Are hand-sewn or machine-sewn kilts better?

Firstly, all our adult kilts are really hand-made. We never sell the bulk factory produced imported ‘kilts’ that some of our less reputable competitors pass off as the “authentic” article. So every kilt we produce (other than our lowest priced children’s kilts) is expertly custom made in your individual measurements and specifications.

And all these kilts are at least partly hand-stitched. The main difference lies in whether the kiltmaker uses a sewing machine to sew the main pleats and lining etc. or stitches these by hand. Doing it by hand takes longer, and so costs more. But whether the result is better is mostly a matter of personal taste and aesthetic judgement.

Machine sewing tends to produce a more consistent and even result, which of course is exactly what many people look for in expertly produced garments. Whilst with hand-sewing you will notice a very subtle uneven quality, as the sewer’s lines will never be quite as straight and each stitch will be tugged tight with a slightly different strength. This gives the result more of a crafted quality, which many people cherish for its obvious authenticity.

So which is better? You tell us. With any traditional eight yard kilt we produce you can specify hand-stitching at least as a premium option. (For casual 5 yard kilts some machining is almost always used for technical reasons.) And our exclusive Manley Richardson luxury eight yarders are always hand-stitched unless you specify machine-finishing for yours to achieve the more precise quality described above.