I agree with Rocky that weaving tartan this way would not help at all with the asymmetric problem. I have, over the course of my kilt making career, encountered some lengths of cloth woven this way. To my recollection, they were all older lengths, purchased off of ebay or sent to me from a client for CMT work. Never from one of the mills currently operating within Scotland which I order from.

It doesn't really affect the kilt making one bit. Just surprising if you don't know what you are looking at.

I ordered a piece of asymmetric tartan with a reverse in sett at the center line directly from one of the major mills in Scotland in 2000. The Lamont Heather that was the original subject of this post was custom woven last spring by Lochcarron.

Just because they weave the cloth doesn't mean they think the process all the way through to how us kiltmakers would view it...

http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/...r/DSC03759.jpg
This is in my to do pile. It is from Locharron.

Stewart Hunting Extra Mustard

Nice one!!

All of my custom weave work is done by Marton Mills. I enjoy the option of talking to them if I have any special requests.

On three occasions now I have requested fabric that resulted in just this sort of 'kissing in the middle' look.

In one case the order was for the Stewart Hunting Tartan. I needed the yellow stripe a certain distance from the selvedge to match pre-existing fabric. I also needed a particular Sett size. The only way to achieve what I asked for was to let the Tartan "Kiss in the middle".

I was not worried about having to reverse fabric so an asymmetrical Sett was not a factor.

Come to think of it, I believe I've done Hunting Stewart kilts from Lochcarron cloth that was woven this way. I just didn't give it much thought.

For kilt makers it's actually a perfectly fine way to weave the cloth. It becomes an issue when you intend to do something else with the cloth, like make a waistcoat or jacket, upholster your sofa, or make a banner for the clan gathering, etc. Then you need to be very careful to work around the "hiccup" in the center of the cloth.