Cloth Weights

[imbrius]

My current five-yard kilt is of 13oz material. It holds a nice, crisp pleat, but also wrinkles easily and unless I meticulously keep the pleats straight when sitting, getting into vehicles, and sliding into booths at restaurants, they crease over badly.

Would upgrading to 16oz material for a potential future 8-yard kilt help this situation by reducing creasing? What other benefits and drawbacks are there to 16oz material vs. 13oz?

[Tobus]

I do think that 16oz tartan cloth holds its shape better. It's pretty rare that any of my 16oz kilts get wrinkled from everyday activities. Of course, a higher yardage kilt will also reduce pleat disarray, simply because there is more material lapping over itself. The deep narrow pleats are more "self-correcting" than wider, shallower pleats.

In my mind, there's no downside in going to 16oz material. I wouldn't order a kilt in anything less, personally. I'd really like 18 to 20oz material, but that's hard to come by.

[figheadair]

In one word, Yes. 😊

[Steve Ashton]

Wrinkle resistance and holding a sharp crease is often about the fiber content more than the weight of the finished fabric.

For example - Merino wool is soft and silky and the finest fibers. Merino are the red heads of the sheep breeds and are the most common raised in Australia where most wool for kilts is raised. But 100% Merino is notorious for wrinkling and not holding a crease for very long. One well known, but now gone, weaver used only 100% Australian Merino and kilts made from his fabrics would be badly wrinkled after an hour of sitting in the car and would require re-pressing after just a few cleanings.
There is a greater difference when you add the synthetics to the mix. The acrylic and acrylic blends are terrible for wrinkling while the Polyester/Rayon blends are almost wrinkle free and the creases can be almost permanent.

Most wool kilt fabric weavers prefer to weave fabric from wool of other breeds or a blend of different breeds. Border Leichester and Corridale are two of the most common breeds beside mixes with Merino that are used for kilt fabric.

Do you know who wove the fabric in question?

[imbrius]

Do you know who wove the fabric in question?

Lochcarron

[tweedhead]

My current five-yard kilt is of 13oz material. It holds a nice, crisp pleat, but also wrinkles easily and unless I meticulously keep the pleats straight when sitting, getting into vehicles, and sliding into booths at restaurants, they crease over badly.

Would upgrading to 16oz material for a potential future 8-yard kilt help this situation by reducing creasing? What other benefits and drawbacks are there to 16oz material vs. 13oz?

The upsides are sharper pleats and resistance to wrinkling, greater durability, and wind resistance (both warmth and flapping about!). The downsides are cost, potential to be overly warm depending on climate and kilt construction (kilts with a high rise insulate more of your core with a significant amount of wool), and weight.

My experience lines up with what Tobus posted above, a high-yardage kilt is far less likely to crease because its much easier to keep the pleats in line. 5-yard kilts, particularly box pleated kilts, are harder to keep neat and tidy while sitting down.