kilt

[RuddBaron]

I am planning on having some Scouts participate at the catholic cathedral's St. Patrick Day's mass. That would be an appropriate time to wear the kilt.

 

Also, one could have a District Highland Dance unit. It's a traditional warrior's set of dances and is wonderful exercise.

[ASM7]

One of my scout's Mother is very good with a sewing machine. Does anyone have a good pattern for a kilt? The ones I find on the web are pretty vague. Has anyone found good wool MacLaren tartan?

[Twocubdad]

A good source for tartan materials is www.escot.net Peter Wilson is the owner of the company, a BSA supporter and general good guy. I note that he has a book on his web site on kiltmaking.

 

I would be wary of a kilt made from a dress pattern. I would either get one of these books or get a good-quality sample kilt to study. Kilts are different animals. For example, the pleats are folded "to the sett" meaning that when the pleats are folded, the tartan pattern appears the same as when it is unfolded. Consequently, a good kilt may require 5-7 yards of tartan. And kilts aren't hemmed but the bottom is made on the edge or serge of the fabric. That's generally a no-no to most seamstresses, but important to make the kilt hang properly. The waist of a kilt should be measured (and worn) at your navel. To find the correct length of a kilt, kneel down and measure from your navel to the floor.

 

How am I doing on this sewing stuff, DS? Do I get the merit badge?

[RuddBaron]

Kilts are indeed difficult to make. What I suggest doing is either taking kilt-making lessons from a kiltmaker, during which you will make a kilt, or getting a good kilt and, if your sewing skills are good enough, copying it. But, it's certainly not like making a dress. The pleats are HUGE compared to dress pleats.

[Eamonn]

We just had a troop from Scotland sleep over at our council camp, this summer. All the troop had kilts, which were owned by the troop.

Very smart.

As someone who was at one time "Forced" to wear an Irish kilt (County Louth.- We use counties not clans.) I can say that they take a little getting used to. At the time I was only ten years old. Let me warn you of the dangers of Tree climbing in a kilt.

Had a really strange going on the other weekend.

I live next door to the West Overton Museum, and next to them there is the Fort Allen Farm and Tractor Museum.

Two weekends ago the West Overton had a civil war camp out, while the Fort Allen had Scottish games.

My dogs are not sure which was worse the cannon fire or the bag pipes. It didn't do much for my lazy English Setter. He had a hard time taking his naps.

[Owl62]

I am not interested in Kilts but I would like to find a necktie in the MacLaren Tartan pattern. Does anyone know of a source?

 

Thanks.

 

[Fat Old Guy]

I did a google search on "scottish tartan ties" and got a gazallion hits.

 

Be careful about blindly ordering "MacLaren tartan" because the Scottish Tartan Registry http://www.scottish-tartans-society.co.uk/ lists five MacLaren tartans. Number 342 seems to be the closet match but it is rotated 90 degrees from the Wood Badge samples that I've found on the internet.

[RuddBaron]

Check out the MacLaren Clan site in North America.

http://members.aol.com/Rapmack/index.htm

 

The link listed for the STS shows the five tartans mentioned. Two is the standard clan tartan. A 90 degree rotation simply means the either the Wood Badge swatch on the neckerchief is rotated...or perhaps it is the graphic on the STS web site.

[Twocubdad]

Neckties in family tartans are very common as are a variety of scarves, sashes, hats and plaques.

 

Try the above link for e-Scots or www.DunedinScottish.com Both are very reputable companies I've done business with before. I bought my kilt through Dunedin and met the owner several times.

[Fat Old Guy]

I figured that the 90 degree rotation was a simple turning of the tartan on someone's part but the differences that I noticed were in the pattern. It may be minor or it may not be minor. I'm an expert in many things but my knowledge of tartans is limited to what I've learned by hanging out in a Scottish for many hours while my wife visited a friend whom I didn't like.

 

BTW, there is a Scottish Scout tartan that is based on the MacLaren tartan.

 

Also, there is a special membership for Wood Badged Scouters in the Clan MacLaren Society of America. http://www.clanmaclarenna.org/ follow the link for "The Scouting Connection."

(This message has been edited by Fat Old Guy)

[ScouterRob]

The brochure for the membership is located here:

 

http://www.nancynorland.com/cmsna/files/CMSNA%20Wood%20Badge%20Brochure.pdf

[MDScoutMom]

1. "Women seem to love men in kilts...at least in my experience. "

 

----very true words indeed...the first time I saw my (now) husband in a kilt I was afraid I would laugh when I saw him; then when I did I was amazed how great it looks. When we got married, he and the groomsmen all wore kilts.

 

2. I would love to see my son in a kilt for the BSA. I know that the boys (after earning their chit) can carry their pocket knives and handle knives at camp, etc, but do you think that wearing the dirk would present a problem? It's a lot bigger to be carrying around on your person. Just wondering.

 

3. If we were to present a petition to the BSA about the kilt, wouldn't it look better (okay, just my opinion) to ask if part of that uniform could be a glengarry? The scout's rank pin could be put on the side as they do in Highland regiments, using the the same pin that is used on the campaign hat.

 

4. I think this is a great idea. I would love to take my son in a BSA kilted uniform to a Highland games or out on St. Andrew's Day.

[Basementdweller]

Holy old thread batman.

 

 

[Twocubdad]

In the years since this thread started, I've met one of the directors of Clan MacLauren. They are very aware of their Scouting heritage and are very welcoming to Wood Badgers. They have a special membership class for Wood Badgers. They also have a program to assist scout groups acquire kilts.

 

http://www.clanmaclarenna.org/

[SueVerner]

Is there still interest in making a kilt part of the official uniform? I love kilts and bought both my boys McLaren kilts last year. The other boys think they're neat, but some of the adult leaders have pointed out that these are not official and my boys should therefore not be wearing them, as we're trying to emphasize the official uniform. (I agree with this position, actually; I'd LOVE to see our troop members wearing their uniform shirts tucked in, uniform pants instead of beat-up blue jeans, pants where God meant them to be so that I don't have to see the boys' underpants, uniform hats instead of backwards ball caps, etc.) But because my sons and I like the kilts, and we ARE using the "official" (kinda) McLaren tartan, I'd like to see what can be done to add that as part of the uniform. Heck, if the uniform shops want to sell them so they can get a little more income, so much the better.