Differences Between Poly Viscose Kilt Fabric & Wool Kilt Fabric?

Time was, the only cloth a kilt could be made out of was wool. Of course, real Scottish wool tartan is still the very best for a traditional kilt. As fabric technology has advanced, other options for kilting fabric have come about.
Many combine wool with other fibers; the most heinous example of this is acrylic wool blends. This cloth is invariably used for cheap kilts.
Modern utility kilts are often made from cotton duck or a cotton-poly twill. Not many tartan kilts are made from this sort of fabric however.
For light-weight, machine washable kilts, the single most popular fabric is poly-viscose. This is a British term for a polyester rayon blend. The fabric is comfortable and hard wearing while also light weight. PV was first used for school uniforms and is often used for upholstery.
If you are buying a kilt, you may opt for traditional wool, or consider PV to save some money, or to get a kilt good for hot weather activities.
So what is t5he difference between wool and PV in a kilt? How does each fabric behave? How does each kilt fabric look? Rocky has the nerdy answers you crave!
Tartans of the day:
Rocky: Stewart Old Wilsons of Bannockburn colours
Erik: Cameron Erracht Muted
Mac: Red Hackle
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[@jollytrawler5349]

My wedding is coming up in two weeks. Had no idea 3 weeks ago, that I would be wearing a kilt. (Fiancée is scottish by heritage and I have some scottish ties myself) this wedding is a jumping off point to express part of my heritage, and this channel is a fantastic resource for someone just starting to explore their lineage! Thank you!

[@joanhoffman3702]

Congratulations!

[@jim.in.louisiana]

Great information! I just ordered a PV. I'm in southwest Louisiana, which is about as much a tropical climate as you can get. I'm planning on wearing my kilt three to four times a year so, I'm comfortable with my choice.

[@itsapittie]

Synthetic fabrics have come a long way in the past few years and many casual observers won't notice the difference between wool and a high-quality polyviscose kilt. This certainly makes kilts affordable for many people. The choice of fabric for me comes down to what I'm going to do with it. For a formal occasion, I definitely want wool but polyviscose has so many advantages if you're going to wear it several times a week.

[@franciscruickshank8794]

try saying scotland not uk thanks! the most affordable kilts in scotland are from pakistan!, ie football fans etc. what do you think of them? SAOR ALBA

[@terrykeever9422]

@@franciscruickshank8794 USA Kilts uses some English mills for cloth.

[@JasonMGrainger]

If you are outdoors or around fire, I would highly recommend wool, it is more breathable and fire resistant. During historical events we do not let people participate in synthetic fibres for safety reasons

[@dawncheriewoodworth3449]

I happen to think you're both very good looking men. And bald is MUCH better than the comb-over. Thanks for your video. Very informative! Very interesting info!

[@kathryningalls7046]

My biggest issue is most of my family, including myself, are allergic to wool. So, PV is the answer for us. But finding some things in the PV can be difficult.

[@OGcottoncandyrandy]

Great video and explanation folks!

[@jmdenison]

On sheets that have a high thread count that means the threads are actually finer and the fabric feels softer but the trick is the threads themselves are longer so the sheets should be stronger. Probably viscose is an interesting material because polyurethane is obviously a completely plastic polymer. The viscose is actually tree sap so it'll add some softness to the fabric but you can probably still machine wash it and iron it. With wool some wools could be washed and then ironed but most people probably just don't bother and they send it out to their dry cleaners. Most important the quality of the wool is whether or not it can be washed. The softness of the wool will depend upon what sheep it came from. The softest natural kilts are made from cashmere and I have several of those and they are absolutely lovely. I think they're harder to find now. But of course cashmere is made from the soft fibers of a cashmere goat. Actually it's underbelly. Again depending upon the wool will depend on upon the softness. Lambswool is quite soft. Merino wool is very very nice and often is quite washable. Corridale is very nice too and another common wool is Icelandic which has very long fibers and is easy to spin. But we'll always require an extra effort to take care of it properly so that it lasts. But I have about 10 kilts from the 1980s and they are really in good shape and look lovely

[@charlesdriggers199]

What you talk about has to do with my heritage. I enjoy learning the ins and outs about this.

[@chubbssstuff3101]

Thanks for the video, I really appreciate the education!

[@Cailean_MacCoinnich]

I received my first PV kilt today from "The Scottish Kilt Company" in Edinburgh, in a weathered MacKenzie. Absolutely beautiful kilt. For 1 tenth the cost of my hand made to measure wool kilt (made @ Keith Scott Kilts in Dundee), it is just amazing. I have an old acrylic kilt too, and although the colours are really nice, the material is horrible. It wrinkles and bobbles. It doesn't hold the creases in the pleats either. PV is in a different league to acrylic, and for the money an absolute bargain. Now I need to find a PV kilt in MacLeod of Harris Ancient, to keep my Mum happy.

[@kevin-jg5nq]

I recently ordered a wool kilt from the same company. It should be delivered next month. I’m looking forward to it.

[@straycat1674]

I got to say that the one bonus PV has over wool is that it takes the colors are more vibrant and richer.

[@JR-bj3uf]

Get the wool if you want to look good and you want the swing to look great. Get the poly if you need a machine washable hard wearing kilt for hiking or athletics.

[@jmdenison]

Definitely if you're getting fabric for kids or teens to not get wool. They will promise you up and down that they're going to take care of it but then the next thing you find they dumped it in the washing machine and dryer and it's a mess. Wool is really for adults that are careful with their clothes. And they should be dedicated to taking it to the dry cleaners and taking proper care of it otherwise don't bother with real wool.

[@crosisofborg5524]

Thank goodness for PV. Wool feels like my kilt is made of fire ants.

[@jmdenison]

And you also need to keep your wool very clean because otherwise a little buggies will get to it. You should also use cedar hangers and maybe put some cedar boards in the closet.

[@TheBriantoons]

Awesome! Education is fun. :)

[@healer246]

Thank you

[@KennethPinkerton-sx4zd]

@USAKiltsOfficial if I may ask what is the difference between Acrylic/Acrylic Blend and Wool Kilts?

[@sandsnowvancouver1]

That grey based tartan looks great. Which tartan is it? Many thanks

[@la_old_salt2241]

Kilts-N-Culture tartan

[@placio4917]

Are there any examples of Mercenized Cotton or Mercenized Linen tartans? I can’t find any info online.

[@finlaymacintyre8161]

In Scotland football (soccer) fans often wear kilts to international matches. Often they don't want to risk a good wool kilt getting damaged so they wear a cheap synthetic one. I was driving a train on the Glasgow subway one match day and as I came into each station all the cheap kilts were getting blown up Marilyn Monroe style!

[@bladerunnersn]

Thanks guys , I'm going to use Poly viscose fabric to make a kilt for my GiJoe in honour of my Great great Grandad , John Stuart Mackintosh

[@straycat1674]

I mean, if you could only ever have kilts made out of either PV or wool, What would you pick?

[@correctpolitically4784]

Cotton because I don't like Teflon and wool is a bit warm in the summer

[@la_old_salt2241]

Wool

[@lexedmonds9075]

So is poly viscose more breathable?

[@kitse_xiii8334]

Huh I wonder why Sport Kilt's PV feels different or softer compared to USA Kilts. Though the USA Kilt has a better weight and feels sturdier

[@USAKiltsOfficial]

The reason there's a different feel / weight is that theirs is woven by a different mill. I can't speak to the specific breakdown of their fiber content, but our cloth is woven in the UK (by one of the mills that weaves our wool cloth) and is finished with a teflon coating. Their non-wool cloth is not woven in the UK (we've verified this fact with the mills), though their wool cloth is woven in the UK.

[@kitse_xiii8334]

@@USAKiltsOfficial interesting, thanks for the information!

[@danielnokes9146]

Wool does have natural oils in it that can make it a little ‘shiny’

[@josephm4677]

What about if the fabric is printed on or woven with yarn dyed?

[@MarcelGomesPan]

Are there any plans to bring back the K&C tartan in wool?

[@richkestrel7416]

So two quick questions: 1) how does the "swish" compare between PV and wool? My guess is wool has more "swish", but is it noticeably more? 2) in relationship to your belly-button, where are the tops of your kilts? Thanks!

[@USAKiltsOfficial]

1) Any kilt with more material and/or heavier material is typically going to have more swish 2) We typically recommend having the kilts just a bit above the navel.

[@bluesSGL]

I'd like to sew a kilt on a budget using a natural fiber. I'm pondering some textile options but might look for a heavy linen. If it looks stupid I'll just unpick the stitches and make it into something else.

[@Baylock746]

Is their a Bingham Tartan kilt??

[@douglasfrank9323]

A couple years ago when I visited the shop I noticed a color variation between the wool and PV swatches of Caledonia tartan. Is that due to the fabrics or the mills?

[@USAKiltsOfficial]

Likely, both. Dying yarns in PV is a different process than dying them in wool. On top of that, you also have color variations from mill to mill, depending on their preferred shade of "ancient red" or "Modern green", etc.

[@alisonaussie4995]

I’m only here because your thumbnail screams McGregor despite them. Tonight I’m feeling my McGregor Blood. Granny 98, is dying of old age and I cannot go to her because stooopid rules. FREeeeeeeeedoooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[@royagilmore]

PV has one big shortcoming - the tartan selection is pretty lame.

[@scottybeegood]

Tartan nerds

[@la_old_salt2241]

That's not a bad thing.