New Kilt (new to me)

[Hexdef101]

I just got a New Wool Kilt for about $51+shipping. It arrived today and I thought at first it looked smaller then advertised. What I quickly figured out is the previous owners had the straps moved to take it in. My question is do I look for someone in my local area to move the straps back, or just use the extenders That I bought when i outgrew my old PV Kilts. Mind you It doesn't really bother me that much, but its a real nice looking Kilt. for those who are interested its the Graham of Menteith Tartan.

[Troglodyte]

Moving the attachment position of the traps might be much more common than you think, and gets done regularly - so for you to find the straps on your new kilt have been moved is quite normal.

Your solution to use extender straps is the easiest and quickest, but to reposition the original straps is a very simple operation, and requires no real needle-and-thread skills. Certainly no need for the kilt to go to seamstress.

You only need to move the strap on the left side, that passes through the slot from the inside, and the right hand buckles.

The left strap is often mounted a few inches in from the edge of the kilt, and you have this amount to use for the new position.

The right hand buckles need to be moved the same amount, as the right hand strap needs to remain at the edge of the kilt.

Two things you need to remember are to move the strap and buckles the same amount, and keep them at the original level.

You cannot do any harm (unless you are savage and reckless in your actions) and if you make a mistake, undo the stitching and start again.

You my have less than an hour's work to do what you need to.

If repositioning the straps means they are still too short, you can replace them with longer leathers.

Alternatively, a single, long strap attached to the left side can be used instead. This passes through the slot, around the back and buckles at the right where the existing strap is. You will need to mount the buckle where the right strap is, in order for this to work. This fastening methed is seldom seen now, but old examples can still be found.

Good luck!

[Father Bill]

One other bit of instruction: When you sew the straps / buckles back onto a kilt, be sure to sew all the way through. Don’t just catch the tartan or it will stretch and deform the kilt and eventually the whole thing will fail. Don’t worry about the stitches showing - they’re on the inside next to your body so nobody can see them. I’ve done it several times and believe me, I’m no tailor. Buttons are otherwise the extent of my ability.

[Hexdef101]

If its that easy I may just replace the original straps with some embossed leather straps I saw on Etsy.

I had thought of the single strap when i thought about sowing my own kilt, didn't know it was really a thing though.

Also I got a pretty good deal on this one, using the extenders the Kilt fits like it was made for me.

[OC Richard]

I would go with traditional ordinary kilt straps, the sort that have been the standard kind used by Scottish kiltmakers for probably a century.

They're smooth black leather, and fairly thin.

I got a USA Kilts kilt which came with ornate embossed straps. The problem is that they were quite thick, so thick that it was difficult to shove the left-hand strap through the slot in the kilt that it has to go through.

I took off those thick embossed straps and replaced them with ordinary kilt straps.

In this matter, as so many others, I'm guided by a couple concepts that are built-in to the way I look at things

-Form follows function.

-Highland Dress is clothing, not costume.

[OC Richard]

Trog is bang-on.

Moving the left-hand strap, and moving the right-hand buckle (or buckles, if you kilt has two) is easy and quick to do.

I've played in Pipe Bands for over 45 years and I'm generally the person who adjusts the band's kilts. In a band the same kilts are re-sized over and over as players come and go, due to the same kilts being worn for decades (sometimes a half-century or more).

About the left-hand strap, the one that goes through the slot in the kilt, I'll punch small holes in a strap (they're generally machine-sewn on) to make it easier to hand-sewn it in place. As Trog says you can put a longer strap on to give you a wider range of adjustments, if you're making the kilt bigger.

If you're making the kilt smaller you have to move that inner strap further from the edge. If you have to move it too far you could end up with enough fabric past the strap that it might have a tendency to droop down when the kilt is worn.

The right-hand buckle is easy, you just (carefully!) remove the cloth tab that holds the buckle and stitch it onto its new correct location. As Trog says you need to have the stitching go all the way through. Traditional kilts have an internal canvas stabiliser which takes the stress so the wool doesn't have to. It's the stabiliser that the buckle's tab needs to be anchored to, which you do by stitching all the way through. Yes the new stitching is visible inside the kilt, a small price to pay for a good-fitting kilt.

One thing, I very much prefer kilts only having a single right-hand strap & buckle. This has various advantages

1) the kilt hangs better (the lower right-hand buckle, if the kilt has two, really pulls and distorts the kilt when sitting down especially when driving a car)

2) the kilt is quicker to put on and take off (we pipers are often getting dressed in a hurry)

3) it's faster to made adjustments to the kilt's size

[Hexdef101]

Interestingly that's what has been done to this one. Size tag says 42, its been resized down to 36 or 38. As you say this is common with pipe bands I wonder if this came from one.

[OC Richard]

Interestingly that's what has been done to this one. Size tag says 42, its been resized down to 36 or 38. As you say this is common with pipe bands I wonder if this came from one.

Perhaps it came from a band.

Is the tartan Graham of Menteith?

Oftentimes bands mention their tartan on their website and/or FaceBook page, and oftentimes each band's tartan is listed in the programmes of the Highland Games the bands compete at.

So if one knows what region a kilt comes from it's usually not difficult to find out what band wore it.

Or, the kilt could have been worn by somebody who experienced a bit of weight loss.

Size tag says 42

This jumped out to me, because traditional kilts rarely are made with size tags, since each kilt is made to measure for a specific person, and aren't sold off-the-peg.

And kilts aren't just sized like some garments using a single number. Rather, each kilt has a customer-specific waist, hips, and length. This would be expressed (for example) with 36/39/24 (36 waist, 39 hips, 24 length).

Usually what one sees, with Hire Shop kilts and Pipe Band kilts, are numbers crudely scribbled on the lining with a fabric pen by the shop or band.

One does see size tags in the modern mass-produced Pakistan-made kilts, which are sold off-the-peg.

Could you post a photo of the label or labels inside your kilt? Thanks!

[Hexdef101]

Sorry It took so long to reply.

[Hexdef101]

I was updating to say that I moved the straps. So now its officially mine I guess you could say. I did look up the maker and while they seem like a fairly good maker I don't know as much about them. oh and yes its Graham of Menteith
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