kilt from Homespun wool

**Alan H** · 12th April 05, 08:32 PM

Does anyone have any experience with a homespun wool kilt?

check here: http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/Kilts/economy_kilts.html

I ask because if you look through that page closely you'll see that they will produce a custom run of your tartan (think the X Marks tartan) with a minimum order of eight kilts. Price is $129 for a custom weave homespun economy kilt, which is extremely reasonable if the product is OK. However, homespun wool is not the same thing as the commercially-made, tight worsted wools. Read up on their site about the difference.

Does anyone here have one of this companies homespun kilts, or any other kilt made from homespun wool? On one hand, homespun is the "real thing". This is how the material that was made for kilts and their predecessor garments were made before the Industrial Revolution. On the other hand, folks may want a crisp looking kilt and maybe homespun won't quite deliver that.

Then again, this motley assortment of ladies and gentlemen that we call X Marks is ...uuuhhh... maybe not so "crisply pleated" but more on the side of "with occasional snags, runs and flaws in the manufacture" so maybe it's the ideal match!

**Alan H** · 12th April 05, 08:36 PM

BTW, I notice that they offer a homespun kilt in the Ulster tartan, which I've been thinking about for a while. I'm getting nowhere prying information out of Bonbright Woolens regarding the California Tartan so maybe, just maybe I'll order an Ulster and then take a mess of pictures of it so that folks can see what the deal is.

Don't hold your breath, though.

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 13th April 05, 04:56 AM

Well, the one thing I don't like is their assertion that home spun yard is not spun as tightly as machine spun, and hand woven cloth is not woven as tightly or as perfectly. I know hand spinners and hand weavers and those who take their craft seriously produce yarn and cloth just as perfect as anything made on machine.

I also wonder where they are getting their cloth. Knowing several hand weavers of tartan personally, none of them would be willing to weave tartan yardage at $30 per yard, and the fact that this vendor is selling it for that price means he is actually paying less.

But I like the colors of the tartans shown on their site. I'd want to look at a sample cutting to see how it might make up into a kilt, though.

Aye,
Matt

**philibeg** · 13th April 05, 05:26 AM

Then again, this motley assortment of ladies and gentlemen that we call X Marks is ...uuuhhh... maybe not so "crisply pleated" but more on the side of "with occasional snags, runs and flaws in the manufacture" so maybe it's the ideal match

LOL..I am indeed not feeling as crisp as I once did....sigh

**herminator** · 13th April 05, 06:11 AM

Originally Posted by M. A. C. Newsome

Well, the one thing I don't like is their assertion that home spun yard is not spun as tightly as machine spun, and hand woven cloth is not woven as tightly or as perfectly. I know hand spinners and hand weavers and those who take their craft seriously produce yarn and cloth just as perfect as anything made on machine.

Exactly! When you research old textiles you will often find them comparable to machinemade textiles. This is both in the spinning as in the weaving! They DO fall different, mostly better! So I could well imagine a good homespun cloth for a kilt.
On the other hand the prices are suspicious! For handmade cloth I easily pay the double price here in Germany!

**bubba** · 13th April 05, 06:18 AM

I suspect they're using the term "homespun" to indicate a courser weave fabric rather than it being actually home spun.

**Alan H** · 13th April 05, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by M. A. C. Newsome

Well, the one thing I don't like is their assertion that home spun yard is not spun as tightly as machine spun, and hand woven cloth is not woven as tightly or as perfectly. I know hand spinners and hand weavers and those who take their craft seriously produce yarn and cloth just as perfect as anything made on machine.

I also wonder where they are getting their cloth. Knowing several hand weavers of tartan personally, none of them would be willing to weave tartan yardage at $30 per yard, and the fact that this vendor is selling it for that price means he is actually paying less.

But I like the colors of the tartans shown on their site. I'd want to look at a sample cutting to see how it might make up into a kilt, though.

Aye,
Matt

That issue about the price of the material occurred to me last night. If there's an eight to twelve week turnaround then the source is most probably not local to them...although I could be wrong about that. Also, "homespun" in the lengths needed to make eight kilts (which is their minimum for a custom order of your own tartan) is a bit of a misnomer I think. I mean, if each of those kilts averages 5 yards, then that means there's a total of 40 yards of material. What hand-loom weaver wants to crank out 40 yards of material? That's drudge work, If you ask me. So I bet anything that Bubba is right and that this stuff isn't ACTUALLY hand-woven. It's just made in a manner where it looks and feels hand-woven.

I've contacted them with more questions and we'll see what they say.

I have no objection personally to purchasing material made overseas. I DO, however, have an objection to purchasing material created in an environment which is abusive and exploitative. So we'll see how this stacks up.