Crunch the numbers before you even think about this. I've done it, and I know for a certain fact that I could not make kilts and afford to live where I do, in California.

HIGH END STUFF.

"pros" make a tank in 20-25 hours according to several professional kiltmakers on this board. That means if you do *nothing* but sew, for a 40-50 hour work week, you can make two kilts a week. That means you can make eight kilts a month. We're talking TANKS, here, OK?

The labor charge for a custom kilt according to several kiltmakers on this board, is between $200 and $250 per kilt.

eight kilts a month at $250 per kilt = $2,000 a month income or $24,000 a year.

This does not include ANYTHING ELSE that occupies your time besides sewing, and that includes everything about your fancy-pants website, shipping, ordering, going to the post office, fixing the sewing machine, and so on.

MACHINE SEWN

Rocky and Bear have both said that they can crank out a kilt in 8 - 10 hours, machine sewn. I'm not sure if Rocky's is a USA Casual or a Semi-Traditional. Let's pretend that it's a Casual model.

OK, so if you can crank out a kilt in ten hours, then in a forty hour work week you can make four kilts. That means sixteen kilts in a month. Let's pretend that these kilts are made out of Marton Mills polyester-viscose. PV costs about $15 a meter, if you buy if from Marton Mills. You'll need 2.5 meters for a casual kilt. So that's $37.50 just for the fabric, for each kilt. Call it $38.

Now lets crunch the numbers....sixteen kilts a month, remember... let's say that you charge $150 for these kilts. That's in the ballpark. Go look up what USA Kilts charges for it's Casual model. Remember that $38 of that is what you pay for the fabric, though. So that means you are actually making $112 for each kilt that you make. Sort of.

16 kilts a month X $112 per kilt = $1792

Call it $1800 a month that you make by working 40 hours a week, cranking out machine-made kilts. Of course, it will be less than that because you have to muck around with the website, answer the phone, take orders, pack orders, ship orders, fix the sewing machine, buy your fabric and so on and so forth. Oh and don't forget the velcro, or the buckles or the leather or whatever else you put into this kilt. OK, so call it a 60 hour week.

For working a 60 hours week you make $1800 a month, or $21,600 a year.

Better think twice about going into this business.