what am I seeing here?

**McFarkus** · 2nd May 08, 07:29 AM

Thanks, Matt - that clarified this for me.

**starbkjrus** · 2nd May 08, 08:39 AM

Originally Posted by McFarkus

Thanks, Matt - that clarified this for me.

It did? I can't tell the difference so I guess I'll just trust the kiltmakers.

**McFarkus** · 2nd May 08, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by starbkjrus

It did? I can't tell the difference so I guess I'll just trust the kiltmakers.

In the top photo you can just see a slight fuzziness along the selvedge line where the threads are tucked in.

**Barb T** · 2nd May 08, 05:37 PM

One of the really nice things about getting a custom weave from DC Dalgliesh is that they still use the old clean (not turned) selvedge. It always looks really perfect.

The interesting thing about Lochcarron fabric is that, when I first bought Lochcarron fabric years ago and they were still doing a clean selvedge, the right side of the fabric was the side that had the twill line running diagonally and down to the left looking across the fabric. This is what I was taught to use as the right side of the fabric. Now, as Matt shows in his photo, Lochcarron fabric is woven with the right side as the side that has the twill line diagonally down to the right. Frustrating.

Whether the turned selvedge shows very much in a particular piece of tartan is at least partly a function of where the selvedge is placed with respect to the tartan. One of the things that no one liked about the early runs of XMarks tartan was the fact that the blue weft threads turned at the edge of the tartan made the edge white stripe look as if it had bled (the infamous "bleeding selvedge"). In the 16 oz run, F&K put a different stripe at the edge of the tartan, and the turned selvedge (where the threads are doubled) is much less obvious.

**Stewart Rendall** · 4th May 08, 03:23 AM

Originally Posted by M. A. C. Newsome

It is important that the kiltmaker use the good face of the cloth for the outside of the kilt. I would guess that the picture in the first post is the "bad" side of the fabric, so hopefully this was on the inside of the kilt.
M

Originally Posted by Barb T.

the right side of the fabric was the side that had the twill line running diagonally and down to the left looking across the fabric. This is what I was taught to use as the right side of the fabric.

Yes, I was taught this too. The twill should run from the right hip to the left knee when looking down at the kilt. Adhering to this means there is only one side the kiltmaker can use and no 'good' or 'bad' side.

Do you still work that way with the lochcarron cloth Barb, or do you change the direction of the twill when the tucked threads are visible on the other side?

**Barb T** · 4th May 08, 06:08 AM

Originally Posted by Stewart Rendall

Yes, I was taught this too. The twill should run from the right hip to the left knee when looking down at the kilt. Adhering to this means there is only one side the kiltmaker can use and no 'good' or 'bad' side.

Do you still work that way with the lochcarron cloth Barb, or do you change the direction of the twill when the tucked threads are visible on the other side?

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one having this problem with Lochcarron tartan!! I try very hard to use the side with the left diagonal. I look pretty carefully at the ends of both halves of the tartan and try to pick the one that looks the best for the apron. The bigger problem is the little thread joins that show up on what they think is the back but what I think is the front. I've had to poke them through to the other side to hide them, on occasion.

What about you?

**Stewart Rendall** · 4th May 08, 06:25 AM

It's never really been bad enough for me to consider flipping the cloth in the other direction. If I encountered cloth where the tucked threads were noticeably more apparent on one side then I'd probably have to think about it.
It would feel odd making it with the twill going the other way though. It's a tricky one.