dc dalgliesh kilt

[McMurdo]

I don't know who made my kilt at Dalgliesh, but how did you folks get pictures?

I drove down there and picked it up from her it was rather easy to get the photo.

[Nathan]

Are you saying that you have a vintage military kilt from an unknown mill? If so, that brings up an interesting thing, that during The First World War kilts were made and tartan woven on an incredibly vast scale, a scale unimaginable before or after. I would imagine that a large number of mills which had not previously woven kilt tartan were pressed into such service, both in Britain and in Canada.

It would be similar to the situation in firearms here in the USA, where one comes across, for example, military pistols made by sewing machine companies.

I just looked it up, there were around 95 kilted Highland battalions in WWI in Scotland alone. That's a very large number of kilts!

When I originally got the kilt there was a tag on the inside that indicated the year of manufacture and the company that provided the kilt. Unfortunately, when I had the lining replaced, the tailor threw away the tag. When I came to collect the kilt, she said it was long gone. I was upset, but her defence was I hadn't asked her to keep the old lining. If I do some homework about the regiment, I can probably find out who made their kilts at the time. I remember the tag read "King's Nova Scotia Regiment" and that it was made in Scotland. I remember being shocked at how old the kilt was.

It has a military rolled box pleat and is a relatively low yardage kilt that is pleated to the stripe. The tartan is dense and crisp and the apron holds its form nicely. It is a much heavier fabric than 16 oz. The set is larger and darker than most renderings of Clan Donald modern.









I'm not in these pics, but it's the same kilt.





I'd love to know the mill and recall the exact year of manufacture but alas, the tag is gone and it will take some research into the regimental history.

[Dale-of-Cedars]

I have kilts from Lochcarron, House of Edgar and a military kilt from an as yet to be determined mill. They are both very nice. I really like the hand of my house of edgar 13oz kilts and the selvedge is smoother.
...
I find the 13oz House of Edgar to be the perfect blend of structure, comfort and weight. We'll see if I change my mind if I ever get some cloth that's woven by Dagliesh.

Thanks very much for your opinion on 13 oz. HoE in an 8 yd. kilt.
I have a belted drummer's plaid in their Mediumweight Crawford Modern, and was pretty well decided that when and if I go for an 8-yard kilt I'd use HoE in the same weight. But I was dithering, and you've helped settle my mind.
Ta.

[figheadair]

I'd love to know the mill and recall the exact year of manufacture but alas, the tag is gone and it will take some research into the regimental history.

Don't know the mill but the cloth looks to be typical of the period c1945-60.

[HarveyH]

I haven't seen or felt DC Dalgleish cloth (I think their 'Heavyweight' is only 15 ounces anyway) but of all the other mills Lochcarron Strome is the best in my opinion.

Only just caught this. I know its been said before, but I don't believe that there is any practical difference between 15 and 16 oz cloth from different Mills. The measurement is not standardized but is the weight of one yard of double width cloth. The difficulty is that there is no standard measurement of "double width" which regularly varies between 52" and 56" (and even more). That means that the actual weight of the cloth can vary - a "15oz" cloth on a 52" wide cloth will actually be a very slightly heavier cloth than "16oz" on a 56" wide cloth.

What weavers are actually telling you is that 15oz or 16 oz is simply their description of their heavy cloth as opposed to say 12/13oz as a lighter weight cloth - and some of the weavers actually give a range of weight, because this is not exact and can be changed by factors like different thread widths and the finishing involved.