Marton Mills PV fading

[Alan H]

I'm rebuilding my PV Ancient MacNaughton kilt that is about 5-6 years old now. There's a thread down in the DIY forum, for anybody who's interested. I've discovered that the side of the cloth facing the outside has definitely faded. The color change is strongest in the fell, but the outside of the over-apron definitely shows fading when compared to the underside of the same bit of cloth. Ditto for the outside of the pleats. I think it's pretty certainly light-induced, as in the fell, up where my belt covers the tartan, the fading is significantly less pronounced as compared to lower down.

Now, this kilt has seen a lot of wear, and a lot of that has been at Games here in California, where the sunlight and heat is just brutal. Since I've "expanded" somewhat...heh.... it's mostly spent the last year sitting in the closet, though. I can't decide if the color change is throughout all colors in the tartan, or mostly in the reds.

At any rate, it's not catastrophic, it's not a glaring-obvious change...I mean, I never noticed it before I was taking the kilt apart on my sewing table, but it's something that folks might want to be aware of. I'd be interested to hear from people who have kilts made of Marton Mills polyester-viscose, that are 4-5+ years old. Compare the color shades of the outside of the kilt to, for example, the outside of the under-apron. Perhaps take a look at where your belt covers the tartan and compare that to the shades a few inches below that in the fell, and let us know.