Virign wool for a kilt???

[Brasilikilt]

Hello everyone

Been quite a while since I posted, so I figured I would jump right back in with a question.

I have available to me some 100% virgin wool fabric of what seems to be a decent weight. I'm just about ready to head to the fabric store to buy a few yards to wear as a belted plaid.
Is there any reason why one shouldn't use virgin wool for a kilt?

For quite a long time I've had my sights on the Belted plaids from Tartan Web
What's the difference between the stuff I get from Tartan Web and the stuff I get on sale from the fabric store??
Is there a really big gap in quality?

Thanks for all your help

Iain

[Pleater]

The only real guide is to actually handle the fabric.

Virgin wool just means that it has not been used for something else first - some fabrics have an admixture of old fibres reclaimed from all sorts of things - even old clothes.

There is even 'shoddy' - which originally meant cloth made from wool reclaimed from old garments, which were chopped up and beaten.

The best cloth for kilts seems to be fairly finely woven, but not so pressed together that the fabric will not swing, a hard surface rather than fluffy or downy so the pleats do not cling together, quite dense so the weight keeps it down in a breeze, and hopefully fairly crease resistant too.

[Brasilikilt]

Thanks pleater

I did not think about the "fuzziness" of a fabric causing pleats to stick together, but it makes total sense now that it's mentioned.

I only had a minute to check out the fabrics, and there were different thicknesses of the same black watch-ish tartan fabric plus a green one which I didn't look at closely.
Hopefully I head up there today and buy some.

Your comments have been most helpful
Thanks!

[filman]

i understood that 100% virgin wool fabric was the first cut off of the criter.

[turpin]

i understood that 100% virgin wool fabric was the first cut off of the criter.

Nope, it's wool cut from 100% virgin sheep, then carded on the inner thigh of a ... no wait, that's a Cuban cigar.

[Pleater]

i understood that 100% virgin wool fabric was the first cut off of the criter.

That is 'lambswool'. It is softer because it is 'baby' wool and it feels smoother because every fibre has only has one cut end, the other is rounded.

Just because some wool isn't labled 'virgin' won't mean it has already been used for something else, not every spinner or weaver bothers with the terminology and hype.

[Riverkilt]

My old college textiles textbook says that over here in the Colonies the govt passed a law back in 1939, the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, which specifies that "Wool, new wool, or virgin wool is wool fiber that has been through manufacturing processes only once."

The other terms are "Reprocessed Wool", which is wool reclaimed from scraps and processed again, but never used by a consumer, and "Reused Wool" which is wool salvaged from goods that consumers have already worn.

There are lots of other terms for other wool stuff...like wool sheared from living sheep is called shorn or fleece wool. Wool from slaughtered animals is called pulled wool.

Ron

[Brasilikilt]

Thanks for the clarification :-)

When I bought my fabric the other day I made sure to ask the folks there at the Pendleton wool mill store, and they pretty much echoed what all of you are telling me now.

Now I need to find out what "worsted" is, as I'm not sure if the fabric I have is worsted or not. I think it's the same kind of fabric they would use for making shirts, which feels pretty much the same thickness as that of my USA medium weight kilt.

Thanks again

Iain

[O'Neille]

Thanks for the clarification :-)

Now I need to find out what "worsted" is, as I'm not sure if the fabric I have is worsted or not. I think it's the same kind of fabric they would use for making shirts, which feels pretty much the same thickness as that of my USA medium weight kilt.

Thanks again

Iain

Worsted (Worstead England) is the process of carding the fibers to get the long ones to line up and the short ones out. This is twisted into the small yarns that are woven into the fabric. The twill type of fabrics we are concerned with have the distinctive stairstep pattern to them. Other weaves can be made from worsted wool also but are not necessarily twill fabrics. The main advantage of worsted wool is it's resistance to wrinkling. O'Neille

[bubba]

The main advantage of worsted wool is it's resistance to wrinkling. O'Neille

To me the main advantage is worsted is twisted tightly enough the fiber ends don't poke you thereby not causing the itch common with cheap wool.