I had a discussion with a kiltmaker recently and asked a similar question. What I was told suprised me. She says she has it on good authority that at least one of the major kiltmakers works on a production line system. Few of the workers have the skill to make a kilt from start to finish but are trained to perform a specific task. Many different workers may be involved in a single kilt.

She also says shes disassembled traditional kilts from major manufacturers and found missing steps... such as steeking.

It sounds plausible to me. But perhaps someone with first hand experience can shed some better light on the subject.

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