Some Thoughts on Kilt Weight

Some Thoughts on Kilt Weight

originally published in The Scottish Banner, May 2008

When I talk with people who are considering purchasing a kilt, one of the many topics that often comes up is the choice of weight for the cloth. Most divide the cloth weight into three categories; light, medium, and heavy. Light weight cloth is generally considered to be in the 10 to 11 oz range. Medium weight cloth is 12 or 13 oz. And heavy kilt weight is considered to be 15 or 16 oz per yard.

There are other weight ranges beyond this. Many tartan accessories such as ties and scarves are often made in an 8 or 9 oz fabric, considered a “spring weight” and much too light for kilts. And regimental kilts are typically made from a very heavy cloth, anywhere from 18 to 22 oz per yard.

What do these numbers mean? The weight of the fabric is roughly the amount that one yard of double width (54” wide) material weighs on a scale. In other words, if you were to weigh a single yard of heavy kilt weight cloth (16 oz), it would be about a pound.

My general advice to people, across the board, is to select the heaviest weight cloth within your budget in which your tartan is available. This is simply because, in general, the heavier weight cloth makes nicer looking, longer lasting kilts.

What are some of the reasons that people might select a lighter weight cloth? One may simply be availability. Not every commercially produced tartan is supplied in all weight ranges. Your tartan of preference may be available in light weight and heavy weight, but not medium. Or it may be available in medium weight cloth only. In terms of importance, I believe that the choice of tartan and color has a greater bearing on the overall look of the kilt. If the tartan you want is only available in a medium weight cloth, I would much rather have that than a heavy weight kilt made from a tartan I didn’t want!

Another consideration is often cost. Depending upon the availability of your tartan, there may only be a small difference in cost between medium and heavy weight, in which case my advice will almost always be to opt for the heavier weight. In other cases, however, there may be a significant cost difference. In this situation, you have to weigh how much you really want the heavier cloth against what your budget will allow.

One consideration that often has too much importance placed on it (in my opinion) is temperature. Many people are convinced that they need a light weight kilt because of the warm climate in which they live. While it is true that a kilt made from light weight cloth will be marginally cooler to wear than the same kilt made from heavy weight cloth, I think the temperature difference is often overplayed. What really makes an outfit hot or cool is not the weight of the kilt, but the accessories you choose to wear with it. Wear thick woolen hose, a tweed jacket, and heavy wool balmoral, and of course you will be toasty warm. Wear the same kilt with a thinner acrylic or cotton sock, a short sleeved shirt, and bare head, and it is a world of difference!

Even for wear in warmer climates, then, the heavier kilt weight has a lot to recommend it. The kilt will have a more masculine hang to it. The fabric will wrinkle less, and the pleats will stay crisp, meaning less pressing and maintenance on your part. And the fabric will be much longer lasting.

Speaking as someone who not only wears kilts, but makes them as well, I have to say that I find it much easier to make a good looking kilt when I am using heavy weight cloth. I have not polled other kilt makers to see how universal this observation might be, but in my experience it holds true. Heavier weight cloth is easier to sew, easier to press – easier to work with altogether. This is why I often advise amateur kilt makers just starting out to avoid the temptation to begin with cheap, lighter weight fabric. Go ahead and invest in the heavy stuff, and you’ll find your beginning kilt making efforts to be much more of a success!

Another consideration is the amount of yardage that is going into your kilt. If your kilt is a standard kilt with nominally eight yards of cloth, then any weight option from 10 oz and up will make a fine kilt. In this case it is not that the lighter weights make a bad kilt – they make perfectly good kilts. It is only that the heavier weights make even better kilts! The weight of all that fabric in the pleats helps to make up for what might be lacking in the cloth itself.

On the other hand, if you are considering a kilt of the four yard variety (be it a traditional box pleated kilt, or one of the modern “casual” kilts that many firms offer), I would strongly suggest choosing the heavy weight cloth, or a good medium weight at the absolute lightest. In my opinion, a four yard kilt made from light weight cloth simply does not have enough body to maintain a masculine look. It makes for a fine lady’s skirt, but a man’s kilt really needs the bulk offered by the heavier weight cloth.

Might I add, as well, that a four yard kilt made from heavy weight wool will still be cooler to wear than an eight yard, light weight kilt. This is one way that you can have the best of both worlds – all the benefits of good quality, heavy weight kilt cloth, and still have a much cooler and comfortable kilt, to boot!

As a final closing note, many people I speak to regarding kilt weight want to make sure their kilt is not made from light weight saxony cloth. They have been advised to choose worsted over saxony. Most of them, I assume, are getting their advice from So You’re Going to Wear the Kilt, by J. Charles Thompson – a good little book of advice for any kilt wearer. However, Thompson’s book was originally published in 1979. That was nearly thirty years ago, and some of the content is a bit dated. His advice to avoid saxony wool falls into that category. Not that it is bad advice, but the woolen mills that supply the Highland dress industry with tartan cloth by and large produce only worsted wool today. In most cases when you go to purchase your kilt, the question of saxony vs. worsted will be a non-issue.