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Hi wyldathart,
As you may have picked up already from the responses on my behalf, this is an issue on which some people hold quite strong opinions. So I will restrict myself to replying to your question with a straight bat, and giving my own personal view with our own kiltmaking in mind.
Basically I regard it as a matter of taste. With all-hand-stitching you receive a product with a more artisan feel to it, because hand-stitching will never be as regular as machine-stitching, and this very 'imperfection' is more aesthetic in many people's eyes. Visually you get more 'tugging' with hand-stitching, resulting in more visible indentations for the stitches that look more old-fashioned and therefore traditional as many would see it. Some people also enjoy the feeling that comes from knowing the garment has been carefully hand-tailored throughout.
Our own 'machine and hand' kilts should NOT be confused with the sort of bulk machined kilts produced by overseas factories etc. They are still hand-made, but using machine stitching for the more invisible parts of the construction, which both keeps costs down, and produces a more regular and uniform result, with less artisan unevenness, which many people prefer. (I know this assertion has been disputed previously by some people who believe than hand-stitched aesthetic is always superior, but I can only report what our real customers say.) The point about it being 'machine and hand' is that we still hand-stitch some of the more visible areas, so the end result to most intents and purposes still looks hand-made...
As for reinforcement etc., yes, absolutely. For both. You would not believe the obsessive thought that has gone into each individual component, to ensure the stresses and strains of carrying this heavy garment over many years do not result in it losing its shape etc. (And you'd be amazed how many 'complaints' we get from customers about their kilt not having belt loops... until we point out that they're there, but just so well-tartan-matched that they're practically invisible.) I'm not going to tell you all our trade secrets, but our kilts have been developed over many years of exacting and very expert work. And I think you only have to read the reviews on our 8 Yard Balmoral page (all genuine, unedited) to see the sort of reception they get. Many of these reviews are from highly knowledgeable kilt owners or the children etc. of kiltmakers themselves, and most are basically rave reviews. I'd hope this speaks for itself.
Hope you like it when it comes! :-)
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