Strome Questions for the Pro's

[creagdhubh]

Strome is the name Locharron gives to it's 16oz tartan range of about 500 ish tartans.
As far as I know no one else uses that name, so if you have got a kilt in Stome fabric it can only be from Lochcarron. Not sure what you mean by pokey bits, perhaps the sample was a well used sample and felt a little smoother. Who made your kilt? I'm always happy to tell the customer exactly who wove the fabric,to me it's a mark of quality.

Precisely. If your kilt is indeed the 16 ounce worsted wool weight from Lochcarron, then it is indeed the Strome variant. Lochcarron has three different weights (Reiver, Braeriach, and Strome), with Strome being the heaviest. I currently own 4 kilts made of the heavyweight Strome worsted wool in different Macpherson tartans. My kilt-maker had sewn a wee tag from Lochcarron at the lining of the kilt, saying that the tartan is indeed authentic Lochcarron Strome tartan. I'd double check with your kilt-maker when he returns from holiday just to be sure. Not sure what you mean by 'pokey-bits', but the overall texture of the tartan should be fairly smooth and a good weight. You could also compare the general tone and colouring of the tartan in your kilt to the Strome list of tartans at Lochcarron's website (the computer screen may distort the colours a wee bit, but Lochcarron's website is quite good as far as colour matching), which may give you a better clue if your kilt is in fact made of the Strome material.

www.lochcarron.com

Cheers,