Buying kilt #2

[TheOfficialBren]

Have you considered a 5-yard kilt? Perfectly acceptable and much closer to your price range. Try USA Kilts, Scotweb, or Burnett's and Struth. Don't be fooled by names like "casual kilts." these "casuals" are fine kilts! They use a lower yardage and are more historically accurate than eight yards. Eight yarders were invented by weavers and kiltmakers to sell more fabric about a century ago. Nothing wrong with them but I hear that eight yards gets a bit heavy. I've only worn five yarders, though, and that is what has guided my purchasing. I just ordered kilt number two, a five yard Polyviscose kilt from USA Kilts in the Holyrood tartan.

That brings me to another point...have you considered an alternative to 16oz wool? Maybe 13oz wool or possibly PV?

Sorry for rambling.

:-)

[Downunder Kilt]

Have you considered a 5-yard kilt? Perfectly acceptable and much closer to your price range. Try USA Kilts, Scotweb, or Burnett's and Struth. Don't be fooled by names like "casual kilts." these "casuals" are fine kilts! They use a lower yardage and are more historically accurate than eight yards. Eight yarders were invented by weavers and kiltmakers to sell more fabric about a century ago. Nothing wrong with them but I hear that eight yards gets a bit heavy. I've only worn five yarders, though, and that is what has guided my purchasing. I just ordered kilt number two, a five yard Polyviscose kilt from USA Kilts in the Holyrood tartan.

That brings me to another point...have you considered an alternative to 16oz wool? Maybe 13oz wool or possibly PV?

Sorry for rambling.

:-)

Sorry OB, I don't want to rain on your parade but where do you get the idea that 5 yard kilts are more historically accurate than eight yards. Yes, historical kilts were of a lower yardage, 3.5 to 4 yards, but were random then box pleated, nothing like the the 5 yard kilts of today. That is unless you get a Matt Newsome box pleated. Another differce that you may find when ordering a 5 yard kilt is the style of kilt, as reference by Scotwebs description of their 5 yard casual "This Casual or Sports kilt is expertly sewn to impress, but with a contemporary lower-waisted cut." - more of a jeans height than a tradtional kilt. one must be cafeful when talking about casual kilts and attempting to align them with traditional kilts

As for eight yards getting a bit heavy, I own 4 yard 16oz kilts, 8 yard 13oz kilts and 8 yard 16oz kilts, I am in my late 50's and have never felt the 8 yard 16oz kilts as being heaving. I have worn them all day at highland games in 30C+ heat and were not a bother.

[TheOfficialBren]

Sorry OB, I don't want to rain on your parade but where do you get the idea that 5 yard kilts are more historically accurate than eight yards. Yes, historical kilts were of a lower yardage, 3.5 to 4 yards, but were random then box pleated, nothing like the the 5 yard kilts of today. That is unless you get a Matt Newsome box pleated. Another differce that you may find when ordering a 5 yard kilt is the style of kilt, as reference by Scotwebs description of their 5 yard casual "This Casual or Sports kilt is expertly sewn to impress, but with a contemporary lower-waisted cut." - more of a jeans height than a tradtional kilt. one must be cafeful when talking about casual kilts and attempting to align them with traditional kilts

As for eight yards getting a bit heavy, I own 4 yard 16oz kilts, 8 yard 13oz kilts and 8 yard 16oz kilts, I am in my late 50's and have never felt the 8 yard 16oz kilts as being heaving. I have worn them all day at highland games in 30C+ heat and were not a bother.

Fair enough.

[The Wizard of BC]

Sir,
I'm sorry but there is no such thing as 16oz P/V. I know you see that all over the web but be very careful. There is only one weaver of true kilt worthy P/V and that is Marton Mills. They weave their fabric in only one weight and that is 12oz per yard, double-width.
P/V stands for Polyester/Viscose which to we in N. America means Polyester/Rayon. The true P/V is a 65% Polyester/35% Rayon blend.

It is possible to make an 8yard kilt with the waistband at other than full rise.
These are capable of being worn in what ever level of formality you choose.

This first is 16oz Wool.



And 12oz P/V.




Your kiltmaker must be very familiar with this type of kilt though.

If well made the swish can rival that of a full hand-sewn Tank.

[AlaskanCelt]

What are your thoughts about these two?

http://www.heritageofscotland.com/Ki...91,product.php

http://www.thescotlandkiltcompany.co...yweight-tartan

[TheOfficialBren]

Steve, those are works of art!

I have heard of Edinburgh Kilt Company and Heritage of Scotland. I have heard negative things about their producs and one or two negative things about the way they do business.

I have to say that that was all info from another party, though from an XMarks member, and that I have not done business with either of them.

I haven't heard of The Scotland Kilt Company. I suspect that they are all equivalent to the tourist tat shoppes, though.

I prefer to spend my hard-earned money where I know the vendor has a good reputation for delivering a good quality product at a fair price.

Just ordered my first PV kilt from Rocky at USAK. I plan to order a wool kilt ASAP.

Shop around, ask other members their opinions. Don't be afraid to post a thread asking a question. We all start somewhere. Heck, I am still a newb but I listen to the advice offered by the experts here and advise anyone else to do the same.

:-)

Edit: I just looked at the Scotland Kilt Company link. I noticed that they didn't bother to iron the pleats. It looked really sloppy. If they don't care enough to make a good impression then how good do you think their customer service and products will be? Also, the top apron looks a bit crooked. Probably not a well-made garment. Then again, their price is comparable to Scotweb's 5-yard kilt and Scotweb has a really good reputation...but a MUCH better marketing image...which inspires the buyer's confidence.

[Downunder Kilt]

What are your thoughts about these two?

http://www.heritageofscotland.com/Ki...91,product.php

http://www.thescotlandkiltcompany.co...yweight-tartan

The first of your links leads to the generic 5 yard kilt page where you have a price, it is a from price. If you play with the tartan choice section and select a tartan then to the weight section for the tartan, you will noticice that if you select 16oz then the additional cost ranges from GDP58 to over a GBP100. Even the Black Watch tartan, one of the most common and always in stock by the weavers is GBP60 - 100 more than the "from price" for 16oz

The second link is to the HOE Nevis range which is the 16oz secondary range that HOE puts out in 16oz. It has a tuck in selvedge as against a natural selvedge in the No1 16oz range.

[TheOfficialBren]

Well-spotted, DK!

[Wolfhound Jack]

With these specs indicated from the OP:

- At the price range indicated
- Something "casual" but with a bit more heft

I cannot recommend an 8 yard 12oz Poly/Viscose USA Kilt Semi-traditional with more fervor. Those sound like exactly what you're looking for.

Link: http://www.usakilts.com/index.php/ki...onal-kilt.html

[AlaskanCelt]

Also, has anyone heard about Edinburgh Kilt Company? Saw some of their stuff on ebay.