Celtic Craft Centre cloth

[YOJiMBO20]

Hello, first post here. New to this forum, but not to kilts. I've been wearing them for about 10 years or so since I joined my high school pipe band.

I recently bought my own kilt on eBay. It's from Celtic Craft Centre (MacInnes Hunting Ancient tartan) and a heavier wool. Most likely 16oz.

Does anyone know what mill CCC uses for their cloth? I need to get it adjusted (made about 6" bigger) and I'm guessing the best way to do that will be adding pleats to the under apron and adding more fabric to become the new apron. And I won't be doing the adjustments myself, I've contacted a kilt tailor.

I know I should have waited and got one made to fit, but this was $70 and I've been looking for a kilt in this tartan for about 10 years without breaking the bank.

Thanks all,

Jim

[Benning Boy]

I can't tell you what cloth they use, but can tell you what you want done to your kilt is a lot like stretching a board too short for it's intended purpose. Yes, a skillful woodworker can actually stretch a board, but when you see how it is done it seems a ridiculous effort. Sometimes it's best to just buy a new kilt. (Although I say that after arranging to have a ridiculous amount of work done on a kilt that for all practical purposes could never be replaced. It's your kilt, do what you wanna do.)

[Pleater]

To get an extra 6 inches in the circumference might well require a total rebuilding of the kilt - which is going to cost more than starting from scratch as taking out the stitches is a time consuming business where one slip could be a disaster.

You might find it easier to cut out the carbs and lose the inches rather than to get a match for the tartan and expand the kilt.

Having taken over 12 inches off my waist measurement, (14 on some days), it is not all that difficult, and I know which one I'd prefer to attempt. Yes - I realise that you'd probably have nothing else that would fit you - but just how much do you want to strap on that kilt?

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Father Bill]

My CCC kilt cloth, including the selvedge, is very similar to that in my other two woven by Locharron, so that's a possibility.

[YOJiMBO20]

I'm not going for a rebuild. I'm looking to add yardage to the kilt with more fabric and have the current under apron made into pleats continuing the current pleating that exists.

[OC Richard]

About matching tartan, the best way would be to go to a place that has tartan sample books from a number of mills (there's probably one down your way). Really the only way to get an exact match is to have actual fabric side by side.

The CCC might use tartan from a number of mills; many if not most kiltmakers do.

The under-apron isn't visible when a kilt is worn anyhow. In theory you could use any cloth.

For a kilt to be 6" bigger, and still be balanced, wouldn't you have to add 3" to the front apron and 3" to the pleats? I will say that mid-19th century photos often show a different proportion than is standard today, with the pleated portion coming around past the imaginary mid-point line on each side. Keeping the apron the same and adding 6" to the pleats would look like that.

Helix?

[YOJiMBO20]

The front apron is a good size for me, but I did have that thought that to keep it balanced I might need to expand there, but have decided against it.

I'll definitely talk to the tailor about all my options on Monday though.


Yeah, I got my start at Helix. After I graduated (actually before I graduated), I started playing with the Cameron Highlanders. And up until this school year I was the pipe band instructor at Helix.

[Pleater]

Yes - I realise that's the intention, but a properly made kilt should have the fell reinforced, interfaced and lined, there should be reinforcing along the waistline to take the tension of the fastenings. Those will have to be partly or entirely removed so as to either add onto or replace the original underpinnings.

An extra six inches of pleating represents quite a large amount of fabric - in a heavy cloth the sett might be 7 or 8 inches - but even if it is only 6 inches to the sett and the pleats are an inch wide - that is a yard of fabric, and there isn't going to be a yard of fabric in the under apron and its pleat.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[OC Richard]

Yep as Anne is saying by far the best way is to have a kilt made to fit you.

BTW the Cameron Highlanders of San Diego have been sounding great recently! A load of talent in that band.

[YOJiMBO20]

Dropped the kilt off at the tailor yesterday.

She is going to move the buckles a bit and open up the under apron (there was a good 4 or 5 inches extra in the under apron).

I've been working on losing weight for a number of years, but have a genetic predisposition towards being overweight. Still working on it though...