I'd re-post an old thread, but they're all closed. I figure it's time to get this back out there, again.... Why does it a kilt cost so much, and why don't custom kiltmakers offer big discounts all the time?

Well, I can hand-make an eight-yard kilt...32 pleats in about 30-34 hours of work if I focus on it. Barb says she can do it in about 20-22 hours.Ditto for Paul Henry. I can machine-sew a box-pleat kilt in about 12 - 13 hours. Bear, of Bear Kilts once told me that it took him a full 8-hour day plus some extra to machine-sew up one of this 4-yard kilts, and Rocky has said the same about one of his Casuals. I expect a semi-trad from USA Kilts takes significantly longer. A Freedom Kilt trad model, even though machine-sewn takes a lot more time than that. Steve has actually posted his numbers on the forum, before.

What is a reasonable hourly wage for a professional kiltmaker? Five dollars an hour? Ten? Fifty? What does your electrician make? What do *YOU* make at your job? Is it unreasonable to assume that a trained kiltmaker could make $15 an hour? That seems reasonable to me, I mean, minimum wage in California is about $8 an hour and making a custom kilt is way, way beyond minimum-wage skill-level work.

OK, so if a professional, traditional kilt-maker can crank out a kilt in 20 hours, then 20 hours times $15/hour equals $300. There's the labor for your typical formal knife-pleat kilt, 7 - 9 yards. It's probably 3/4 that for a less-yardage, handsewn box pleat.

How about a machine-sewn box pleat a la X-Kilt from Yours Truly? 12 hours x $15 an hour = $180 labor.

How about a USA Kilts casual? 8 hours x $15 an hour is $120 Ditto for a Bear Kilts 4-yard. THAT'S JUST THE LABOR.

Now let's say that the cloth we're working with retails for about $60 a yard. Since we're "in the business" we get a 50% break on that price from the mills, right? Wrong....but whatever. We're trying to be CHEAP here, so let's pretend that we're paying $30 a yard for cloth. Polyester -viscose is more like about $15 a yard, but the margin is probably a lot less than 50% so lets call it $10 a yard. These are for double-width cloth, right?

So for your lovely 8-yard kilt in worsted wool, we are assuming that the kiltmaker is paying $120 for the cloth. For a Box-pleat, 4-yard they're paying $60 for the cloth. A 4-yard Casual in PV the material cost is $ 20.
For the Wool kilts you have to throw in about $20 for buckles, straps, hair canvas, etc. Add in $5 velcro and stuff in the casual kilts.

Add it up, gang.

8 yard handsewn knife pleat wool kilt: $300 labor, $120 cloth, $20 for the rest, that's $440. Easy.
4 yard handsewn box pleat wool kilt: $225 labor, $60 cloth, $20 for the rest, that's over $300.


...and I might add that I left out a few little things like Rent and the semi-annual maintenance call on the sewing machine. How about the web site, and OMG, what do you mean you don't take Pay Pal? Let's say that all this "schtuff" add another $30 to the cost of each kilt.

So what does all this cost, then?

Traditional 7-9 yard worsted wool, knife pleated kilt adds up to: $470-$490

For the 4-yard box-pleat: $300-325

For the 4-yard casuals in PV: $180 or thereabouts, depending on the complexity of construction

At bare minimum, THAT is what a kilt should cost.The logic is straightforward, the costs are reasonable. That's what it costs.

Now, let's think about all this from the other end, for a minute....are kiltmakers getting rich, charging you a fortune for that kilt?


Not only does that person have to sew kilts, but they have to maintain a web site, because it's the internet age, right? It's that or contract it out...go ask Steve Ashton about how much fun THAT is. They have to bill for kilts made, receive material, BUY material, go to to the bank, order buckles and straps, answer the phone, answer the e-mail and so on. How much time does that take? They're not sewing when they're doing all that, huh? The only time the kiltmaker is generating "product" is when he/she is actually sewing.


Let's say our kiltmaker actually spend 30 hours a week, sewing. Personally, I'd kill someone if I spent 30 hours a week, sewing, but whatever. Well, 30 hours a week times $15 an hour is $450. Multiply by four weeks per month, and our kiltmaker is generating about $1,800 a month income. If they only take two weeks of vacation a year, and work the other 50, that kiltmaker is making the truly sumptious annual salary of $22,500 a year.

That's why custom kiltmakers don't go offering steep discounts on their products.

If you just have to have a $50 kilt then it HAS to be made---

1. out of much less expensive material, and that means "not wool" 'and not even Marton Mills polyester-viscose. It's got to be stuff that costs $2 or $3 a yard.

2. made by someone who is making $10 a DAY, not $15 a hour.

I think you can figure that out.