As a custom kilt maker I get to see a lot of different kilts.
I also get to see all the good, bad, and the ugly.
I am sorry to say that not all kilt makers are the fiber artist of a Barb Tewksbury. Many kilts advertised as premium, Traditional kilts, are not always as they are advertised.
Earlier this week a new customer came into the shop with a Scottish made kilt that she has had for a number of years.
She asked me if I could re-size it. She told me that the kilt had been re-sized once before by a lady here in town who once had the reputation as the premier Traditional kilt maker in Victoria but has since retired.
She also stated that since its last re-size the kilt had not felt the same or fit as well as when it was first purchased.
The fabric was woven by Strathmore in what they call their Scott Brown OC Tartan. 13oz weight.
We do not know who the original maker was because the makers label was removed when the kilt was last re-sized.
The very first thing I noticed about this kilt is that while the straps were originally sewn by hand they were re-sewn by machine.
I also noticed right away that the Fell area of this kilt was very floppy. It did not stand up on its own the way I make a kilt.
I next did the stretch test. Pulling on the buckles to see if the stress of strapping the kilt on would be transferred to the outer Tartan fabric and the hand stitching.
This kilt failed the stretch test.
You can see where the outer Tartan fabric has been stressed enough that the stitching has been pulled and is now showing.
The customer was very sure that they wanted this kilt to fit and fit well. She was willing to have me disassemble the kilt and fix any problems that I found.
The first step of this process is to remove the liner inside the kilt to expose the internal construction.
I'm a stickler to let people know that the liner is not a structural element inside a kilt. It is not to keep the kilt clean. (If it were it would be removable and washable.)
The liner's only purpose is to cover, and hide, the the structural elements underneath.
Notice in the photo just above that there is no stabilizer in this kilt. The purpose of the stabilizer is to give horizontal strength to the garment. The straps and buckles should be anchored through the outer Tartan fabric - to the stabilizer. If you wish you can think of the stabilizer as a belt built inside the garment.
In this kilt the straps are not anchored to anything other than the apron facings.
You can easily see the distortion of the Tartan fabric when the straps are not anchored.
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The light brown stuff in this photo is called hair canvas interfacing.
In this kilt the piece of apron interfacing is not even sewn to the Fell interfacing.
The strap and interfacing on the other side are the same.
Notice please the small strip of fabric added to the waistbanding when this kilt was re-sized. I suspect that this small piece of fabric was taken out of one of the apron facings as no attempt was made to align the Tartan pattern.
Evidence of this can be found in the apron facings themselves as the stitching of one is significantly different from the stitching of the other.
I'll continue this thread as the re-build and re-size of this kilt progresses.
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