Kilt Weight: Heavy versus Medium

[Martyn]

Hi

All my kilts are 16oz wool, I think; and they all have that fantastic swing to them.

When I purchased the 21st Century Kilt Suit, I was considering a lighter and cheeper fabric but opted for the "look" so went for the AR1 teflon coated wool.

It does look fantastic and if the kilt is worn on its own is not too hot, its the socks/hose that make it too warm to wear when the temperature gets hot.

I am considering a lighter weight casual kilt for my next purchase...

P.S. Will post some pics (When I find them on my old PC)of me hilwalking in the deep snow in Scotland with the temparature at a max of -10C on the day. Warm as toast...

Martyn

[Mychael Sporrano]

When I purchased the 21st Century Kilt Suit, I was considering a lighter and cheeper fabric but opted for the "look" so went for the AR1 teflon coated wool.

Thanks for the info, Martyn with a "Y". I assume the kilt to which you are referring is of the casual 6 yard variety?

Mychael

[Martyn]

When I purchased the 21st Century Kilt Suit, I was considering a lighter and cheeper fabric but opted for the "look" so went for the AR1 teflon coated wool.

Thanks for the info, Martyn with a "Y". I assume the kilt to which you are referring is of the casual 6 yard variety?

Mychael

Hi Mychael

Yes it was a 6 yard hipster.

Martyn

[Mychael Sporrano]

Thanks for posting the picture, Martyn! That is a nice look for you. Do you have any views of the pleats?

Mychael

[David Woodington]

Martyn can you tell me more about the teflon coating.
Is it like Scotchguard? How well do they say it protects? And will it ever need to be reapplied? I have to say that even though my proper tartan kilt is my favorite( you can't beat it for the hang and the swing),my Utilikilts get the most use.I did wear my tartan one out last night(casual), to do some shopping and then out to dinner with my family. I let my daughter decide to see what she would say.I first gave her the choice of my black twill or my orworkmans Utilikilt.She chose the black twill.I then asked my wife "the black or tartan "and my child chimed in I didn't know that was a choice, wear the tartan one .Its nice to have the support of the wife and kids.(note my daughter speaks her mind and if she didn't care for the kilt she would tell me)

Talk to you soon
Dave

[Mychael Sporrano]

I wrote:

Don't forget that with some casual kilts you still have the choice of medium or heavy weight wool. I am looking forward to giving a report on the TFCK heavy weight casual kilt when it arrives in Autumn. Even though it will be made from 16 oz. wool, it will not have the rise associated with traditional kilts. The material in that high waist is where most of the heat retention occurs, so this should be interesting.

This kilt arrived a few weeks ago and I have had chance to wear it about quite a bit. Any second thoughts that I had concerning specifying the heavy weight fabric have been dispelled. As with any heavy weight worsted it moves wonderfully, and the lack of rise really does make a difference where heat retention is a factor. So, it seems a perfect compromise where balancing aesthetics and comfort are concerned.

Any of you who have worn a heavy weight 8 yard kilt can attest to the substantial amount of weight contained in the pleats. The back can feel rather weighty, though that isn't necessarily bad because I appreciate the heft. This kilt is 6 yards, and it is still substantial enough to be satisfying. My wife prefers kilts with more pleats than those found in a 4 yard kilt. This 6 yard kilts satisfies her.

The temperature has been mild here so I am not sure about comfort during the warmer summer months. I suspect it could be fine though I'll most likely opt for one of my lighter weight kilts when the temp hits 80F/27C.

Martyn wrote:

All my kilts are 16oz wool, I think; and they all have that fantastic swing to them. When I purchased the 21st Century Kilt Suit, I was considering a lighter and cheeper fabric but opted for the "look" so went for the AR1 teflon coated wool. It does look fantastic and if the kilt is worn on its own is not too hot, its the socks/hose that make it too warm to wear when the temperature gets hot.

Spot on, Martyn. As for that teflon treatment, over the weekend I had a piece of chocolate become trapped somehow between sporran and apron front. I noticed it when I removed my sporran and was really bummed because the chocolate was rubbed into the wool and at first glance looked like something I would have trouble getting out. Not so! After carefully scraping the worst of it off using a sharp knife edge placed perpendicular to the surface of the apron, I easily scrubbed the embedded chocolate away with a scant amount of water. Voila!

As for the kilt itself, the quality is apparent. Geoffrey/21 st Century Kilt does nice work. There were two things that caught my eye:

The bottom edge is hemmed when I expected the standard finished selvedged edge found on traditional kilts. Since a few inches are folded under it actually does permit altering, if that is at all important to the wearer, but on a fabric of less than 16 ounce I would worry that the hem could be visible through the front Apron. It looks fine on this kilt, however.

The other thing worth noting is that the edge of the outer apron is folded under and glued instead of being stitched. My pair of traditional kilts both feature a clever blind stitch in this application. I know that it is standard procedure to secure the hem on leather pants using an adhesive [rubber cement], but I have never heard of gluing a kilt. I assume that Geoffrey/TFCK know their business and will therefore defer entirely to them in this instance. I simply thought that I would mention this since I had never heard before of the practice. If I ever have any trouble with this adhesive holding, I will simply blind stitch it myself, so no big deal.

As always, I hope that this information proves useful to the group.

Mychael

[Mychael Sporrano]

I believe that I have found the answer to the question about the adhesive holding the apron hem at: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2142

Jimmy Carbomb wrote:

What do a LOAD of the kiltmakers do when the altering requires that the length be shortened more than 1.5"? The majority CUT the wool, and produce a new selvedge with... get this... paraffin. This is not the normal candle paraffin wax, but a paraffin that's of a much higher quality. It does not turn white, does not dry stiff, and does not show in the wool.

It's heated to a liquid point, applied with a stiff brush (which allows it to be pushed into the fabric on the UNDERSIDE), and then dried. Once dried, it is ironed into the fabric on a light setting (on the FRONT SIDE). Any excess can easily be brushed away with a horse hair paintbrush... and the patience of an archaeologist.

Washing the kilt will not affect the paraffin. It's a natural deterrant to water. I was AMAZED at the look after it was done. I was even given a wool sample, some paraffin and shown how to do it. It was so easy that even I got it right!

Interesting stuff to know. Thanks, Jimmy!

Mychael

[Mike n NC]

Here comes the newbie again.

I have only been wearing them for a month and am still learning as I go. I like the hang and swing of the casual kilt (in light wool), love the philbeg (p-v) and just came back from an evening out in my brand new traditional. No comparison at all, the traditional (medium wool) is a whole different thing. Wears different, feels different and has a lot more backfield motion. This really became clear as I walked across a parking lot with the lights behind me, I could 'see' the swing by watching my shadow.

With the climate here in coastal NC I don't see me wearing anything much heavier and certianly not the 22 oz kilt I came across a while back...perhaps if I move to the great white north.

Mike

[Mychael Sporrano]

First off, it is nice to meet you, Mike, and welcome aboard! I have to agree that you probably won't feel the need very often for heavy weight wool down there in NC. This is a nice time of year up here in PA with temps in the 50-65F degree range- perfect for heavy weight wool kilts and even tweed jackets if one is in the mood to dress up a bit.

Still, even in warmer climes it can never hurt having at least one 16 oz kilt in the closet just in case!

Mychael

[Mike n NC]

Thanks Mychael, today is a good example. I was quite comfortable in the medium weight last evening but today it's 80 and the humidy is way up. No wool today, I elected for the p-v for the days outing.

Pittsburgh? The wife is from Wilkinsburg and we still have a lot of family up there. Don't know how it happened but this po'ole southern boy done caught him a yankee.

Mike