Let the jonesing..... stop

**turpin** · 13th September 06, 11:59 AM

Ok, this is my first kilt review, and I’m trying to apply everything I’ve learned in two months of membership in XMTS. Here goes.

I just received my Gordon Modern, pleated to the stripe, from Kiltstore (Scotweb), one of their “Balmoral 8-yarders”, and I am quite satisfied.

Service was very good, with responsive store personnel. Kilt was ordered on 7/28 and delivered 9/6. Cost was 191 GBP which, at the time, translated to about 343 USD, so a moderate price for a traditional kilt. Overall I can recommend them for price and service. OK, where to start? How about a picture?

(The Balmoral is the Special Forces Green from Glengarryhats.com. Fits great!)

The tartan cloth feels very nice and tight – smooth. Smoother and with more body than my SWK HW saffron. (I will make some comparisons to the SWK, not to knock the SWK, but to comment on the difference between a lower cost off-the-peg and a medium cost made to order.) The weaver was N. Batley (batli in kilstore tartan finder). It feels lighter than the SWK, even though that one is only 0.6 yards longer and Jerry says his HWs are 13 oz cloth. Apples and oranges?

The straps are strong and heavy. The underside has some type of fabric fused on, perhaps to give a smoother surface. I like the way the under-apron strap is attached about 2 inches to the right of the edge. This wraps the apron nicely and will allow me to get fat.

**turpin** · 13th September 06, 12:04 PM

The vertical edge of the under-apron is machine sewn, but strongly so. The front apron vertical hem is hand sewn, and no stitching shows in front. The fringe is sewn on by machine but again, very nicely done. Pleats appear to my unpracticed eye to be hand-sewn (and they should be, Kiltstore advertises this). Stitching on the fell is invisible.

Notice the belt loops nicely in line - easy to do with stripe pleating, I think.
Since it’s pleated to the yellow stripe, and there’s one every ½-sett (~ 6”), this makes for a lot of shallow pleats. Pleats are 2 ½” with an ~ 5/8” reveal. There are 35 pleats. The under-apron pleat is shallower than I’d like, only about 1 ½ “. They could have used a full sett for that one. Aprons are 22”. Overall, this 8-yart kilt actually measures about 7 yards.

The waist is lined with a double thickness of heavy material – probably poly-cotton, and the liner is sewn down top and bottom, unlike SWK, which leaves the bottom open. I think the pleats are cut out in the fell, because it feels thinner than the SWK, which doesn’t do this. They are then stabilized with the fusible material rather than horsehair canvas, which is a definite (not definate) negative according to Barb T. (et al). Kiltstore includes two waist loops for hanging on a peg, like the military kilts; a nice touch. The waistband is nicely turned – probably rolled over from the top of the tartan.

**Kilted KT** · 13th September 06, 12:06 PM

fantastic looking kilt, and great pics!

always good to see another fine quality kilt put to good use!

**turpin** · 13th September 06, 12:07 PM

This kilt fits beautifully, as you can see. It moves easily and gives great swing; quite a bit more than the SWK, even though that one has 28 pleats 3 ¼” deep with a 1-inch reveal.

Here’s my first attempt at the Hamish Flip. (needs work)

Here’s my Riverkilts pose, minus the scenery (it’s a rainy day in Georgia).

All in all, I'm a happy kilter and well set up to go to the Atlanta Fall Irish Festival this weekend here in Roswell. A warm-up for the Loch Hartwell and Stone Mountain Games.

Whew! That was about a 6-hour effort, including the assessment, ironing, taking and sizing photos, uploading to photobucket, composing, etc. It gives me greater appreciation for the efforts of everyone here who shares their experiences.

(Edit: Added next day)

I forgot to mention that I used my Scotweb points (sort of like frequent kilter miles) to add 2 kilt roll carriers, about $75 value, to my order at no extra cost.

**O'Neille** · 13th September 06, 12:14 PM

Excellent review. W/ practice you should have that down to about an hour soon. O'Neille

And the quality of the review, composition, and write up reflect your hard work. You must be a lefty, as your watch and sgian have switched sides. Thanks