New kilt!

**lethearen** · 18th August 09, 12:37 PM

Just got my new kilt in from Scotweb! Shipped two weeks earlier than quoted, and the shipping took all of a week via Royal Mail from Scotland to Texas despite an estimate of four times that period.

Front:

And back:

Ferguson Ancient in 13 oz Lochcarron Braeriach at 5 yards, pleated to the red stripe. Even though the waist measurements I sent in were the same as the measurements I sent on my first made-to-order kilt from Scotweb, it fits much better. So no complaints there

Here I'm comparing it to my first kilt, a 16 oz 8 yarder from House of Edgar's Nevis line, pleated to the sett.

The weight difference is quite noticeable. I'm actually somewhat concerned that a gust of wind might answer anyone's common question

But that's what the kilt pin's for, eh? I donned it over my pants a bit ago since I haven't had a chance to get it home from work yet, and it lacks the same swing as the 16 oz does. It's fairly wrinkled straight out of the bag, but I suppose that's to be expected after its long journey and I'll just hang them out.

There are 25 pleats each with a reveal of roughly 3/4 inch. The pleats themselves are very shallow, alternating between 1 and 2 inches, as opposed to around 4 inches on my sett-pleated 8 yarder. They don't seem deep enough to always sit flat, at least when the kilt is lying on a table. All in all, it certainly feels less substantial than my first.

Although that all sounds like criticism, it isn't necessarily all that

Everything is pretty much as I would have expected, and I chose the lighter weight for Texas summer... so if anything the less substantial bit is a good thing! Also, I think the quality of Lochcarron is higher than House of Edgar; at the very least, it has a much better selvedge. Both kilts feature a tucked selvedge, but it is much less noticeable on the Lochcarron. Whether that's strictly because of the quality of the weaver or just due to the material being lighter (and thus thinner) I'm not really sure. Maybe a bit of both.

The construction of the kilt seems to be quite good. It has two buckles instead of three as I prefer, but no biggie there considering the third buckle is all but pure decoration. Selvedge and fringe are good, and the sporran loops are invisible. Not that I ever use them. The fabric feels like it needs a good breaking in

It's not stiff, but definitely has that never-worn feel.

I'm glad I went for the red-stripe pleating. I think it looks quite good. It's a touch of difference from the front sett, and it doesn't stand out so piquantly as pleating to the white stripe would be. All without the dreaded LCE!

So all in all, I think I'm going to enjoy the kilt quite well, and I don't have any complaints with it. But I am beyond a shadow of a doubt glad that I chose to have my first kilt made as a 16 oz 8 yarder... I may not have gotten a second (let alone a fourth) kilt if I'd first opted for one this light in the beginning.

**longhuntr74** · 18th August 09, 01:10 PM

Nice looking kilt...glad you like it. You've reinforced my thoughts about going with a 16oz fabric, however...even (or perhaps especially) with a lesser yardage kilt.