The Scottish Kilt Fabric Guide

Find the right tartan fabric for whatever you are making.

Choosing tartan fabric can feel overwhelming when there are 5,000+ setts to pick from and a dozen things you could make with them. We built this guide to make it simple. It is split into four sections, kilts and Highland dress, everyday clothing, skirts, and home decor, with a fabric shop and an FAQ below. If you get stuck at any point, message us and a real person from our team will help you choose.

Good luck, and we cannot wait to see what you make,
The Scottish Kilt team

5,000+Tartans available
700+In Quick Ship stock
Est. 2012Our own workshops
9,000+Verified reviews

Find the right fabric for your project.

Every card below opens the collection where that fabric already lives as a finished, made-to-measure product. Pick your destination and we handle the cutting, pleating, and stitching.

Premium acrylic tartan.

Every tartan we weave uses premium acrylic yarn. Colours stay vivid, the cloth is machine washable, and moths ignore it. We say this plainly because most sellers will not.

100% cotton utility.

Utility and work kilts are cut from dense 100% cotton that breathes, takes hard wear, and softens with every wash.

100% genuine leather.

Belts, sporrans, straps, and hybrid trim are all real leather. No bonded or synthetic substitutes, in any product.

Making something yourself? Buy the fabric.

We are one of the few Highland outfitters that will sell you the cloth itself. Order it by the yard, sample it first, or design a tartan of your own.

By the yard

Tartan Fabric Per Yard

Any tartan from our range, woven and shipped as cloth for your own sewing, upholstery, or craft project. One yard equals 0.91 metres.

Buy fabric by the yard
Sample first

Tartan Swatches

Check the exact colours and sett in your own hands before you commit to a kilt or a fabric order. The smart first step for weddings and matching projects.

Order swatches
By weight

Tartan Off-Cuts

Genuine workshop off-cuts sold by the kilo. Perfect for patchwork, crafts, dolls' clothing, and small sewing projects where mixed pieces are a feature.

Shop off-cuts
From scratch

Design Your Own Tartan

Build your own sett with our Tartan Designer. Because we own the weaving and stitching, your design can become fabric, a kilt, or a whole wedding party.

Open the designer

Tartan fabric questions, answered.

The questions we hear most about our fabrics. If yours is about a specific product you may find the answer on its product page. Otherwise message us and we will answer as quickly as we can.

Can I order fabric swatches or samples before I buy?
Yes, of course. Tartan swatches are available in any tartan from our range, so you can check colours in person before ordering a kilt, an outfit, or fabric by the yard.
Are your tartans made of wool?
No. Every tartan range at Scottish Kilt is woven from premium acrylic yarn, and we say so plainly. Acrylic holds tartan colours vividly, washes at home, resists moths and shrinking, and keeps a made-to-measure kilt at a price a whole wedding party can afford. It is a deliberate choice, not a compromise we hide.
Is the fabric machine washable?
Yes. Acrylic tartan washes on a cool, gentle cycle and hangs to dry, and our 100% cotton utility kilts wash warm. No dry cleaning bills. The full routine for every product is in our Care and Cleaning Guide.
I am looking for a tartan but I do not know its name. Can you identify it?
Send us a photo along with anything you know about it, where it was bought or family names it might connect to, and we will do our best to identify it. You can also search by surname in the Tartan Finder, or use the sept name lookup if your family name maps to a parent clan.
How many yards of fabric does a kilt use?
Our casual kilt uses 5 yards, the traditional kilt uses 9 yards, and the historic Great Kilt uses 13 yards. If you work in metric, one yard equals 0.91 metres.
Do you offer a discount on bulk or larger fabric orders?
Yes. For larger quantities, pipe bands, schools and colleges, or trade orders, contact us for a wholesale quotation. Because we own our workshops, volume pricing is something we can actually do rather than pass along.
Can you help me design and weave a custom tartan?
We can. Start in the Tartan Designer and build your own sett, colours and all. We can then weave it as fabric or make it straight into kilts, skirts, and outfits, since the design, weaving, and stitching all happen under our own roof.
Where does your tartan fabric come from?
Our own workshops in Sialkot and Lahore, Pakistan, two cities with deep textile manufacturing heritage. That is where every yard is woven and every kilt is cut, hand-pleated, and stitched. Owning the process from fabric to finish is how we offer 5,000+ tartans at prices off-the-shelf sellers cannot match, and we do not hide it. You can tour the workshop on video or visit in person.
How do I care for my tartan?
Washing. Machine wash cool on a gentle cycle with buckles fastened, inside out. Drying. Hang to dry away from direct heat and the pleats fall back into line. Storing. Hang kilts by the straps or fold flat along the pleats. Leather. Wipe clean and condition once or twice a year. The complete fabric-by-fabric routine is in the Care and Cleaning Guide.

Cannot find your answer? Send us your question and a real person will reply.

Behind the bench

How we weave and pleat your tartan.

Most of our customers live an ocean away from our benches, so we filmed the tour for you. Step inside our Sialkot workshop and watch a kilt go from woven cloth to the fit-check every order passes before it ships.

  • Fabric woven, cut, and hand-pleated in our own workshops
  • Every kilt made to the measurements you give at checkout
  • Quick Ship tartans in 1 to 3 weeks, made-to-weave in 4 to 6
  • Altered or remade within 30 days if the fit is not right
Take the workshop tour
Tartan fabric woven by the yard in our workshop
Sialkot, Pakistan3 min tour · 24,000+ views