Bought a Vintage Fraser Ross Kilt - Questions: Condition / Possible Repairs

[Triathan]

Hello Everyone,

Please see the pictures at: https://ibb.co/album/mNCZVC.

Got this used kilt for a really good price and it's a near perfect fit. Scottish maker (I believe Fraser Ross is now defunct, please correct me if I'm wrong), lightweight wool, Ancient Royal Stewart tartan I believe. Quality appears to be decent, but I have two areas of concern. First, the belt/sporran loops appear to be missing as you can make out some of the stitching remnants. Am I right? Second, the buckle holders do not seem to be very well done, i.e., the fabric pattern doesn't match and the stitching looks really dodgy, almost as if it were a home repair. I understand that the buckle holders are typically not visible when the kilt is worn, but is it common for them to look this bad? If anyone would also care take a stab at guessing how old this kilt is, please chime in. As for repairs, I'm toying with the idea of getting the straps/buckles/buckle holders replaced and adding back the belt loops. If anyone could advise as to ballpark cost, it'd be much appreciated as well.

Thank You and Cheers.

Tri

[Father Bill]

By "belt loops" I assume you may mean at the back. I can't see from these pix, but if that's what you mean, leave them off. If the kilt is correctly fitted, they serve no useful purpose except perhaps to stretch and distort the pleats over time, and the kilt should sit properly on you with a wee bit of fitting.

Again, my eyes aren't up to checking the straps, but if they look a bit wonky, I wouldn't get excited unless they are not sewn through in which case they absolutely must be re-attached properly, and you might want to get rid of old threads while you're at that.

Other than that, congratulations on finding a good buy.

[Pleater]

I'd take off the buckle holders - carefully - then remove all the bits of thread (I use a scalpel to cut, and then eyebrow tweezers, but I have been doing that sort of work 50 years or so now) and press them carefully to make them straight, then iron them onto a lightweight fusible interface so they hold together. Cut around the edge to free the strip of fabric, leaving some extra interfacing, so a tiny edge of the cloth can be folded inside itself and then the whole thing attached to the kilt properly - going through to the reinforcement which transfers the strain on the fastenings away from the wool, but not right through to the lining - hopefully that is possible.

Anne the Pleater