Approximate Braveheart Tartan

[McClef]

Sir Trefor--do you recall the name of the Ebay store or seller--that particular auction obviously ended ages ago, and the link doesn't give any information by which I could locate the seller on Ebay. Fantastic kilt, by the way...I'm quite jealous. Regards,...

I will forgive English Bloke upon receipt of a pint!

But he is right, Bobilishious has not had auctions for some time. It could be that his sources of supply dried up and that once he had sold what he had access to, getting new material woven became uneconomic.

He is currently only active as a buyer as his feedback at http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayIS...TRK:MEFSX:FDBK shows.

You could try the contact member button at http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/bobilishious and place an enquiry as to whether he hopes or plans to start selling again.

[ForresterModern]

As English Bloke mentioned above I too have a bobolishious-made 8yd traditional kilt made up in the Braveheart movie tartan in 16oz by Islay Mills, and it makes a fine kilt, although requires a hem as there is no kilting selvedge. It is one of my favorite kilts, although its earth tones and coarse finished fabric limit its utility and color combinations it can be worn with.



My understanding from someone who knew bobolishious (aka Bob Chalmers) at the time was that he closed his independent ebay business about a year ago and at least at that time became employed in the clothing business in Scotland somewhere, although not sure if it was in the kilt business or not, or whether he is still similarly employed today.

[ShaunMaxwell]

A couple of years back, I won an ebay auction for 8 yards of 16 oz. Maxwell Modern tartan. The price included having the tartan made into a kilt. Bob Chalmers ("Bobilishious") was the seller. The kilt was very well made and a great value.

I asked Bob how he was able to make such nice kilts for such a good price and he told me the stock he sold on his eBay listings was "dead stock." That is to say that it's essentially remnants that he bought from tartan mills after they'd closed their books for the fiscal year. Essentially, it's fabric that is enough to make a kilt, but not enough to sell on a bolt, so he got a great deal on it since it was surplus.

I contacted Bob again to see if he'd be able to help me with a kilt in a tartan which he didn't have listed on his eBay auction site. He told me he'd be happy to, but by the time I was ready to pull the trigger and contacted him again, he informed me that he was no longer in the kilt business, as he'd taken on other responsibilities within the company (Tartanweb). He directed me to someone in sales at Tartanweb who's no longer with the firm, and I purchased the kilt from Tartanweb. It was the same quality as the eBay kilt I'd purchased and just a bit more expensive.

I'm happy enough with the Tartanweb kilts that I'll be placing an order for another next month.

And by the way, according to applegate.com, a business directory in the UK, Bob Chalmers is listed as a director of Tartanweb Scotland Ltd.

[BobsYourUncle]

I've since made a couple kilts in the tartan (since my original post). While I won't say that it makes a kilt as nice as a traditional (scottish worsted) wool kilt, it doesn't make a bad kilt either.

I actually have a few yards of it in stock at the shop and have 1 kilt currently on the rack in that tartan (a 5 Yarder in a 42" waist).

Rocky--I just PM'd you about the 5 yarder. Regards, BYU

[Graham]

Here is my Braveheart kilt, it was made by Celtic Croft, and I also saw the tartan when I visited Islay Woollen Mill last year. Gordon Covell is the owner there.

[CaseyB]

After reading this thread I went back and looked at pics from the movie and the fabric they wore were plaids, not even tartans!

[Ryan Ross]

After reading this thread I went back and looked at pics from the movie and the fabric they wore were plaids, not even tartans!

Please forgive me for being a stickler, but a plaid is an article of clothing, so far as I'm concerned.

Commonly, at the present time, I think you'll find that the words "plaid" and "tartan" are used interchangably. I don't believe that a pattern must have bilateral symmetry in order to be considered a tartan.

I do imagine you're refering to the warp and weft being different on the Braveheart tartan; also, both the warp and weft are repeating, rather than reversing. These two factors certainly make it look much different than a majority of the tartans seen today.

Personally, I think it's very nice looking.

[CaseyB]

I was referring to the warp and the weft being different, not the fact that it's asymmetric. I thought that tartan was a subset of plaid that had more strict rules in the same way that kilt is a subset of skirt. <puts on helmet>

[Ryan Ross]

I was referring to the warp and the weft being different, not the fact that it's asymmetric. I thought that tartan was a subset of plaid that had more strict rules in the same way that kilt is a subset of skirt. <puts on helmet>

Yeah, it's certainly a confusing topic, all this nomenclature.

But as I understand it, folks started calling tartan patterns "plaids" because that was the name of the garment most characteristically associated with being made from a tartan patterned fabric. Today, we have the fly plaid, the pipers plaid, the drummers plaid, lairds plaid, the day plaid, etc...

The proto-kilt was called the feilidh-mór, which is commonly termed in english , "belted plaid"; it was essentially an untailored piece of double width cloth, about 4 yards in length, that was gathered about the body and belted on in any number of different ways.

So in the old days, you might say that your "plaid" was your kilt.

But yes, the evolution of the kilt can seem confusing on first inspection, and goodness knows that all of the different names for various parts of highland clothing and tartan terminology can be highly confusing!

EDIT: And getting kind-of back on topic, what they wore in Braveheart WAS NOT a feilidh-mór!

[BobsYourUncle]

Here is my Braveheart kilt, it was made by Celtic Croft, and I also saw the tartan when I visited Islay Woollen Mill last year. Gordon Covell is the owner there.

Looks great! A muted and subtle pattern. Very nice.