How to buy a kilt - the way it used to be done

[figheadair]

What is seen in the film is no longer possible - there is now no native wool grown and processed commercially in Scotland. The nearest wool processing is south of the border in England, and a huge proportion of the fleeces sheared each year (and excellent quality it is too) costs more to shear than the fleece is worth, and it goes straight to land-fill.

At the same time, wool producers in the UK are importing fleeces from Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere, with all the added cost of transport that entails, and the buying public make their purchases based on price. But you get what you pay for.

Whilst, for economies of scale, all wool scouring is done in England, it is encouraging that the largest Scottish weaver is using Scottish wool for at least some of their tartan. https://ukft.org/lochcarron-scotland-pvjuly22/ Working with them for some special projects I have been impressed by the result of using yarn from this wool with a bespoke finish. The cloth has the feel of tartan from before the 1970s and is the best available for kilting in my opinion.

[OC Richard]

Thanks for that link! What a time-capsule.

Interesting to see the wearing of Day Dress without tie, the shirt collar open and sticking out. Was that a thing? I don't know if I've seen vintage photos showing it.

Everything else accords what I would expect from the period of "traditional Highland Dress"

-kilt with 7 yards (interwar catalogues generally offer kilts in 6, 7, or 8 yards)

-kilt in the "ancient" colours (which post-WWII can outnumber the number of "modern" tartans listed)

-brown sporran, black shoes

-hose in a common tweed-jacket colour

-red flashes regardless of tartan or hose, note flashes are from the traditional worsted wool tape

Some of the kiltmaking things are interesting, such as going straight down with a ruler when chalking the front-apron edge, while Elsie Stuehmeyer did it freehand and with a gentle curve.

Ditto the pinning and basting of the pleats- Elsie didn't do either, but stitched the pleats freehand.

It's funny how they leap from basting the pleats to the finished kilt! The stitching and cutting out the pleats, the lining, etc are skipped over.

I love the do's and don'ts chart! Interwar catalogues and articles are full of words like "proper" "correct" and "must", the very things that rile people on the internet these days.

[Troglodyte]

Thanks for that link! What a time-capsule.

Interesting to see the wearing of Day Dress without tie, the shirt collar open and sticking out. Was that a thing? I don't know if I've seen vintage photos showing it.

Everything else accords what I would expect from the period of "traditional Highland Dress"

-kilt with 7 yards (interwar catalogues generally offer kilts in 6, 7, or 8 yards)

-kilt in the "ancient" colours (which post-WWII can outnumber the number of "modern" tartans listed)

-brown sporran, black shoes

-hose in a common tweed-jacket colour

-red flashes regardless of tartan or hose, note flashes are from the traditional worsted wool tape

Some of the kiltmaking things are interesting, such as going straight down with a ruler when chalking the front-apron edge, while Elsie Stuehmeyer did it freehand and with a gentle curve.

Ditto the pinning and basting of the pleats- Elsie didn't do either, but stitched the pleats freehand.

It's funny how they leap from basting the pleats to the finished kilt! The stitching and cutting out the pleats, the lining, etc are skipped over.

I love the do's and don'ts chart! Interwar catalogues and articles are full of words like "proper" "correct" and "must", the very things that rile people on the internet these days.

Shirt collars opened and laid over a jacket was most definitely a-la-mode in the 1950s - casual style before youth culture fashions of the '60s took over - so the look is normal for the student types in the film.

I like to see the weavers in their work-wear - of tweed jacket and chalkstripe flannels, and, again, open-neck shirt. Chalkstripe flannel is now only ever seen in Savile Row suits, and we think we are dressed-up smart when we put on tweeds these days.

National Service was at its height in the UK at the time of this film, which meant all men did a two-year stint in the Forces once they reached their 18th birthday. It is more than likely that the 'students' in the film will have done their service, and those that went into a kilted regiment will have learnt regimental kilting ways that got continued once back into civilian life.

The kilt made in the film looks rather modern to my eyes - there is little in the way of rise above the waist - but is well-suited to the casual way it is worn in the final scenes.

The reaction of the public in the street as our hero leaves the kiltmakers is interesting - they seem not to notice the kiltie striding-by, let alone his kilt. I find I get the same lack of interest today, which shows how Scotland's national dress is regarded in its homeland.

[Pleater]

One reason for the processing being done in England could be the water quality - the same reason my kilts survived, as the water in South Yorkshire is very 'soft', it lathers easily and doesn't form a scum with soap.
There was always a box of Lux soapflakes by the big sink, all the woollen things were washed with that, carefully dissolved in warm water then the cold tap run to bring the temperature down to just tepid.

I suspect that the inner part of the kilt was linen as it was slightly glossy - polished by decades of wear.
It had a new lining made from a pillowcase and sewn in rather badly - my mum wasn't at all handy with a needle, unlike her mother who was absolutely brilliant at all sorts of making and mending.

Anne the Pleater

[figheadair]

One reason for the processing being done in England could be the water quality

No, it's nothing to do with that and everything to do with economies of scale. Scouring is required for all grades of wool, not just that used for tartan in Scotland. There is simply not the market to justify establishing a Scouring Mill in Scotland.

[Jock Scot]

No, it's nothing to do with that and everything to do with economies of scale. Scouring is required for all grades of wool, not just that used for tartan in Scotland. There is simply not the market to justify establishing a Scouring Mill in Scotland.

Now that makes complete sense to me...........unfortunately.