Frequently asked questions
This FAQ aims to answer the most commun questions that we get from our customers. We hope that helps, but should you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
Practical informations
Most of our kilts will be made with 8-9 yards of cloth. But it really depends on the person’s measurements and the size of the sett of the tartan chosen. We sometimes use 7 yards for very slim people, and would not hesitate recommending over 9 yards in some cases, for particularly large tartan setts for example.
The price of a kilt depends essentially on where you are buying it from, who made it, what cloth is being used, and what quality of kilt you are buying. Our kilts are all made bespoke for our customers, and are entirely hand-stitched. We only use high quality materials, including 100% wool tartans woven in Scotland, and leather straps handmade in Edinburgh. All our kilts are crafted with extreme preciseness, attention to details, expert knowledge and traditional techniques. All of these parameters are reflected in the price of our kilts. The final price of your kilt may vary depending on your choices, so please get in touch to get a quote.
Our leadtime depends on the specificities of your project, and the space available in order book when you contact us. If your kilt is needed for a special occasion, please contact us as early as possible.
In order to ensure that all our kilts are as perfect as they can be, we will only make kilts for people that we can measure ourselves, and organise a final fitting with. Unfortunately, that makes it a little bit more complicated for customers based outside of the UK. If you’re travelling to Scotland and are hoping to have your kilt made in that time, please get in touch to discuss details.
Our business is based in Scotland, so our products and services are to be paid in British Pounds (£). We will accept payment through direct debit, Card (in person), Stripe and Paypal. Please note that payment coming from outside the UK will incur a small extra fee.
Wearing kilts
If you love this garment, you should absolutely wear it! Some people believe that you have to have a blood connexion with Scotland or with a Scottish clan to wear a kilt, but truth is, there are no rules. Anyone can wear a kilt, and from experience, Scottish people are nothing but proud and happy to see their national outfit being admired, worn and enjoyed beyond Scotland.
There are no official rules regarding who would be allowed to wear what tartan. We believe that anyone should wear any tartan of their choice, as long as they love it. But if you personnaly don’t feel comfortable wearing let’s say, a clan tartan, there are many other options out there for you to choose from!
Absolutely! We don’t make “men’s kilts” and “women’s kilt”, we simply make… kilts! 🙂 When making a bespoke kilt, we will design it to fit the person’s body shape, measurements, wishes, personnality, regardless of their gender.
The “traditional” length of a kilt is from the natural waist to the middle of the knee cap. But if you want it shorter, or longer, it’s entirely possible! The maximum length is dictated by the width of the cloth you choose (between 75cm and 140cm for tartans). As for the minimum length, it’s more a question of balance and proportions. You still want that distinctive “swing” of the bottom part of the pleats to be noticed. We’ll be happy to give you a detailed explanation either in person or by email.
Highland Dress and kilt accessories
While we don’t make waistcoats and jackets ourselves, we work closely with UK based partners to offer a selection of them to our customers. We’ll be happy to help you build a complete outfit while we make your kilt.
Absolutely. We work with a couple of trusted partners who produce the most exquisite Scottish made sporrans. Wether you like traditional sporrans or more contemporary ones, we’ll help you find one that suits your taste.
Yes! We’ll show you a selection of what our partners offer and be able to order it from you.
Yes! Our partners offer a large selection of colours and style that you will be able to choose from.
Yes, absolutely. We can order them for you from our trusted partners.
Absolutely! We can offer you a selection of both traditional and more contemporary design, in different colours to suit your taste and the cloth of your kilt. We can also offer some exclusive designs of damascus steel kilt pins, forged by a French blacksmith with whom we work.
Yes of course! We can make different style, length and finishing of fly plaid, depending on your project. Contact us to discuss details.
While bespoke kilts are our expertise and core products, we are happy to make other accessories to complete your outfit or please your loved ones. We offer a selection of sashes, scarves, stoles, bow ties, neckties, tartan necklaces and will happily consider other types of accessories, depending on your project.
We can, depending on how much fabric is left. The kilt remnants are traditionaly used to create the waistband of the kilt, the sporran loops, and flashes. Depending on the cloth you chose, and the length of your kilt, there might be enough cloth to make small extra accessories such as a bow tie, necklace, etc. If you tell us what you’d like us to make before we order your cloth, we will happily buy more cloth from the same tartan bale to ensure we have enough fabric to make what you want.
Materials
The vast majority of the kilts that we make are made with 100% wool tartan, woven in Scotland. We occasionally work with British tweeds, woven in Yorkshire for customers who want a plain tweed, rather than a tartan. We will happily consider other fabrics, if we think that they are suitable for the making of a kilt. Get in touch to discuss your project.
We mainly work with Scottish mills, such as Lochcarron of Scotland, House of Edgar and Andrew Elliot. We will also use other mills based in Yorkshire for some of our tweed kilts.
The answer depends on what is important for you. Do you want to use a clan tartan? A district tartan? A tartan that you feel related to because of its story? A tartan that has colours that you like the most? Any reason is fine, but these are the questions that will start our conversation to help you choose the right tartan for you.
We will happily use any fabric that we think is suitable for a kilt. Whether it is to make the full kilt, maybe a section of it, or to use as the lining of your kilt, we will advise you and do our best to accomodate your request.
Tartan design
Absolutely, we can design a bespoke tartan for you. Whether you have a very precise idea of what you’d like, or do not know where to start, we will guide you every step of the way. It’ll be an exciting creative journey, from the first design choices of your future tartan, to its actual weaving by a local mill, and registration to the Scottish Register of tartans.
The leadtime will mainly depend on how long it will take us to create and finalise the design of your tartan together, and the current availability of the mill that we will choose to weave your tartan. Once the design is confirmed by you, us, and the mill, it will usually take about 2-3 months for your tartan to be woven and delivered to us. We will give you our best timescale estimate when the first steps of your project are confirmed.
The final cost depends on several parameters, including the mill that you chose to have your tartan woven by, and the width and length of fabric that you want to weave. Contact us to give us as much information as you can, and we will get back to you with a quote.
Yes, we can help you register your tartan to the Scottish Register of tartans. We will ask you some questions about your tartan story, meaning, etc., combine them with the technical and administrative informations of your tartan to ensure that it meets the conditions to be officially registered.
Talks and workshops
Absolutely, if we are available at the date you would like to book us. Most of our talks and workshops are private and bespoke experiences, that we conduct for groups of individuals, companies and public or private organisations. Get in touch as early as possible to discuss a potential booking.
Mostly in partner venues located in Edinburgh. But we are always happy to come to your place of choice, in Edinburgh or throughout Scotland and the UK.
Our talks and workshops can be tailored according to your needs. We can talk about the history of tartans and kilts, present and discuss the main technical aspects of traditional kiltmaking and give an introduction to tartan pleating. We can also expand to broader topics including other Scottish crafts and textiles.
Yes we can, depending on what you want to include in the experience. The History of tartans and kilts, as well as an introduction to modern kilts, and the main technical aspects of its making can be presented to large groups. However, in order to enjoy the full experience, including the practical tartan pleating part, we recomend to have groups of maximum 15 people. This allows us to give a more individual support and explanations to each guest during that part.