The quaich is a marvellous symbolic gift that is given to those to whom we wish to show our love, friendship, admiration or respect. It is also a distinctively Scottish gift that is appreciated by all around the world.

The word “quaich” comes from the Gaelic word “cuach”; meaning cup. They are shallow bowls with two short handles at opposite sides. They were traditionally made of wood but other materials were used depending on availability. Other materials used were stone, horn, and as metals became more commonly used, brass, pewter and silver. In some instances the quaich was made from a combination of materials. A common marriage was carved wood inlaid with pewter or silver.

The quaich originated in the Highlands but did not become popular throughout Scotland until 1745, when the quaich travelled from the North of Scotland with the armies of Bonnie Prince Charlie. This took the quaich as far south as Edinburgh and Derby. These quaichs were said to have glass bottoms so the person sipping a dram could keep an eye on those around them. A more romantic quaich had a double glass bottom in which was kept a lock of hair so that the owner could drink from his quaich to his lady love. In 1589, King James VI of Scotland gave Anne of Denmark a quaich or “loving cup” as a wedding gift.

Although some quaichs had glass bottoms for the suspicious among us, the quaich has overwhelmingly been seen as a cup of friendship. The quaich was used for a visitors welcome or farewell dram by Clan chiefs and wealthy merchants, and the humble crofter. Today many people offer welcome toasts using the quaich but most give them as a gift to those they hold dear. They are displayed in homes all over the world and reminds everyone of friendship.

Alexander Scott founded Alex Scott in Aberdeen on 6th August 1925. Since then our shop has been proudly sourcing and producing Highland wear and all things Scottish. Proving our commitment to great customer service I’m passing on some of our extensive product knowledge in our new series of guides. Here is the fifth of my Buyer’s Guides:

Buyer’s Guide - Kilt Belts & Buckles

Kilt Belts

Kilt belts, also known as Montrose belts are specifically designed to decorate the top of the kilt in the absence of a waistcoat. The buckles are sold separately from the belts so that you can choose any buckle to match any belt.

Sizing

The kilt belts are sold in different waist sizes, each of which has a good amount of +/- adjustment. It is important that when you choose the belt you like, you also select the correct size. This sounds straightforward but there are pitfalls.

The one thing most people do when selecting a belt size is simply select the waist size that their trousers are. This however will undoubtedly result in the belt being too tight. There are two reasons for this. First of all the natural waist where the kilt is worn is usually slightly bigger than the lower waist where fashion trousers are worn. Secondly the kilt is a very thick quality garment and this adds two inches round the natural waist.

To choose the correct size of belt, we suggest you select the size 2-3 inches larger than your kilt waist size. (e.g. 32 waist = 34 belt, 29 waist = 32 belt.) If you do not know the waist size of your kilt, simply measure round your stomach and add 2-3 inches to that measurement.

New guides are added regularly. All our buyers guides are available in our Buyer’s Guide section. We strongly encourage your comments and feedback:

Alexander Scott founded Alex Scott in Aberdeen on 6th August 1925. Since then our shop has been proudly sourcing and producing Highland wear and all things Scottish. Proving our commitment to great customer service I’m passing on some of our extensive product knowledge in our new series of guides. Here is the fourth of my Buyer’s Guides:

Scotland Forever

The Scotland Forever tartan began as an idea here at Alex Scott & Co.(www.kiltmakers.co.uk) in 2003. After weeks on the drawing board it was launched to the local population in early 2004. The tartan quickly became one of the most talked about in town and remains one of the most popular tartans for weddings. Its popularity continues to grow from year to year.

Scotland Forever is without doubt the best-known war cry of the traditional Scottish regiments.

It was famously used by the Scots Greys on their timely and victorious charge at Waterloo in 1815. It spread throughout the ranks of the other Scottish regiments including the Cameron Highlanders. It has become very much entwined with Scotland’s glorious military heritage.

Sadly, many of our famous and distinguished regiments are no longer with us. The Scotland Forever tartan will remind us of the eternal war cry recalling our past glories and will doubtless accompany many future triumphs.

As well as having a name entrenched in tradition, the colour scheme can be described as true to an even older aspect of Scotland; the land. The heather that covers many parts of the Highlands and our national flower (the Thistle) has inspired the colour scheme of the tartan. These natural but bright colours are perfect for a traditional kilt in a modern era and can be used to make a variety of other items.

Scotland Forever Tartan is available in an extensive range of merchandise - here are some examples:

Examples of Scotland Forever products

You can view our Scotland Forever products here.

New guides are added regularly. All our buyers guides are available in our Buyer’s Guide section. We strongly encourage your comments and feedback:

Alexander Scott founded Alex Scott in Aberdeen on 6th August 1925. Since then our shop has been proudly sourcing and producing Highland wear and all things Scottish. Proving our commitment to great customer service I’m passing on some of our extensive product knowledge in our new series of guides. Here is the second in a two part discussion of Kilts and Kilt making in my Buyer’s Guides series:

The Structure of the Kilt

Our kilts are made using pure wool cloth woven by some of the best weavers in the world. The kilts are made-to-measure by our own in-house kiltmaker to the highest possible standard.

The kilts are made using eight yards (7.3m) of cloth. However for bigger people, it is sometimes necessary to add an extra yard of cloth so that the kilt will have the correct number of pleats.

The kilts are lined at the waist and have a buckle and strap at each side to give adjustment for comfort. The kilts are usually pleated to the set, which makes the pattern at the back match the front, but we can if requested, pleat the kilt to the stripe. This ishow military kilts are pleated and makes the back of the kilt appear to be one colour.

Typical Timescale

We usually quote 6-8 weeks to make a kilt, however, there are circumstances out with our control that can extend the time taken.

The weavers strive to keep a surplus of tartan in stock, however, their stock does run out occasionally which means we have to wait until they have woven a new batch. The delay is based purely on how far on with the weaving process they are when we express an interest in acquiring cloth for your kilt. If they are near the end of the process, the delay may only be a week or so, however, the delay can be four weeks and more. We will make you aware of any situation regarding delivery before confirmation of the order.

As mentioned in the previous section, your chosen tartan may not be woven as a stock tartan but we can have any registered tartan woven to order to make one kilt. This adds twelve weeks to the delivery time of the kilt and can add to the cost.

Costs

This is part two of our special guide - in part one we looked at Tartan Cloth and Choice of Tartan

New guides are added regularly. All our buyers guides are available in our Buyer’s Guide section. We strongly encourage your comments and feedback:

Alexander Scott founded Alex Scott in Aberdeen on 6th August 1925. Since then our shop has been proudly sourcing and producing Highland wear and all things Scottish. Proving our commitment to great customer service I’m passing on some of our extensive product knowledge in our new series of guides. Here is the first in a two part discussion of Kilts and Kiltmaking in my Buyer’s Guides series:

Tartan Cloth

Tartan cloth is made with bands of pre-dyed wool woven as warp and weft at right angles to each other. The warp is the spun thread held taught from one end of the loom to the other. The weft is the tread that is woven through the warp at right angles. The weft is woven two over - two under and advances one thread on each new row. This produces narrow diagonal lines that form a block pattern made of vertical and horizontal lines that repeat to create the tartan.

Different Weights of Cloth

The weaving principle is simple but todays weavers can produce all kinds of cloth. Kilt fabric is woven with pure wool and is made in different weights, two of which are ideal for making kilts, medium and heavy weight.

• Medium Weight Cloth: Medium weight cloth is woven to 13oz/yard (430g/M), which is an excellent durable weight to make a kilt.
• Heavy Weight Cloth: Heavy weight cloth is woven to 16oz/yard (515g/M), which again makes an excellent kilt.

Medium weight kilts are simply kilts made with medium weight cloth. The medium weight kilt has certain advantages despite the fact it is the lighter of the two kilts. The pleats are usually very sharp and maintain their appearance. It is also a better weight of kilt for small kilts and kilts that will be worn for more vigorous activities such as Highland dancing.

Heavy weight kilts are kilts made with heavy weight cloth. The extra weight of the 16oz cloth makes the heavy weight widely regarded as the superior kilt. The extra weight makes all the difference in the way the kilt hangs and how the pleats swing. The heavy weight cloth is also more resistant to creasing which means as long as the kilt is kept hanging, very little, if any pressing is required.

Choice of tartans

Tartans are woven into different clan tartans, district tartans and more generic tartans such as ‘Scotland Forever.’ In turn, many of these groups are sub-divided into different colour schemes.

Ancient colours are dyed very pale to reproduce an era when no chemical dyes existed and cloth was dyed using natural dyes.

Modern colours produce a kilt with the same tartan but bright strong colours made possible by the invention of chemical dye. For example, where ancient red appears orange, modern red appears scarlet and ancient blue that is sky blue is navy blue in modern colours.

Additional colours available are weathered, where the colours are tinted with brown shades to emulate an old well-worn kilt stained by years of exposure to the harsh Scottish weather on the Highland glens. Muted colours are also designed to emulate an old kilt but they are not as earth-like as the weathered colours.

Although the amount of tartans woven as stock is immense, there are many tartans that are not available in certain colours, if any. These tartans can be specially woven.

Choosing your tartan

If you have a Scottish surname there is a good chance that there is a tartan for your clan and one or more weavers weave it in quantity. If you like the tartan and are happy that you are wearing the family tartan this narrows the search down to different versions of that particular clan tartan. However, despite the large quantity of tartans now available, you may have a Scottish name that does not have a tartan. In this case it may be classed as a ’sept’ of a clan. A sept of a clan is a family name that is related to a bigger clan for various reasons. The main reason was marriage. Female offspring of chiefs would lose the clan name in marriage but would still wish to retain her clan connection. Other clan names were simply small clans that sought the protection of a bigger clan. So, the sept clans then and now have the right to wear the badges, crests and tartans of another, bigger clan.

If your surname does not link to any tartan, the next step is to look back at each maiden name on the maternal side beginning with your mother. This can often throw up new possibilities for family tartans.

If you have by this stage found no related tartan to your name or have a dislike to your family tartan, then you can choose any tartan! There are many generic tartans such as ‘Scotland Forever‘ that are designed to be a tartan for all, although in truth anyone can wear a clan tartan that they like the look of.

The Tartan Authority is the official body that all tartans must be registered with. You can learn more about clans, tartan and view for yourself hundreds of tartans on the Tartan Authority website.

Special Weave Cloth

Another scenario may be that the Clan tartan exists but is not commercially woven. If this is the case, it may be available in our ‘Old and Rare’ collection. This range covers more unusual tartans but there is a surcharge. We can also have the cloth specially woven.

In part two of this special guide we’ll look at The Structure of the Kilt, Costs and Typical Timescales

New guides are added regularly. All our buyers guides are available in our Buyer’s Guide section. We strongly encourage your comments and feedback: