Remember, weaving mills have minimum yardages required for custom orders. Smaller mills require 20 - 30 yards/meters. Prices vary from $24 - $50 a yard (or meter). These are the basic costs we're working with.

I can't just **go order* 30 yards of 16 ounce wool. Neither can any of the kiltmakers or retailers that happen to participate here. That would mean up-fronting maybe as much as $1,000, eh? What if the stuff is crap? What if all the kiltmakers here see it and retch and refuse to work with it? What if I order it and all you X Markers who want kilts talk real big, but somehow the money never seems to appear for the fabric? Then I or whoever else takes this on is out $1,000.

NOT!

Patience, gentlemen. We're working on it. It's going to take a while to get material at an affordable cost that kiltmakers will work with. Get used to the idea that you're going to have to pre-pay for the material. Nobody is going to buy this stuff so that you can sort of "think it over". You'll have to take the word of the kiltmakers on the board that the quality of the product the mill turns out is nice, AND unless someone up-fronts the money to pay for the run, you're not going to get to see a picture of the cloth before you order it.

Ten seconds thought will tell you why that's the way it has to be, eh?

We'll make sure the material we go with is of good quality, OK? I'm putting in time and research for you all to make sure that's true, and it won't just be MY word, it will be the word of several experienced kiltmakers who participate at X Marks.
You won't get crap, here. It won't be made in some desperate sweatshop.


BTW, I'm not willing to chase down stuff from two suppliers. There are two "candidates" right now, but as far as I'm concerned, we'll pick one and go with it.