kilt makers....not tartans

[McMurdo]

I completely agree with you Cloves I would much rather have my kilt made by a friend who I trust than get a mass produced kilt. Right now I have 3 hand sewn kilts from Scotland and 3 others one was from USA kilts (my Black Stewart) and 2 Canadian Casual Kilts (My Maple Leaf, and my new XMarks.)

In the process I have become friends with Peter of Canadian Casual Kilts and feel very comfortable bouncing ideas off him. I trust him when he says it would be better this way, I am also talking to him about a couple more that I am really excited about, you will get all the details when they are done.

[Pleater]

Almost all my kilts have been remade, redesigned, refined - some of them four times now.

I can't walk past a fabric shop, I have to go in and look, just in case there is something good on the shelves.

I even stick to my diet because I want my kilts to look as good as possible.

I was really BAD last week - I saw a professionally made kilt made inside out - with the diagonals of the twill weave running the wrong way - it was beautifully made otherwise - but could I keep quite? Ms Diplomacy - NOT!!

Use a low quality fabric for a kilt? No way!! It's got to have swing, it needs gravitas, it needs length, no skimping, it needs time to get every pleat just perfect, the folds precisely on the line of the cloth, each reveal identical, any error corrected and all smooth, pressed, precise, perfect.

But as for selling one?

Oh no. Mine, all mine.

It is going to be some time before I could even think of parting with a kilt.

Those who sell kilts must be very generous souls.

[Peter C.]

Long before I found this site, I wanted to learn how to make kilts and searched the web for instructions and patterns. That's how I found Barbs book. In the book is a picture of a guy in the most beautiful kilt I had ever seen. I assumed that Elsie Stuehmeyer had made the kilt and tried unsuccessfully to find her to see if she did any kilt making courses near or in Tennessee.

Then I found xmarks, and having seen some of Barbs kilts I realize she could have made that kilt in the book. Her kilts are beautiful, perfect, magnificent, I find it impossible not to want one.

Peter

[way2fractious]

I assumed that Elsie Stuehmeyer had made the kilt and tried unsuccessfully to find her to see if she did any kilt making courses near or in Tennessee.

Then I found xmarks, and having seen some of Barbs kilts I realize she could have made that kilt in the book.

The kilts Barb T used to illustrate the book she co-authored were from all over. My guess is she made the perfectly fashioned ones, and someone else made all the ones she used as examples of bad pleating, bad stitching, etc.

As mentioned in the book's section, About The Authors, Elsie lives here in Nor-Cal. She comes out to the highland games, usually for the dance competitions, and she continues to teach a few kiltmaking workshops around the country - and likely fewer each year. Unfortunately, Tennessee doesn't seem to be in her circuit.

The post below also has other links regarding this year's workshops (now concluded.) See especially Wompet's writeup of the NY Kilt Kamp.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...53&postcount=4

As info comes available for next year, I'll try to make it available here on XMTS.

[Peter C.]

Thanks Way2fractious, I read Wompet's writeup, Elsie sounds like quite a character.

Peter