X Marks the Scot - An on-line community of kilt wearers.

   X Marks Partners - (Go to the Partners Dedicated Forums )
USA Kilts website Celtic Croft website Celtic Corner website Houston Kiltmakers

User Tag List

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 21
  1. #1
    Join Date
    4th March 04
    Location
    Warwickshire, England
    Posts
    280
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    wearer's height?

    Here's something that has always puzzled me.

    Some kiltmakers, when taking measurements, ask for the wearer's height as well as waist, seat and length.

    What is the purpose of this and what adjustments does the kiltmaker make to the kilt as a result?
    Warwickshire - Shakespeare's county.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    24th November 06
    Location
    Oregon
    Posts
    929
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Hi, Martin,

    Good question!

    One reason is to confirm that the buyer has measured properly. Of course one can't tell by height alone what the kilt dimensions should be...But if the buyer's height seems out of proportion to the other measurements at least the kiltmaker can probe to determine if the measurements are accurate.

    If someone requests a 22.5 inch length but is 6 foot 4, I know to ask some additional questions to make sure they have measured themselves properly and that their expectation of where the kilt will ultimately ride is clear.

    Moosedog

  3. #3
    Join Date
    4th March 04
    Location
    Warwickshire, England
    Posts
    280
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Ah, I see, a kind of error checking procedure.

    As it happens, I wear a 22.5" length kilt and I'm 5' 8". Hopefully that works out right!
    Warwickshire - Shakespeare's county.

  4. #4
    M. A. C. Newsome is offline
    INACTIVE

    Contributing Tartan Historian
    Join Date
    26th January 05
    Location
    Western NC
    Posts
    5,714
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Yup, I usually ask for height and weight, if it's not a person I have seen in person, just so I can tell if the measurements provided are what I would expect or not.
    M

  5. #5
    Join Date
    8th February 04
    Location
    3389 Schuylkill Rd, Spring City, PA 19475
    Posts
    5,847
    Mentioned
    3 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    Ditto what everyone else said... if I get measurements that seem too long or a bit short, I ask the height.

    As a VERY GENERAL rule of thumb... a kilt should be 1/3 the wearer's height. Work it out with the math... if you're 6', that means you're 72" tall. 1/3 of 72" would be a 24" length.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    4th March 04
    Location
    Warwickshire, England
    Posts
    280
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Thanks for the info chaps. I can sleep at night now!

    As for the general rule of thumb, i.e. a kilt's length being one third the wearer's height, that works out almost exactly for me.

    5' 8" = 68". 68/3= 22.6

    I have a 22.5" kilt on order!
    Warwickshire - Shakespeare's county.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    13th September 06
    Location
    Chapel Hill, NC
    Posts
    599
    Mentioned
    4 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    So Matt

    So Matt, you measured me for a 23" length. I'm 5'6" which would work out to 22" using the 1/3 estimate rule. Was that because I am somewhat portly?

    Matt H
    Insperata Floruit! - Flourished Unexpectedly!

    KABOOM; Kilted Christians; Kilted In Carolina; Matt Newsome Kilt Owners Group; R Kilts are Awesome; SEKS - The Great Southeastern Kilt Society; The Order of the Dandelion

  8. #8
    M. A. C. Newsome is offline
    INACTIVE

    Contributing Tartan Historian
    Join Date
    26th January 05
    Location
    Western NC
    Posts
    5,714
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    The 1/3 rule is just a general rule of thumb, not a precise measurement. Everyone is built differently, after all!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    8th February 04
    Location
    3389 Schuylkill Rd, Spring City, PA 19475
    Posts
    5,847
    Mentioned
    3 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by M. A. C. Newsome View Post
    The 1/3 rule is just a general rule of thumb, not a precise measurement. Everyone is built differently, after all!
    I agree 100% (Hence the CAPS in my last post). I just figured I'd point out something people up here may not have known about. However, Matt is right... not every person falls into that model (if they have long torsos or long legs), so it's ALWAYS best to ACTUALLY measure.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    30th November 04
    Location
    Deansboro, NY
    Posts
    3,326
    Mentioned
    5 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I agree wholeheartedly with Matt and Rocky. I only ask about height to try to sleuth out whether someone has measured incorrectly.

    Despite very careful instructions to the contrary, about half the people who send me a measurement for length just measure an existing kilt from top to bottom and give me that length, which includes a rise. A kiltmaker _adds_ a rise (typically 2") to a length given, and if someone sends me length of a kilt that _already_ has a rise, the kilt that I make winds up 2" too long.

    At the other end of the spectrum, some people try (again despite careful instructions to the contrary) to measure themselves for their kilts. If you try to do this, you'll likely wind up with a length measurement that's too short. And, even if someone measures the length for you, if you're looking down when someone does the length, it will come out too short.

    So, if I am unable to do the measurement myself, I try to build in a few checks. It doesn't always work, because different people are proportioned differently.

    Cheers,

    Barb

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Sporran height?
    By Nick in forum Kilt Advice
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 30th March 06, 08:27 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

» Log in

User Name:

Password:

Not a member yet?
Register Now!
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.0