Hello from California!

[Cyd]

I have just one kilt that is now over 20 years old and no longer fits. It is also a MacDonald something because at the time I was in grad school in Scotland and my girlfriend got it for me. She was a MacDonald something and my only connection to clan MacDonald.

A few weeks ago I figured it was time to get a new kilt since my link to clan MacDonald is long severed and I doubt the old girl would ever fit again anyway. So I bought Barb Tewksbury's book and as soon as it arrives will start on a kilt from an originally designed tartan. Barb pointed me here, and I wish someone would please give that very busy and talented lady some help! Being a college professor and an in-demand seamstress is bad enough, but she is also the author AND distributor of her book!

I have built a loom from redwood and am weaving the tartan now. I would strongly recommend anyone doing this from cones of yarn! Watching a new tartan being born is really cool and I can only imagine the feeling as those same yards of cloth become a kilt. Word of caution though. Make a scarf or a shawl out of a cheaper material first, just to test the pattern and see what the tartan looks like in reality BEFORE investing in heavy wool yarn. Not only will any issues become immediately apparent, but getting the right beat and thread count for your cloth is something that requires experience. It is cheaper to get experience in cotton or bamboo than in wool.

Anyway, as it is a first attempt it may take quite awhile, I will keep records and post the entire experience when I am done.

[Tarheel]

Well met Cyd. Just one question. When you say, "...doubt the old girl would ever fit again...", you are talking about the kilt, right? Starting a loom, weaving the tartan for kilt construction is quite the monumental feat and I commend you. Welcome form Oxford, MS.

[Cyd]

HAHA! You trying to get me in the Cooling Off Corner on the first day?!

The loom wasn't that hard. It will do up to 48" wide. With a little woodworking skill you can build a loom that would cost $3000 for less than $500! The whole reason for doing it was to make rare and unique tartans that cost a fortune from a mill. What was unexpected is how much effort it takes to keep everything square (even with a castle) and not beat the weft too hard or too soft which screws up the thread count. A ruler and a right isosceles triangle is a must. I calculate the resultant cloth will be less than half the cost of having a mill do it. Getting it to the same quality is another matter.

The whole point of the exercise is to learn something new and create something unique. Without going broke.

[Dughlas mor]

Hi Cyd, great to have you with us. It sounds like quite a project you have taken on. I`ll look forward to hearing more about it, and ultimately, seeing pics of the kilt you have created.

[Kiltedjohn]

Hi, Cyd. You are very modest about your talents! Looking forward to seeing some pics of loom and kilt, and hearing more about your creations.

[Lake Mist]

Welcome .

[Tarheel]

I'm likely to be put in "time out to Cool off" before you will Cyd. When you can, send us some thread counts and color arrangements. (Sett designs)
How wide of cloth are you weaving? I see that the loom is 48 inches but don't know enough about weaving to guess the material width.
I expect once you get the "feel" for the wool, creating the desired weft will become rote.

[Cyd]

Thread count is a little involved. I will post when I have time to type it all in. Here is a CGI of what it is supposed to look like. It looks pretty close to the real thing. I think it will pleat well to the dark green stripe leaving the lighter green hidden in the pleat. I have worked one up in red and a third in blue. I think the green is the best of the 3.

The current cloth is 36" wide. I have only got into it about 1/2 a yard. It is a slog doing 12 yards of cloth one thread at a time.
@Kilted john: I am quite happy with the loom. Still some issues with warp tension to work out that is slowing things down though. I will borrow a digital camera and post some pics. It really wasn't that hard. I have been woodworking since I was a teenager and the loom was just a matter of copying existing looms (v.old public domain technology) and determining scale. The prices being charged for these simple machines is horrendous. It is just wood and string!

[Cyd]

I really haven't done much. The loom was just a matter of copying existing technology (old and in the public domain) and getting scale right. Still lots of kinks to work out (Especially getting warp tension right) and actually weaving useable cloth! The weaving is the hard part. I have about 16 inches so far and it has been slow as I work out the right beating pressure (and keeping it constant), and not screwing up the selvage that will eventually be the bottom of the kilt. I have been woodworking a long time, so the loom was the easy part. I have never attempted weaving or sewing something as complex as a kilt, so my attempts at what is to come may be sheer folly! I read someone's signature on this site that read something like, "good judgement comes from experience and experience comes from poor judgement." Well, I am just starting to gain some experience.

Then there is the whole issue of making a kilt if I ever get enough useable cloth. I am hoping Barb's book will fill in the blanks I have from my research into that process. If I have a kilt in a year or so, I will consider the whole exercise a success.

[Cyd]

Ha! I am beginning to just hope I am still alive by the end of it! I am retired, and the loom took about 6 weeks to research and design, then two months of sweat to get working in any reasonable sense. I am realizing now the cloth is going to take ages to weave because I have never woven anything in my life and getting all the parameters right requires a long time (that I have) and/or a lot of experience (that I don't). At this point I haven't even finished researching how to put the kilt together. I am hoping my old kilt as a visual aid and Barb's book will fill in a lot of the holes. Then there are my remedial sewing skills.....

If everything works out, I may have something passable in a year (or two), but this is more about learning something new and producing something with meaning myself. I will buy a good 5 yard kilt in the California tartan soon for day wear (I have medical issues that wearing a kilt would ease), and if my niece ever sets a date, I will buy a formal package with a Fraser tartan for the wedding. I may be ambitious, but I am not stupid.

Maybe the 5th kilt off this loom will be wearable to a formal occasion. I hope my grandson enjoys that kilt when he completes it....