you for that addtional info. I am still quite new and was making too broad of generalizations.

[Barb T]

Marton Mills is definitely not inferior - just a different hand and a slightly more prominent selvedge. I like working with their tartan, and they have many tartans that are interesting and different from those available from other mills. Marton Mills tartan is also a really attractive alternative for those who are looking for a less costly tartan. I commonly suggest their tartan as an alternative for someone who wants a custom made kilt (where the labor is a fixed cost) but who want to economize on tartan. And I love the unique tartans that they offer - their Scottish American tartan is wonderful, for example, especially pleated to the white stripe. And it is a unique offering.

[tpa]

I was asking this question myself early last year. Here is the thread: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...y-plaid-58052/

Thank you for that, xman, I was looking for a thread on this subject before I asked the question, but obviously did not get the right search terms.

Thanks again to everyone else for their insights to the different mills.