'Cheap knock-off kilts as flimsy as dishcloths are putting the future of our world-renowned Keith craft at risk'

Press and Journal

2 days ago

A true hand-stitched kilt can last for years, an 'heirloom' which is passed down through generations.
This is what Keith Kilts and Textiles Centre aspires to, as experts make sure every pleat, strap, and flash is perfected over two months of hand stitching.
The centre trains new kiltmakers over a six-kilt course… But tutors have spotted the standard of kiltmaking across the country has dropped.
They even claim kiltmaking is now 'endangered' as more and more folk snap up shoddy versions of the Scottish traditional attire.
There are fears that, in order to undercut hand stitching kiltmakers and increase the volume of kilts produced, the standard of kiltmaking has 'slipped'.
Linda Gorn, who runs the Kilt Centre and baby shop Wee Scallywags says these cheaper kilts can more than halve the price of their hand-stitched offerings.
The demand for cheap kilts mainly comes from football and rugby attendees along with those going abroad, Ms Gorn said.
But this cheaper style of kilt has lowered the overall standard of kiltmaking which is 'almost demeaning to the art of kiltmaking', she told the P&J.
Ms Gorn is an assessor for an SQA-approved kiltmaking course which runs out of the rear of the Mid Street kilt centre.
She said: 'There is absolutely no way that I would pass some of the kilts that I see online.
'It actually makes you cringe to think that the standard of kiltmaking is not as high as it should be.'
The knock off kilts are currently used for 'rolling in the gutters' according to kiltmaking tutor Linda Gillies.
But if cheap kilts become the norm, it could threaten the centre, its students and Keith's storied history of kiltmaking.
Kilts can typically be stitched by an experienced kiltmaker in six to eight weeks.
However, those learning the craft can take upwards of three months per kilt because the hand-stitching process is so intricate.
Ms Gorn said: 'Tartan is the most difficult material to work with, It has a life of its own. It moves in front of you. It's quite an expert challenge.'
An interested kilt buyer first has to pick the fabric thickness and their tartan, of which there are thousands.
Once chosen, the position of the pleats, linings and straps can be adjusted to taste.
As a result, Mrs Gillies said 'every kilt we make is unique'.
Your decisions can make a kilt truly yours, with personalisation beyond what anyone else would usually be able to see.
It may be no surprise to learn the price of tartan has risen in the past few years, so how do the cheap kilts do it?
Mrs Gillies refers to cheaply-made machine sewn kilts as 'like a dishcloth.'
The tartan, for starters is not of the same quality which the outfit would receive from House of Edgar, who weave the tartan locally in Keith.
The fabric feels thinner, even to untrained fingertips. Strange as it may sound, I liken it to the difference between cheap and luxury toilet paper – an assessment she agrees with.
Mrs Gilles explained there is a lot more use of a sewing machine, and typical features of a hand-stitched kilt like extra material for extending the waist have been sewn over 'just so that it looks like it.'
Ms Gorn added: 'The other thing that they claim is it's hand finished. It's not hand finished at all, It's machine stitched and they sew a label on.
'It's misleading the customer into believing they are getting something that they are not.'
With the ready availability of machine-made cheap kilts, the practice of kiltmaking has been listed as 'endangered' by national charity Heritage Crafts.
Ms Gorn disagrees, and says there are 'hundreds of kiltmakers in Scotland' with many working away at home that have not been included.
She said: 'We don't believe it's endangered, we believe it's a skill that's not recognised.'
'There is no such thing as a master kiltmaker, but there is an experienced kiltmaker – you are always learning.'
The centre has been open in various locations across Keith for over 30 years, with Ms Gorn involved in 24 of those years.
In her time at the centre, they have trained kiltmakers who have come from all over the world to learn the trade.
Students from Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada and the US are among the many who have taken kiltmaking skills back home with them.
For one, this has even meant investing in a property in Keith so she can more easily return to learning her kiltmaking craft.
However, the centre goes beyond just kiltmaking and offers a wide variety of flasks, brooches and teddy bears.
Wee Scallywags, a baby clothing outlet is also run from the same building and matches their shop opening hours of 12-4pm Tuesday-Friday.
For kiltmaking students, tutoring starts well before then and provides a 'social occasion' for students and qualified kiltmakers to gather together twice a month.
Students are able to learn at their own pace, with some taking years to complete the course.
Ms Gorn said there are 'very few who don't stay on', and 'even with their qualification', they still return to help keep local kiltmaking going strong.