Kilt material experiences

**billsides** · 23rd April 11, 10:34 PM

Hi Steve,
I too am confused, hence my post. I have many traditional tartan kilts, 13 oz for dancing and 16 oz ones for best and cheap acrylic ones for garage work as they stand grease and dirt abuse so wash out beautifully, are comfortable but poor outdoors and are highly flammable. I wear them almost daily and a few minutes ago was arc welding in one which is pretty stupid I know. I seek safer cheap alternatives for enjoying my hobbies in.

Re Your comment on the weight of American made kilts. I quickly searched the web for budget kilts in North America and found 9 oz or less materials in cheap kilts very common. Doubt me? Check these. Utilitikilts (are they a kilt?) are 8 oz, Stillwater are acrylic so are 9oz or less, Sportkilt are PV but their weight was not listed but I have mail from Seamus who said they are 8 oz. Altkilts have 10 oz cotton but an option offered is half the weight so about 5 oz! I stopped looking then. Woollen kilts of 9 oz are listed on many big name web sites but none are cheap and none actually recommended with most sites saying 13 oz is the minimum practical weight. This makes me wonder about these light weight American kilts that people are wearing traditionally!

A concern with cotton mix fabric alternatives is oil and grease. They absorb it easily then it won't completely wash out of cotton/synthetic mix trousers and jeans so they soon go in the rags bin. I suspect cotton based kilts would fare no better. I have old cars and machines so oil and grease abounds while working on them. If squatting to work on them, kilts always touch the floor and wick up any leaked fluids or wipe inevitable filth from the floor. Wool and synthetics shrug off such abuses but I fear not cotton mix materials.

PV of 13 oz is looking the go for my dirty work but I am not sure if America can provide them at low cost. I may end up on E Bay where almost anything can be found and been the satisfactory origin of several of my wool and a PV kilt.

Comments Please

Bill

**billsides** · 24th April 11, 12:20 AM

I seek advice on what is the best material for grubby work. Cheap Pakistani acrylic kilts have proven robust, comfortable and resistant to oil and grease always washing up well but are highly flammable, pill badly (not important in my use) and light despite sales claims to the contrary so will blow up outdoors if not careful.

I looked at cheap American kilts, prompted by a response indicating no North American manufacturers used 9 oz or less fabrics, I Googled major American cheap kilt web sites and found Utilitikilts are 8 oz, Stillwater being acrylic must be under 9, Sport kilt are polyviscose with no weight given but I have mail from them indicating it is 8 oz. Alt kilt have 10 oz cotton but also offer something half that weight! I stopped looking at that point but no doubt more lightweights exist. I thought Freedom were 8 oz like Utilitikilt as their fabrics looked similar but advice is 13 oz for poly/cotton kilts. They seem attractive but I fear they may absorb oil and grease like similar fabrics used in trousers and jeans so I suspect would soon be in the rag bag with them. Acrylic cleans wonderfully, wool is good but needs expensive dry cleaning and is always dear to buy and I suspect polyviscose behaves like acrylic when washing. I have old cars and for comfort I wear kilts while working on them. Grease is inevitable and crouching always means my kilt touches the floor and may wick up whatever liquid is there and collects filth from the floor so ease and repeatability of cleaning is a must.

Woollen 9 oz kilts are commonly offered but I am yet to find a site which recommends one, most say 13 oz is the minimum weight. I agree as I have a nice looking 9 oz wool which blows up worse than the acrylics will my 13 oz kilts are fine. I now know why it was given to me free! It also makes me wonder about these light American kilts some many claim to regularly wear and traditionally.

It seems PV 13 oz may be the best for option for me as it is barely flammible and seems to wash OK but must be cheap given the kilt could get ruined in the garage by paint, solvent or almost anything spillable or melting yet be heavy enough to wear when working outdoors.

Maybe somebody out there has practical experiences with such grime and kilt use so can comment.

Bill

**Paul Henry** · 24th April 11, 12:58 AM

Originally Posted by billsides

...snip...
Woollen 9 oz kilts are commonly offered but I am yet to find a site which recommends one, most say 13 oz is the minimum weight.....snip...
Bill

Could be kindly post the link to these woollen 9oz kilts, it seems so unlikely, I agree that 13oz is fine for a light weight kilt, but nothing below that weight.
I you are working with cars/machinery/ oil and grease/on the ground or floor, I suspect I'd still suggest trousers rather than a kilt anyway

**The Wizard of BC** · 24th April 11, 01:04 AM

I believe we may be speaking two different languages here.

You say your have checked the "cheap American manufacturers" but list two that are not manufactured in the US, only retailed from the US.
The other two you list, which are manufactured in the US, I would not consider 'cheap' if compared to the imports.
And none of the ones you list are considered or worn "traditionally" in N. American terms.

We may also be using confusing terms when comparing weights. In the kilt world fabric weights are measured in Fabric Yards which are 36" long X 60" wide or 1.3935 square meters.
For example: Blue Jean Denim is, on average and depending on the manufacturer and brand, between 13 and 15oz per Fabric Yard.
The fabrics used in the classic Dockers brand trousers is approx. 12-13 oz.

Given that you are concerned with absorbsion of grease and oils I suggest you continue to use your Acrylic kilts. They seem to work for you and you seem happy with them.
If flammability is a concern perhaps it would be safer to change into trousers when around sparks and flame.

**Paul Henry** · 24th April 11, 01:16 AM

Originally Posted by The Wizard of BC

...snip....

We may also be using confusing terms when comparing weights. In the kilt world fabric weights are measured in Fabric Yards which are 36" long X 60" wide or 1.3935 square meters....snip.

Actually not quite correct, it is 1 linear yard of double width of the fabric which can run anywhere between 54" to 60".
It might seem a little picky of me but the difference of 6" could make a considerable change in the listed weight of the cloth. It is often this factor which accounts for the apparent differences in weights between different weavers

**AKScott** · 24th April 11, 01:43 AM

Bill, you might cast about for a price ona kilt made of Carhartt (tm) type fabrics.

I don't know if you can buy actual Carhartt clothing where you are, but their cotton duck is quite heavy and drop dead durable.

They make (have made) a nylon cloth that probably would be just as flamable as acrylic for you.

I have a pair of pants in their cotton duck that has been through two moose seasons (including summer scouting) already that probably has two more seasons left in it. Carhartt's are to blue jeans as a bulldozer is to a shovel.

In an oily environ I would expect the Carhartt material to suck up some stains; but it will be machine washable, is heavy enough to wear outdoors in the wind, very difficult to set on fire, and will last a good long while.

From my motorsports days, I recall there are three kinds of fiber, Nomex, natural and napalm.

Acrylic and PV would both be in the napalm category. Besides cotton duck and wool you might consider leather.

Best of luck, I would imagine a Nomex kilt would start at $$$ and go up.

**kc8ufv** · 25th April 11, 09:29 AM

Good luck getting tartan, but nomex can be relatively inexpensive...

http://www.magnafabrics.com/category/nomex.htm

Green, Khaki or Red are $15/yd..., other options can be less, though the weight isn't specified....

This is just the first place I found that sells Nomex fabric...