A 60 year old kilt re-build

[Standard]

Steve, what a great visual journey into the inner workings of how a kilt is put together. The fact that this kilt has held up so well for 60 years is amazing, and speaks to the skill of the original maker. Now that you are restoring it to its glory it should be able to last another 60 years until someone else might get a chance to see your skills!

[cessna152towser]

Steve,

I somehow missed the fact that you are now the official kiltmaker for the Canadian Scottish Regiment. Congrats!
I missed it too, until this thread. Pretty cool!

Ditto.
Congratulations Steve.

[creagdhubh]

What a fantastic, educating and intriguing thread! Thanks Steve!

Cheers,

[Pleater]

Somewhere in my heap of tartan fabric, torn strips and part done kilts I have a project which is going to be pleated to alternate stripes.

The options in the pleating were various, but by using alternate colour stripes there were a good number of pleats of a decent depth - it just worked well that way.

The more kilts I make for myself the more I feel that there is a definite 'best way' to pleat most pieces of tartan, or any cloth for that matter, and that when it is found everything falls into place neatly so the maker puts not exactly the least effort into the making of it, but is not struggling to get everything to be just so.

Although I doubt that many of my kilts will still be around in 60 years the webbing I use as a foundation at the waist of the heavier ones will probably eventually - be sitting in a landfill somewhere for a very long time - it can support 250 lb hanging from a loop of it.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[HeathBar]

We have been getting kilts here at the shop for repair. Some are old and some pretty recent. All of these kilts have suffered far more abuse than what a kilt would normally go through. They are worn in rain, mud, on parade and in the field. They are issued to new troops with very little knowledge of how to care for a kilt and because they are issued the troops have little concern in taking care of them.

Comparing the pics of the 12 year old kilt vs. the 60 year old kilt its obvious the older one was owned by someone who knew how to take care of it and respected it.

But the younger one looks like the neighbors dogs played tug of war with it. I was under the impression that kilts were no longer used as battle dress, so why would they be worn in the field? I would think you would have to purposly abuse a kilt in order to get it in that kind of shape.

As expensive as this piece of kit can be, you would think they would be better taken care of. BDU's (or whatever they call them these days) is the uniform to abuse and replace cheaply.

[The Wizard of BC]

Heathbar,

I really don't think the issue here is the difference in care or abuse. I currently have 11 kilts in for repair. There are three of these 60 year old kilts and the rest are newer ones.
All the newer ones are in tatters. All the older kilts just need minor stuff like new straps or new waistbands. None of the old kilts has experienced the drastic failure of the Fell stitching that you see in the first photo of this thread.

I'm convinced in looking at these kilts that it is in the small details of the construction. Those little extras that were done on the old kilts that is missing in the newer ones.

That is what this thread is all about. I'm trying to answer the question "What about the construction of these older kilts is allowing them to survive while the newer ones fail?"

[HeathBar]

Heathbar,

I really don't think the issue here is the difference in care or abuse. I currently have 11 kilts in for repair. There are three of these 60 year old kilts and the rest are newer ones.
All the newer ones are in tatters. All the older kilts just need minor stuff like new straps or new waistbands. None of the old kilts has experienced the drastic failure of the Fell stitching that you see in the first photo of this thread.

I'm convinced in looking at these kilts that it is in the small details of the construction. Those little extras that were done on the old kilts that is missing in the newer ones.

That is what this thread is all about. I'm trying to answer the question "What about the construction of these older kilts is allowing them to survive while the newer ones fail?"

So its down to construction. Could it also be the quality of the materials used? Is the tartan itself "weaker" than it was 50 years ago? As others, I look forward to your progress.

[The Wizard of BC]

HeathBar,

While the fabric used in the older kilts is different than that used in the newer kilts, I don't think I would say it was stronger. Later today I'll put away what I'm working on the do a side by side photo of the different fabrics.

I can tell you that while different, both ages of fabric have held up pretty well. On none of these kilts do you see a failure of the fabric itself. Yes, there are some holes and tears due to a kilt pin getting caught on something, or a rip somewhere. The fabric itself is, for the most part intact.

It really does seem to be in the internal construction details.

These kilts are really making me look closely at my own product. I think that it would be the highest honor to have someone replace the straps on one of my kilts 60 years from now and wonder what I did to make it last so long.

[okiwen]

Because of this thread I went and read the original. Very fasinating, I missed the first altogether. Please keep it coming. I just aquired a very old kilt that is in need of repair and this is just the ticket. As others have said ... Great thread. This is why I continue to return to this site.

[creagdhubh]

Because of this thread I went and read the original. Very fasinating, I missed the first altogether. Please keep it coming. I just aquired a very old kilt that is in need of repair and this is just the ticket. As others have said ... Great thread. This is why I continue to return to this site.

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