Quality of a Tank vs other kilts

[sharpdressedscot]

How long does it take to weather? I've been wearing my Wallace for about over 2 years now and there no fading... maybe I'm just lucky!

[Riverkilt]

Congrats on taking the plunge.

I wore one of my hand sewn kilts, the Royal Air Force tartan 16 ounce Strathmore Mills kilt to work yesterday...work included time in court. I wear my hand sewn kilts to work a lot. Also wear them out to dinner, and since smoking in dance places has been banned in Arizona, I wear them dancing. I wear them hiking.

I believe they were made to be worn, so I do.

Only place I still don't wear them is boating (visions of Natalie Wood drowning in her fur coat) and in the forest. Don't wanna get any pitch on them.....well okay, wouldn't hike in them in cactus country either.

I just brush them off after each wearing, like I used to do with wool suits back when. Let them hang out or if I've managed to put a bit of a crease in the pleats hit them with a quick blast from the Black and Decker Gizmo and all is well.

As my kilt addiction has merged with Kathy Lare's craftsmanship and I now have nine of her hand sewn kilts and a Celtic Croft I find that when I'm choosing a kilt for the day or an event I select a hand sewn. My guess is that's about having a choice of tartans in hand sewn kilts and wanting to look nice. Different than deciding to wear the one hand sewn in the closet.

So the more hand sewn kilts you buy, the more you'll wear them.

That's also a good way to reduce the wear and tear. Buy a bunch and rotate them.

Ron

[The Wizard of BC]

As your reading the responses your getting about the hardiness of a Tank Please read carefully.
I will also say the same thing but I'll make it obvious.
A well made, Hand sewn, kilt from a good quality will last and continue to look good for a very long time, [SIZE=5][COLOR=Red]IF WELL TAKEN CARE OF!!
[COLOR=Black][SIZE=3]You do not subject it to the abuse you would a pair of jeans!
You do hang it up properly each and every time you take it off!
You do clean the kilt when needed!
You do take care not to tear or rip it!
You do take care not to stain it!

If you are going to spend $600.00 on a garment, then treat it like it costs $600.00.

I'm pretty rough on clothing so my Tewksbury Tank is for those times when I want to wear it. When I want to look like I'm wearing the best garment I own. For those other times I use a lesser quality kilt.

[Barb T]

How long does it take to weather? I've been wearing my Wallace for about over 2 years now and there no fading... maybe I'm just lucky!

The real issue with red tartan is sunlight (red dye tends to fade more easily than other colors).

How long does it take to see noticeable fading? Well, think about where Jim wears his kilt. All of our parades are outside, and each parade is a good 3 hours out in the sun, what with warm-up and all. Competitions at games have even more sun exposure, because we wear our kilts in and out of the sun from before massed bands at noon until after massed bands in the evening. Neither of these is typical of most people who wear kilts, except maybe Ron who wears his kilts out hiking and stuff. I wouldn't expect to see your Wallace kilt show fading for years and years unless you're wearing it a couple days a week in the sun for long periods of time.

And, of course, it doesn't look like "weathered" tartan. It's still plenty red. But it is noticeably faded compared to our more recently made kilts, as are ones belonging to some of our other long-time band members.

Anyway, the moral of this story is that, if you want to air your kilt, don't hang it outside on the line in the sun.

[sharpdressedscot]

The real issue with red tartan is sunlight (red dye tends to fade more easily than other colors).

How long does it take to see noticeable fading? Well, think about where Jim wears his kilt. All of our parades are outside, and each parade is a good 3 hours out in the sun, what with warm-up and all. Competitions at games have even more sun exposure, because we wear our kilts in and out of the sun from before massed bands at noon until after massed bands in the evening. Neither of these is typical of most people who wear kilts, except maybe Ron who wears his kilts out hiking and stuff. I wouldn't expect to see your Wallace kilt show fading for years and years unless you're wearing it a couple days a week in the sun for long periods of time.

And, of course, it doesn't look like "weathered" tartan. It's still plenty red. But it is noticeably faded compared to our more recently made kilts, as are ones belonging to some of our other long-time band members.

Anyway, the moral of this story is that, if you want to air your kilt, don't hang it outside on the line in the sun.

Ah, OK. I understand now, thanks.

No hanging it outside on the line for me.

[Riverkilt]

As for fading of wool.

A big thing here in Indian Country is to cut up wool Pendleton blankets and sew them into all sorts of different things.

A couple years ago I bought a steering wheel cover and seat belt shoulder pads made from part of a Pendleton blanket. The shoulder pad thingies didn't work with my seat belts so I laid them out as small decorative pads on the top of my dashboard. They sit in the center of my DashMat right under the windshield.

After three years the orange color has begun to fade from the direct sunlight of Arizona. I don't have covered parking for my car at home or at work so they get a lot of sun.

I also have a jean jacket with a red and blue Pendleton wool insert in the back. I've had it for maybe ten years. It goes out a lot but has shown no sign of fading.

I'm guessing probably the only way to fade a kilt in the sun would be to lay it out under a windshield for a few years.

Ron

[sharpdressedscot]

Or a magnifying glass!!

Wait, that would lead to possible fire!

[berserkbishop]

How long does it take to weather? I've been wearing my Wallace for about over 2 years now and there no fading... maybe I'm just lucky!

I could be mistaken, but i read in one of your other posts that your were holding out on a wool kilt until you had stopped growing. If thats the case, and your Wallace is acrylic or P/V, it will not weather as I understand. Man made fibers really dont lose their color unless they take an extreme beating.

BB

[sharpdressedscot]

I could be mistaken, but i read in one of your other posts that your were holding out on a wool kilt until you had stopped growing. If thats the case, and your Wallace is acrylic or P/V, it will not weather as I understand. Man made fibers really dont lose their color unless they take an extreme beating.

BB

Oh, yeah.... I totally forgot about that. OK, I don't have that problem.

[haxtonhouse]

So, a Newsome kilt would not be considered a tank? It seems that they are build like a tank- wouldn't that meke them a tank?