Fraser & Kirkbright (custom tartan weavers)

[Fit2BKilted]

Does anyone have experience with this mill in Vancouver, British Columbia?

Does anyone have any opinions of their quality of fabric compared to other mills?

[McMurdo]

I was lucky enough to get some Fraser Kirkbright tartan for my last kilt here is the review of it
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/m...323/index.html

I was also lucky to have ordered some of the 16 oz xmarks tartan from Fraser Kirkbright this was from their damaged run of tartan, however it was impossible to tell from the yardage I received. Here is the review of it.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/x...153/index.html

[pdcorlis]

I have a beautiful kilt made up by our own Wizard from some F&K weathered Ulster tartan. Its truly wonderful stuff.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/w...x.html?t=48209

[Fit2BKilted]

Thanks, gents! I'm currently soliciting quotes from F&K for a custom run of my own design...

[BruceBC]

I have bought a number of different tartans of various weights from F&K. I have been impressed with what I received. Comparing F&K's 16oz with that of Locharron they seem to be the same thickness - yet the F&K feels a bit softer to the touch. At this point I must add that I am not well versed in materials science.
I am lucky enough to live a 10 minute bike ride from F&K and have met Gordon a number of times. He is very knowledgeable and helpful. One thought is that you could order a yard or so of same weight from the remnant section of the F&K website to see if you like the material.

[The Wizard of BC]

Gordon Kirkbright of Fraser & Kirkbright weaving is a good friend of this forum. He has woven our X Marks the Scot tartan for all the runs of Wool.

Gordon uses Australian Merino Wool for his Tartans. This Wool is finer and softer than the average Scottish Wool.

I have visited Gordon in his mill and he has visited my shop. I am happy to call him my friend.

I would recommend Gordon and Fraser & Kirkbright without reservation.

Plus, his prices are incredible.

The only reservation I would tell you about if you are considering a custom weave is that Gordon has a minimum order of 16 yards/double width. This is enough fabric for 4 Kilts.
As long as you have a use for that much fabric fine. Otherwise there are other mills than have the capability of weaving a single Kilts worth of any Tartan for you.
You can contact Matt Newsome at The Scottish Tartans Museum, myself, or almost any reputable Kiltmaker to get this size run of fabric for you.

If you have a use for the full 16 yards then Gordon would be, and has been, my first choice.

[Ancienne Alliance]

Fraser & Kirkbright's fabrics are first class.

Lady Chrystel and myself highly recommend them.


Best,

Robert

[M. A. C. Newsome]

As Steve has mentioned, Gordon is very nice to work with and his customer service is second to none. However, as a kiltmaker I would point out the following considerations I have noticed about F&K cloth. The soft Merino wool that Steve talked about has some effects on the cloth. One is that it "feels and acts" like a lighter weight than it actually is, when compared to the same weight from other mills.

The first kilt I made from F&K cloth was in their "medium" weight. When I worked with it, however, it felt like what I would call a "light weight" from the Scottish mills. (Keep in mind that most all of the kilts I make are 4 yard box pleated kilts, and with this amount of material, the weight of the wool is very important -- the heaiver the better). I was not very happy with the results.

I later had the opportunity to work with F&K "heavy" weight cloth, and it felt more like "medium" weight cloth to me, which was much better than my first experience, but still not ideal.

I have also made a few kilts from their "regimental" weight (18oz) and, true to expectations, it felt more like the "heavy" (16oz) cloth from other mills, which is what I generally work with. I actually really liked this weight of cloth from them.

Another characteristic of the merino wool cloth that I have noticed is that it has been much, much more difficult for me to get it to hold a crisp pleat. Keep in mind that I don't have an industrial steam press or anything. I'm just using my household iron, but it is a very nice quality Rowenta (I'd recommend that brand to anyone), that normally allows me to make a nice, crsip pleat in my kilts with very little effort. But it's a bear trying to get the pleats to stay crisp in the merino wool from F&K. As I normally make 4 yard kilts with rather wide box pleat, a softer pleat doesn't look that bad. But this may be a concern.

Anyway, those are the only issues I have noticed. Lots of poeple on this forum have kilts from F&K cloth and lots of people love them. (And I've seen some of these kilts with nice crisp pleats, so maybe they know something I don't!) And as I said, Gordon's super nice and gives great customer service. And his fabric is very affordable. But as someone who has made several kilts from F&K cloth, those are just a couple of things I have personally noticed.

So my recommendation as a kiltmaker, should you choose to have F&K weave your tartan, is to go with the heaviest weight you can afford. Ideally 18oz, but at least 16oz would be my personal standard.

[Barb T]

I agree with Matt 100%. In fact, I just finished an Ulster kilt from tartan that an XMarker sent me, and I thought when I was making it that it was medium weight. I only found out after I sent the kilt that it was, in fact, F&K's heavy weight. The only other thing I would say is that F&K's selvedges are sometimes fine, sometimes not.

When I need tartan to be custom woven, I invariably go to DC Dalgliesh. They will do a single kilt-length custom weave for a surprisingly reasonable price (under $400), and their tartan is absolutely first rate in all respects. And they still do a perfect turned selvedge (not the tuck-in selvedge). In fact, I like making kilts from their tartan more than any other weaver. McMurdo, Rex T., and Matt all have kilts that I've made from Dalgliesh custom weaves, and maybe they can comment on how they like Dalgliesh tartan as kilt wearers.

I just ordered a length for myself - sometime I'm going to start to solo compete in piping, and I thought I'd like to have something to wear other than my band kilt. So, I ordered a custom weave of the Mull Millenium tartan - the only tartan, to my knowledge, that is based on the bedrock geology of a place....!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I just ordered a length for myself - sometime I'm going to start to solo compete in piping, and I thought I'd like to have something to wear other than my band kilt. So, I ordered a custom weave of the Mull Millenium tartan - the only tartan, to my knowledge, that is based on the bedrock geology of a place....!

I should have guessed you'd pick that one! lol...