Anyone familiar with Heritage of Scotland tartan fabrics?

[athensohkiltguy]

I've been doing a bit of investigation online looking at 13 oz. and 16 oz. tartan fabrics referred to the "Stewart Royal Modern" sett. I knew there was variation, but geez! Various mills produce patterns and color saturation astonishingly different from each other. I shoulda figured it.

Anyhow, I've settled on Batley's fabric line for that sett, as they seem to have the most vibrant and highly saturated colors [just a personal preference, if I want "mud" I'll walk barefoot after a rainstorm, not cover my bum in it :>)].

I've been looking at prices for 4 yards (or, approx., meters when yards aren't offered) of Batley fabric, and comparing distributors. I've not gotten all of them by a long shot, I'm sure, and haven't actually investigated the originating mills themselves. But I have looked at Heritage of Scotland, Scotweb, Tartan Time, House of Tartan, USA Kilts, Scots Connection, Celtic Corner and Linda Clilfford so far. The cost of roughly the same linear yardage (or "meterage"? is that even a word??) ranges from $70 to 215--not including tax or shipping, the latter probably being a significant addition for some places.

BUT, the cheapest, it "seems", is Heritage of Scotland at $70. The reason I say "seems" is that the website is confusing to me, and I can't tell if the Batley fabric they offer is really single-width or double-width. Or, maybe it's me and I can't understand Scottish ;?p Does anybody know how to interpret the bolts of fabric in that site?

And, has anybody used material from them, to confirm that it would be the same general quality of other Batley fabric from elsewhere? If I can get 4 yards of the same 16 oz tartan I like from one place at a price that's over $20 cheaper than the next priced distributor, I'd do it. But, I'm wary of a "too good to be true" thing, too. So often, such things don't pan out.

Looking to hear from the experts....
Thanks for your thoughts and comments,
Harvey

[Tartan Tess]

I just bought 4 meters of 16 oz.modern Mackenzie from them and it is wonderful.

[MacMillans son]

I have not purchased from them but many here have with good results.

As far as I know, the material produced by a certain mill is the same no matter what retailer you purchase it from.

The Heritage of Scotland web site is a little different to navigate for sure.
First you go to the tartan by the yard location ( I assume you found that).

Then you choose your tartan from the drop down menu.
Then the weight you want from the next drop down menu which gives you the additive amount to the base price.

In your case, the Stewart Royal Modern has a base price of $26.77 per meter plus the additive amount from the weight drop down of $8.04 for a total per meter price of $34.81 US.

That is based on double width. If your tartan is not available in double width, they will send twice as much single width for the same total price of $139.24 (4X $34.81) regardless of whether it is 8 meters of single width or 4 meters of double width.

Got it?

Hope that helps,

Brooke

[Tartan Tess]

They answer your emails very fast. I asked about sett sizes, guarantees and how much was left on the bolt.
And I called them and they called me back too.
They said the cheeper tartan prices was because of a local mill but she couldn't name it?
I was so happy with the tartan that I just ordered 16 more meters for a pipe band here.

[RockyR]

Other thoughts to consider when making purchases aside from the price of the fabric itself:

Shipping costs from the retailer to you?
If you're outside the retailer's country, Customs Duties?

Speaking for USA Kilts only (as you mentioned us in your list), I can answer those 2 questions:

1. Shipping on orders over $200 is free. 4 yards of cloth would put you over $200.
2. We absorb all US Customs duties on imported products. The price you see on our site is the "delivered" price. You won't receive any Customs bills a few weeks after receiving your fabric.

[athensohkiltguy]

Hi again,
Sorry to be dense, but now I'm more confused than I was before about how to calculate price per linear yard/meter of tartan fabric (excluding tax and shipping).

I guess I assumed that the price given on websites is the price per linear yard/meter, whether it is single-width or double-width; that if the distributor/mill states it's double-width, you get two widths-worth for that stated price. So, if the website notes a price of $50 for a linear yard of their double-width tartan fabric, and I want 4 yards of single-width fabric, I only need to purchase 2 yards of their double-width fabric. Or, is that the simpleton's view?

I had anticipated that the shipping across "the pond" might be substantial and would alter the comparison a bit. Thanks, Rocky, for pointing out the customs duty thing. I had never built that in. Any ideas how THAT works? I don't like these hidden costs....

[turpin]

You will find if you go to the US Customs tariffs list that wool cloth imported as yardage has a 25% duty, if you are unlucky enough to have it assessed (it often depends on mode of shipping). Whereas a finished kilt has a 12.5% duty. Go figure. If the clost is sent Royal Mail you might get lucky. FEDEX and UPS, you won't.

So far I'd say Rocky's offer looks like a solid one. Even if you order from HoS at $140, figure $30 shipping and %30 in duty fees, plus a processing fee if its FEDEX or UPS

[ForresterModern]

I have recieved several shipments of 4 meter lengths of DW 16 oz tartan from HOS, never paid for shipping as I chose their free shipping option, which has so far had the added benefit of shipping being via RoyalMails, and never paid a penny of tariff for any of the orders. A couple of those orders were custom weaves, too, and the price was still very reasonable. Their tartan prices get more reasonable if you can catch one of their 10, 15, or even 20% off sales, which is typically when I capitalize on the situation. This may not, however, be as good of a deal as your kiltmaker may get, given their industry discounts.

jeff