Who is in charge of dumb questions?

[Fedgunner]

Is there a structural difference between a kilt and a cilt?

The reason I ask is that my wife's great, great Da, was a Welsh orphan.

(Talk about a dead end on a genalogy trek! They made up his name.)

[billmcc]

That's not a dumb question. As far as I know, the main different is a cilt is hemmed at the bottom. Welsh tartan don't have a kilting selvedge like Scottish tartans. I am sure a few of our Welsh members will provide more information.

[Jerry]

I thiink Mike1 is in charge of dumb questions. I know I've asked him a bunch.

[Freedomlover]

Welsh tartan don't have a kilting selvedge like Scottish tartans.

Are you sure about that? The selvage is a small area on the edge of the fabric that is done in (usually) 1/1 weave that prevents raveling and serves as a place for the looms pin rollers to get a grip. Or do you mean that Welsh tartans have a selvage that is somehow unsuitable for use as-is?

[morrison]

Don't know about question, but figured I was in charge of dumb.

I was think the dif twixt kilt & cilt is the c and the k.

(Celtics), is it Boston Keltics or Seltics?

[M. A. C. Newsome]

The word "cilt" is simply the Welsh spelling for kilt. Keep in mind that the Welsh don't have a tradition of kilt wearing as the Scots do. All these Welsh tartans are inventions of the last few years, and have been created by and large by a single company, the Welsh Tartan Centre.

They are marketing traditional Scottish attire to a Welsh market, essentially. But they give things a Welsh character, and one of the ways they do that is by referring to things by the Welsh names. For instance, instead of a "sporran" (which is Gaelic for purse or pouch), they call it an "ysgrepan" (Welsh for purse or pouch).

Oddly enough, I just went to the Welsh Tartan Centre web site (to make sure I was spelling "ysgrepan" correctly!) and noticed that on their web site they use the "kilt" spelling themselves. Hmmmm......

In any case, any kilt made from cloth with a non-kilting selvedge (that is, a selvedge which is not closed), will need to have a hem, regardless of whether you spell it with a "k" or a "c".

[McClef]

I noticed that they had changed their spelling too - will have to tell Tony Collins off!

Both my Welsh cilts are hemmed but they do have all the other usual characteristics. Then again a couple of my kilts are hemmed also.

[billmcc]

Are you sure about that? The selvage is a small area on the edge of the fabric that is done in (usually) 1/1 weave that prevents raveling and serves as a place for the looms pin rollers to get a grip. Or do you mean that Welsh tartans have a selvage that is somehow unsuitable for use as-is?

Yes, I am sure. But, you seem to be confused. I did not state that Welsh tartans don't have a selvege. I stated "Welsh tartans don't have a kilting selvedge like Scottish tartans."

[McClef]

I'm confused as to the difference between a selvedge and a kilting selvedge...

[M. A. C. Newsome]

The selvedge is just the edge of the fabric. Therefore all fabric has a selvedge.:-)

By "kilting selvedge" people mean a selvedge that is suitable for making a kilt, which traditionally does not have a hem. This means a closed selvedge with a clean edge.

M