Rarely Seen Davidson Tartan

[ThistleDown]

About thirty-five years ago Lochcarron wove its last order in this Strome. It’s 16-oz Davidson, large sett, described as ‘weathered’. This kilt of mine was made in 1975 and is one of the very finest in my closet.

Their price per yard to weave it again today is USD95/yard for a 12 yard minimum. For 32 yards that comes down to USD78 and for 63 yards to USD64. That’s double-width, so for an 8-yard kilt at the full 63 yards its USD256. I’m assuming there is some freight on top and, perhaps, some duty at the receiving end. Still and all, that’s a fine price for a rarely seen Davidson tartan.

Friend Tim Macleod in Richmond, Virginia, is putting together as many Davidsons as possible from around the world to order a new weaving. If we achieve numbers equal to a full bolt we can probably convince Lochcarron to cut-to-length and ship individual lengths.

PM to me if you are interested and include your e-mail address, which I will send on to Tim so he can be in touch with you directly. Up front, nobody but Lochcarron and the postal services makes a profit on this. We should think in terms of an order date mid-March, so don’t put off until tomorrow what may only be possible today.

Rex.ThistleDown

[artificer]

Lovely colours, Rex!

I don't know if there's a particular issue with you wanting to go with Lochcarron, but you might want to consider looking at Marton Mills.
We had our last run of the R'lyeh Sett done with them (and actually our local St. Andrews Soc did their last order of the Wisconsin State Tartan with them as well, and it's lovely)
They might be a bit more price competitive than $95/yd.



ith:

[ThistleDown]

I think what Tim and others are looking at are those particular colours in Strome, Scott. Pretty specific.

[CeilidhDoc]

Another thing to check is what it would cost to order the same thing from D. C. Dalgliesh. They do smaller runs to custom specifications all the time and will weave any tartan in any weight (so long is it is not a copyrighted tartan without proper ownership) with a rumored extremely high quality (I am still waiting on mine in person but my kilt maker deals with Dalgliesh almost exclusively and states my tartan looks and feels great).

My point in stating this is that you may not need as many people to make it affordable and you might even end up with a higher quality product. But of course there is no way to know unless you contact them. For smaller orders they now sell through scotweb I believe but for larger orders they have a direct contact industrial backline I think FWIW.

That is a handsome tartan. I can see why you would want to make more of it!

Good luck!

Slainte

PS--This is off topic, but are those Arran style chunky kilt hose in a light tan/beige earth tone? If so, where did you get them? I have taken to ordering them in Ecru and then using Rit to try and get colors I can't find off the shelf (or "off the peg" as they say in the UK) but that particular tone is one I am after and am having trouble reproducing just right. It's expensive to experiment with hand knit hose. If you have info I would love to know because they look great. Of course, it could also just be the photo and my monitor and they could be ecru but from where I am sitting they look more beige...

[ThistleDown]

The point is that this particular tartan, in these particular colours, and in this particular weight, was/is only in the Strome line of Lochcarron. It has never been successfully woven by any other weaver. I'm not personally looking to have a new kilt woven if this plan goes ahead, but I have these two old wing-back chairs that need re-upholstering and this weight and finish is perfect (and less than half the price of other 100 percent wool fabric)

Thanks for the comment on the hose, CD. I'm fortunate to have a wife who loves to ski, loves to knit, and comes from Davos in Switzerland. Two ski trips home each winter result in two pairs of new hose for me! The pair in this pic is a mix of light brown, tan, dark brown and even the odd thread of charcoal.

[creagdhubh]

Absolutely gorgeous colour scheme, Rex. Almost makes me wish I had a wee bit of MacDhai ancestry myself!

[mookien]

I think what Tim and others are looking at are those particular colours in Strome, Scott. Pretty specific.

Beautiful understated tartan, but is Lochcarron even going to be able to accurately (to the eye) reproduce the thread colors from 1975? Your kilt may not exactly match your wing-back chairs. Or, is that not an issue for you?

[ThistleDown]

Bound to be a dye-lot change in 40 years, but for those ordering from this new weave it will only be noticeable when they come to my home and sit in my newly-upholstered chairs in their newly-made kilts.

The tartan on the chairs right now is a Mackintosh red and my guess is the last re-upholstery was in the mid-thirties. One of the chairs sat in a sunny window for many years and the back and one side of that one are quite rosey compared to the front, the other side and the other chair. Doesn't bother us a bit and we'll probably save the fabric and put it to use in cushions. Should be good for another generation or three. Wool upholstery of this quality runs about GBP80 a yard of 52-inch width.

[TheOfficialBren]

Reupholster your furniture in wool tartan?

I like this idea.

Excellent Davidson tartan. No wonder you want more of it!

[creagdhubh]

Reupholster your furniture in wool tartan?

I like this idea.

Excellent Davidson tartan. No wonder you want more of it!

I have two, high back armchairs that are upholstered in heavyweight Macpherson hunting tartan. It's quite a common sight in various houses throughout Scotland, especially in the Highlands (from my own personal observations of fellow Macphersons' humble abodes). Not to mention the many tartan throws (all in Macpherson setts) scattered throughout our home.