Polyviscose Fabrics?

[Travisatwork01]

Where can I get some polyviscose fabric that does not cost 35 dollars a yard?

Also, the only place in town is JoAnns and I'm searching for fabric. I would love to get some fabric from there, for a DIY kilt, but I always get lost in the huge selection fabrics. I keep reading about polyviscose fabrics but I cannot find it at a low cost. I'm frustrated because it seems that the cost for fabric is more than a custom made kilt.

Thanks.

[The Wizard of BC]

The fabric that is known as Poly/Viscose or P/V for short is actually a fabric with a very specific fiber composition.

It is unfortunate that the sellers from Pakistan and China have grabbed onto the abbreviation and now it is commonly seen to denote a wide range of synthetic fabrics.

P/V stands for Polyester/Viscose. Viscose is the British term for Rayon. So technically P/V is only a blend of Polyester and Rayon.

Also unfortunately there is only one weaving mill that produces P/V in kilt quality. By this I mean with a true tuck selvedge that does not need hemming and woven in actual Tartans following the published thread counts.

That company is Marton Mills, located in Otley, England, near Leeds. Their P/V is what you hear about here, on this forum. It is what USA Kilts and Freedom Kilts use.

The Marton Mills fabrics are a 65% Polyeseter/35% Rayon.

Marton Mills used to sell retail but I have not heard of anyone buying direct for a while now so things may have changed. I just don't know.


Here is their website. http://martonmills.com/product-category/school-wear/

[Travisatwork01]

Thanks for the information and link. I have been sewing a small X Kilt for my 9 year old with some cheap canvas fabric. The fabric is very tough and I'm hoping that if I keep washing it, that it will get softer. So far, I'm new and enjoying the art of sewing, but I desire a better but affordable practice fabric. I have this saying about brewing beer. You can make it as expensive as your wife with allow. The same thing seems to apply with kilt making.

[ratspike]

Where can I get some polyviscose fabric that does not cost 35 dollars a yard?

Also, the only place in town is JoAnns and I'm searching for fabric. I would love to get some fabric from there, for a DIY kilt, but I always get lost in the huge selection fabrics. I keep reading about polyviscose fabrics but I cannot find it at a low cost. I'm frustrated because it seems that the cost for fabric is more than a custom made kilt.

Thanks.

PV isn't expensive at all. As an example, Black Watch from Marton Mills is $17/meter from Scotweb.

If you want to go with fabric from Joann I'd stick with either their 10oz canvas or Target poly/cotton. While I'm sure stock varies from store to store and region to region, I've never seen anything in the Joann stores here that's even remotely suitable for a kilt other than the two fabrics I mentioned. Fabric store "tartan" is, in my experience, fairly crap stuff that will bear little resemblance to Marton Mills PV. I've sewn a few kilts with Black Watch-ish poly/rayon from fabric stores as well as Isle of Skye tartan from MM and it's a night and day difference, both in how it hangs/moves/wears and what it's like to work with.

[The Wizard of BC]

Actually Travisatwork01 most kilts sold today are relatively inexpensive for what you are getting.

Most of those of us who advertise here charge right around the same amount for the labor we put into our products. A full, hand-stitched traditional style kilt will require approx. 30-40 man/hours. Even a well made machine stitched kilt, if made to the same standards, will take two full days.

The cost of the fabric accounts for right about half of the cost of the kilt.

13oz & 16oz wool Tartan fabric is not something you can find in a local or remnant fabric store. These fabrics do not require a hem. The Tartan patterns they are woven in are very specific right down to how many threads of each color and the order.

Kilt wool is an amazing fabric to work with. You can steam and press a razor sharp edge into the pleats that will not come out until you re-steam it.
It sews like very few other fabrics. If hand sewing the stitching is total invisible.

The P/V you are looking for is totally machine washable and dryable. The creases in the pleats are permanent if the proper amount of heat is used. It is almost wrinkle free. Most are Teflon coated. I have kilts in my rental fleet that have been through the washing machine and dryer and look as sharp and nice as the day they were made.

Quality fabrics and skilled workmanship. That is why you see the prices you do.

[muttly78]

Where can I get some polyviscose fabric that does not cost 35 dollars a yard?

Also, the only place in town is JoAnns and I'm searching for fabric. I would love to get some fabric from there, for a DIY kilt, but I always get lost in the huge selection fabrics. I keep reading about polyviscose fabrics but I cannot find it at a low cost. I'm frustrated because it seems that the cost for fabric is more than a custom made kilt.

Thanks.

I was actually looking for the same thing. I tried Marton Mills, but I guess shipping to the US is a special deal. I happened across UK Fabrics online and found that they offer P/V tartan in the 65/35 ratio and the pricing is pretty good and they have a decent selection. I'm not too sure on the actual weight though since it's labeled light weight, but at the offered prices for 150 cm width I figure whats the harm in trying them out.

[Barb T]

A full, hand-stitched traditional style kilt will require approx. 30-40 man/hours.

Just a quick correction on Steve's post. 30-40 hours is how long it takes someone who's never made a hand-stitched trad kilt to make their first one. It takes me on average 18 hours or so (that's counting all of the working minutes) to make an 8-yard, hand-sewn trad kilt with all the full internal construction from the start of layout to removing the basting.