The Most Comfortable Kilt

[CMcG]

PV = Polyviscose. Viscose is the English term for what we call rayon - synthetic cotton. So its a polyether and synthetic cotton blend. What the resulting fabric is like obviously depends upon the thread it was woven with. That's a mill decision. Know we have some experts on this on the forum.....???

Just me - never had any pilling problem with my PV kilts.

I just sent a message to Sportkilt about their fabric and the pilling. We'll see what they say

[CMcG]

Seamus from Sportkilt got back to me right away and said they have used fabric from different sources, over time. My Sportkilt is apparently done up in an older material, that may have been a poly/acrylic blend. Since the time I purchased mine (2009) they have moved to a PV that has an anti-pill finish.

He offered to replace my pilled-up kilt, but said it would be made from their last remaining stock of the older fabric. I think that is fair and I'm seriously considering the offer... what great service

[CMcG]

Sorry for the delay, my replacement Sportkilt arrived in August and I forgot to update this thread I am pleased to report that Sportkilt's customer service is fantastic and they replaced my pilled-up kilt, free of charge.

As I mentioned in the post above, the new kilt is made from the same, older material, so it will pill up again. They no longer carry my clan tartan in their new, pill resistant material and I'd rather have my clan tartan in the old material, rather than better material in a tartan I'm less connected to. The new one has thicker, more substantial straps than my old one, even though the straps are basically decorative because it is a velcro closure. The tartan is also aligned better on the apron, so they fixed not only the pilling issue, but several other things that bothered me, even though I didn't mention them!

Pics or it didn't happen, right? Here I am, bumming* around the house at the end of September, wearing my replacement Sportkilt and a Sportkilt shirt that they sent me with the original kilt. Not only is Sportkilt the most comfortable, they also have excellent customer service and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone who is looking for a beater/athletic kilt.



* Not trying to look good here, just chilling out.

[crboltz]

Somehow, i didn't see this thread when it was up originally, but since it has been reactivated (with pictures!), I wanted to share my most comfortable kilt. When I was preparing to make the kilts for my wedding, I wanted to practice sewing plaid sone less expensive fabric. I bought some blue plaid flannel, and made an X-Kilt for myself. Flannel doesn't hold pleats well, it looked absolutely horrid after being on for more than 30 seconds, but man oh man, was it comfortable. I used to get home from work and change into it, before sewing the kilts for the wedding. Being flannel it was very washable. Being a kilt made for practice, it wasn't fantastically put together (I got much much better!). The other downside is that I put on some weight, so the kilt has moved farther and farther back in my closet. However, I recently lost some inches, and I'm now curious to see if it fits again. There will be no pics as it doesn't look good, but it feels great.
Cheers
Chris

[Alan H]

My most comfortable kilts started out as top end duvet covers - it does entail making your own kilts, but I just pleat the fabric and sew on a narrow waistband just to bind the top.

Anything will do to hold it on, a couple of D rings and fabric reinforced with cotton tape, click together squeeze apart buckles, buttons, safety pins - or even Velcro.

The material is difficult to crease but seems happy enough to be folded into pleats. The kilt is heavy enough not to feel flimsy but comfortable in midsummer heat.

It can be thrown in the washing machine, lounged about in, carried in a backpack and even worn when wading in the sea, and it still looks kiltish.

The only thing to watch out for is a pattern with an obvious vertical line not printed on the grain of the fabric. Plain or something random is the best option.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

Nice, Ann! Though I have to say, that's the first time I've ever heard of duvet covers having a second life as a kilt!

[Alan H]

Gotta love Seamus ats Sportkilt. There's a reason that about 90% of the athletes wear sportkilts.

Personally, my most comfortable kilt is my digicamo cotton-poly reverse kinguisse. Love that thing. It just got washed this weekend after going on several sweaty hikes around Thanksgiving. It's got sewn-down pleat edges. I spent about 10 minutes ironing it....first time on the ironing board in 3+ months..... and the thing looks just fine.

I dig it.