Great Kilt

**MJB** · 24th August 11, 01:39 PM

Are there any places in Canada to buy a decent great kilt? I see a lot of 'novelty' ones. How about real ones?

**Dale Seago** · 24th August 11, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by MJB

Are there any places in Canada to buy a decent great kilt? I see a lot of 'novelty' ones. How about real ones?

How "real" do you mean? Two lengths of single-width tartan (in a sett not associated with any clan) sewn together to make one double-width piece of fabric? That would be real in the sense of "historically accurate".

**bigdad1** · 24th August 11, 04:15 PM

Canada is a very large country. Where in Canada if particular? Try "The Wisard of B.C." for fantastic kilts. That fine gentleman is in Vancouver.

**MJB** · 25th August 11, 10:44 AM

Sorry should've been more specific, I'm not very educated in them, so I guess by 'real' I pretty much just mean not a cheap costume, something thats made with the proper materials and as close to authentic as possible, maybe something they'd use for reenactments or movies.

As for where in Canada, I'm in the Toronto area, further in Canada would also be o.k. as I could get it shipped, I'd like to avoid customs cost and all that coming from US.

**Woodsheal** · 25th August 11, 11:15 AM

All you need is 4.5-5 yards of double-width (56"-60") wool tartan fabric, and you have a "great kilt." You might be able to find it in a local fabric store. If not, talk to John at Keltoi (one of the sponsored vendors here, and located in Ontario) and he can order you the cloth from any one of the usual Scottish mills.

For a truly authentic plaid, as previously mentioned, order 9 yards of single-width (28") tartan, cut it in half, and sew the two pieces together along the long edges. Your final product will be 4.5 yards long, and now double-width - and just like the plaids of old...!

**Ryan Ross** · 25th August 11, 11:51 AM

Just what these gentlemen above have said!

...and while you're waiting for your "authentic" feilidh-mór to arrive, you can always deal with the Jonesing by going to your local fabric store and picking up some inexpensive tartan-like fabric to take home and experiment with. Wearing the belted plaid can take some getting used to, and putting it on well can take a lot of practice...especially if you want to be super authentic and learn to put it on while standing up.

**MJB** · 25th August 11, 02:00 PM

Excellent, sounds fun, what about the belt? any suggestions on what to use? or where to buy one? not sure the kind of belts they used with those, probably a piece of rope or leather mostly I would imagine!

**Dale Seago** · 25th August 11, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by MJB

Excellent, sounds fun, what about the belt? any suggestions on what to use? or where to buy one? not sure the kind of belts they used with those, probably a piece of rope or leather mostly I would imagine!

Check out the belt buckles on this page for some appropriate examples:

http://www.re-enactmentshop.com/p_16th-17th_century.htm

I should point out, though, that with a feileadh mor/belted plaid/great kilt you can cheat with the belt and get away with it, as someone else generally will not easily be able even to see the belt or buckle unless it's a very wide belt and huge buckle. I used to use a German military belt, and no one ever knew.

**Ryan Ross** · 25th August 11, 08:58 PM

Originally Posted by Dale Seago

Check out the belt buckles on this page for some appropriate examples:

http://www.re-enactmentshop.com/p_16th-17th_century.htm

I should point out, though, that with a feileadh mor/belted plaid/great kilt you can cheat with the belt and get away with it, as someone else generally will not easily be able even to see the belt or buckle unless it's a very wide belt and huge buckle. I used to use a German military belt, and no one ever knew.

***

A wide belt does keep everything in place much better than a standard p@nts belt, so do bare that much in mind. We must assume that such a belt is both traditional and historical, as well.