|
For this month's feature on kilts, we sniffed out
a kiltmaker with an online
shop. Our sources said that Ann Stewart
is one of the best in the business, so we decided to get the scoop on kilts from
someone who knows them -- literally -- from the inside out.
Ann, how did you become interested in kilt making,
and how did you learn your craft?
I have been a kilt maker since I was 15 and that is a lifetime ago! I served a 5-year
apprenticeship to a Tailor and Kiltmaker in Elgin, Scotland.
If you weren't doing this, what career would you
choose?
If I were not making kilts I would probably be making wedding dresses. I would be
sewing; I have been sewing since I was 5 years old and will be sewing when I am 90
years old!
Do you visit Scotland often?
I like to visit Scotland about every 2 years -- I need a Scotland fix!
Where was your family from, and have you ever looked into your genealogy?
I come from Burghead in Morayshire, Scotland, a small fishing village that was a great pictish fort dating back to 800BC. I just did my family genealogy chart to 1865 and most of the families came from the three neighboring towns except for my grand father and I am still working on that. There are Main, Ralph, Murray and Macpherson.
How does your knowledge of the history and culture
of Highland dress influence your work?
I have learned a lot of Scottish History just by selling Tartan and Kilts. My customers
expect me to know all the answers and if I don't know, I have the books and connections
to find out.
On what occasions do you wear your own kilt?
I love to wear my kilt at the games or when I do kiltmaking demonstrations and I
wear my evening kilt to the Burns dinners and the tartan ball and even on a cold
winters day.
What makes a kiltmaker good at their craft?
A kiltmaker must be able to sew small stitches and have the knowledge of how a kilt
is constructed to be balanced and hang correctly.
What is your favorite part of the job?
My favorite part is seeing the magic of the finished product when a man puts his
kilt on and feels like a million dollars.
How long does it take you to make a kilt?
It takes me about 10 hours to make a kilt, because it is mostly hand sewn.
Where do you get your tartan from?
I get my tartan from Scotland, I have a few mills I deal with and also some hand
weavers who make rare and special woven tartans.
Has anyone ever requested an unusual tartan you
had trouble getting?
I have made a lot of rare tartans. 1750 Clan Murray is one I am working on now, and
I have had requests for Vestarium Scoticum tartans in the original colors, I have
a weaver who has a lot of knowledge of the Tartans who makes them for me. I sometimes
have to do a lot of research to get this done to my customers satisfaction, but I
do it.
There are three different kinds of pleats; how does
a customer decide between them?The difference in pleating is when the kilt is pleated
to the sett the tartan is reproduced in the pleats. When it is pleated military,
a predominant line in the tartan is chosen to put on the top of each pleat forming
a striped effect. The old military style of pleats are box pleated.
Why do your customers want their kilts?
I make kilts for all kinds of people for Pipe Bands, Re-enactment groups, weddings,
highland dancers, St Andrews Societies, Burns Federations, country dancers, and individuals
all over the world.
What's the smallest kilt you ever had to make?
I always made my children a kilt for their first birthday, but I have also made them
for pregnant mothers who had proud grandparents who were anxious to have their offspring
know they were Scottish.
Have you had any famous customers?
I have made a kilt for James Motherwell, the Queens piper, and I made one for Norman
Gillies, who is one of the most famous pipers
in the world, and Donald Lindsay, who is one of
the best Bagpipe instructors in USA.
|
