Recreating a tartan fabric?

[JamesMcGill]

I have recently ordered some swatches in the MacGill tartan(My name). My dilemma is that purchasing fabric from the U.S is not possible and fabric ordered from Scotland is super expensive even for reiver material. I really can't afford to buy the premade MacGill kilt from Scotland and/or buy material and then have it made here in the U.S. So I guess my question is, is it possible to use the swatch that I have and somehow have it recreated professionally? maybe something like a fabric scanner for pattern accuracy? company recommends or other suggestions?

[HeathBar]

I'm not sure what a fabric scanner is or how its used in producing tartan material. But most weavers have a minimum yardage when doing a custom run of anything. I've seen everything from 30 yds to 100yds. If you are wanting material to have a kilt made, then your best option is to get it from one of the Scottish mills. Yes, its expensive. But consider it an investment. A kilt will often out live its original owner. If buying an 8yd kilt is still out of the question, have you considered lower yardage kilts? That will reduced the price some.

[Chas]

Tartans are woven according to the 'Threadcount'. Both the Scottish Register of Tartans and the Scottish Tartans Authority will be able to give you the threadcount for McGill.

There must be hundreds of weaving mills in the US and I do not believe that the fabric that they make is in any way inferior to the Scottish product.

Regards

Chas

[MacMillans son]

Welcome aboard James!

Quality tartan fabric certainly is not cheap, but it may not be as bad as your initial research indicates.

I checked the "Heritage of Scotland" website and they have Mcgill tartan, both ancient and modern, for about $57 a meter double width. You would need aprox. 3.5 meters of double width fabric for a traditional 8 yard kilt. That's about $200 + shipping of about $30 to get it to you. If that initial investment is not too prohibitive, you could then wait and save to pay for the additional labor to have the kilt constructed in the U.S. by one of our quality kilt makers for an additional $200-$300 labor. That would give you a kind of "pay as you can" option that you may not have if you order a kilt made out right from a kilt maker.

However, if you are willing to save all of the money and pay all at once, then having a kilt maker order the fabric and make the kilt may actually be a more cost effective option, as you would not have to have to pay to have the material shipped twice (once to you then again to the kilt maker).

Just some options.

Good luck, and again, Welcome to Xmarks!!

Brooke

[ForresterModern]

If this is your tartan:

http://www.scottish-tartans-world-re...px?record=1487

then this may be your lucky day. A relatively new Scotland based outfit from outside of Glasgow recently opened a new website, and is offering a 20% discount (as listed on their main webpage ---code "speclaunch01"). If you go to their kilt page for a gents classic machine stitched kilt you can order one in ANY tartan listed in their registry reference, and in whatever weight tartan is available, and if not available in stock they will weave it at whatever weight you want as a special order for no additional cost. They will then build it up into a machine sewn kilt for right around $300 USD and ship it to you ground transit for free. At least that is what they told me when I ordered my similar kilt in special weave Brown Douglas tartan 16oz. Ordered over a month ago and was told to expect it in about 12 weeks. Email confirrmation and everything.

Home page
http://www.thetartanstore.co.uk/

8 yd machine sewn classic kilt page
http://www.thetartanstore.co.uk/clas...ched-kilt.html

Granted, this is a relatively new website and probably nobody here has any significant history with this outfit, so no absolute guarantees of quality, but from all the exchanges I had with them they seemed as knowledgeable about kilts as several other established vendors I have worked with in Scotland. Plus I have a satisfaction guarantee on my credit card so I have a bit of backup if it shows up looking shabby. Worth a shot IMHO. Not sure how long it will take them to close this loop hole----an 8yd kilt in any tartan listed in the registry for $300 shipped to the US. Tough to beat that deal.

YMMV. Caveat emptor and all that. Oh, and welcome to the rabble.

jeff

[ForresterModern]

MacGill Modern is a Lochcarron weave in 10 and 16 oz, while MacGill Ancient is a Lochcarron weave in 16 oz. They make great quality tartan, one of the "cadillac's" of the industry, not cheap but probably worth the bit of extra cost. At least it is not a special weave, which can be far more expensive. Biggest issue is whether or not it is in stock somewhere.

Good luck. Hope this info helps.

j

[BoldHighlander]

MacGill Modern is a Lochcarron weave in 10 and 16 oz, while MacGill Ancient is a Lochcarron weave in 16 oz. They make great quality tartan, one of the "cadillac's" of the industry, not cheap but probably worth the bit of extra cost.

I agree! I've had two of my three kilts made of 16oz Lochcarron (Mackay modern / & Macdonell of Keppoch ancient). The tartan is of the highest quality indeed!

[BoldHighlander]

Oh yeah:



...from the far nw corner of Washington state!

[JamesMcGill]

Thank you for all the help/replies/advice. I'll be considering everyones suggestions.

[gary meakin]

Ralph Neilson (scottyguy2003@yahoo) Makes acrylic kilts fairly cheap (inexpensive).
I've ordered one and haven't received it yet so I can't vouch for the quality. I wanted a MacLachlan Hunting tartan.
He needs 100 yards to weave a tartan he doesn't already have. I asked my clan association and posted on this board.
Between the two we got more than enough orders for him to start production (in February ).
I suggest you find other McGills who might be interested. Or non McGills who might be interested and see if you can come up with 100 yards.
When I called Ralph with the xmarks interest, he told me he had another dozen or so orders from elsewhere.
So if you contact him you might find he already has it or is already in the process of getting it or at least will get it when the minimum yardage is met.