The Making of your Kilt
Did you know that there is only one style of kilt, but that there are differences in how kilts are manufactured?

The Pleating:

Set Pleating
This is the most common way that kilts are made. You'll have to give me some help here for a couple of more sentences.

Stripe Pleating
This is more commonly associated with Kilts for pipe bands or the military where a single line from the tartan is matched on each pleat.

Your Kilt can also be manufactured by machine or by hand:

Hand Stitching
We only manufacture your kilt using hand stitching. It costs a little more, but your kilt will last longer and look better when hand stiched by our craftsmen.

Today's Highland Dress is distinctive, and known world wide as Scotland's national costume. However, the actual origin may lie with the ancient Roman or Celtic tunic rather than the Scots of old. because the fact is both recent Highlanders and ancient Celts also wore tight trousers - truis.

The modern kilt has developed from traditional dress where a cloth was worn over a shift or shirt. This cloth would be long enough to completely cover the person when they were sleeping on the ground - the Gaelic word 'plaide' means blanket.

On rising, the cloth would be tucked into a belt, and arranged so that the cloth was flat in front with the pleats arranged behind. Excess cloth would be thrown over the shoulder and pinned. This cloth was known as the feileadh mor. The pouch - attached to the belt - would carry money and some oatmeal for porrige.

When travelling the cloth could be gathered over one shoulder, or over both shoulders for protection against the rain.

Exactly when the fealeadh beg (filibeg) - the tailored version worn from waist to knee - came into existence is open to debate.

It has been suggested that an Englishman, Thomas Rawlinson, was the inventor of the modern kilt. Rumours suggest that he thought his workforce would work better if they dispensed with the upper part of their garment and wore what we would describe as a kilt.

Traditional Highland Dress was banned along with tartan from 1746-82 after the Battle of Culloden. However Highland regiments were being formed in the Government army and most of these adopted the kilt and a tartan as part of their uniform. From this martial background comes the style of today's Highland Dress. When George IV visited Edinburgh in 1822, Full Highland Dress was worn by almost everybody including King George himself thanks to the efforts of Sir Walter Scott. The kilt became quite definitely the distinctive national dress of Scotland.

How to wear a Kilt (top)
There's no great secret to wearing a kilt. A well-made kilt is manufactured from approximately 8 yards of material (although some kilts can use up to 11 yards) and can weight over 15 pounds.

Our kilts are made to fit well and hang well and the wearer should never be aware of the weight.

A kiltpin is unecessary for a kilt and should only be used for decoration.

What to wear under a kilt
This is a matter of personal taste and is none of our business.

A well-made kilt will:

• Be handstitched
• Have heavy-duty buckles at waist and hip
• Have double fringes on outside apron
• Have knife-edge pleats
• Fit comfortably
• Last a lifetime

• Fill your bath with salt water. Place you kilt in bath, and stomp all over it.
• Put it in a peaty Loch for two days.
• never clean your kilt, it will ruin it.

We recommend NONE of the above. If you want you kilt to last for years do the following:

• Clean it regularly
• Hang it after every use with a proper kilt hanger
• If it gets damp, let it dry slowly

Measuring yourself correctly for kilt is critical. Here's how to do it. (top)

• Attach a belt around your waist. Its best to use a proper kilt belt - let us know how wide this belt is.
• Adjust its position until it feels comfortable and is in a position from which you would like your kilt to hang (If you would like your kilt to be any longer or shorter than normal don't forget to tell us).
• If wish to wear the kilt low on the hips and plan to wear an evening jacket with vest remember that there may be a gap between the top of the kilt and the bottom of the vest.
• Ladies who are ordering a kilted skirt can ignore this process and simply tell us how long the skirt should be.
• Length: To do this accurately you will need some help. Our favourite way is to kneel on the ground and keep your back straight. Have someone measure the distance from the floor to your belly-button - this gives the ideal length for your kilt. If you want your kilt to be slightly shorter (or longer) than average don't subtract, or add, more than an inch (2.5cm).
• Waist: Remove the belt and take this measurement firmly. The straps allow for an increase of up to two inches. If you plan to lose weight please tell us and we will discuss with you the need to take this into account.
• Seat: This is the widest part of the seat (all the way round).
• Stomach: Let us know whether you want the fit to be flat, slight, or generous

That's all there is to it! Follow the instructions, take careful measurements, and we can hand-make your kilt for the perfect fit.