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About
the Kiltmaker...
Joyce
Mackenzie
I was born in Quebec to a French Canadian mother and a
Scottish Canadian father. My maternal grandmother
trained as a milliner when she was a young woman. A chic
and elegant woman, the gorgeous hats and bead
embellished suits she made sparked my passion for
beautifully made garments.
Under the guidance of my grandmother, I was introduced
to sewing at a young age. No cottons for me! I was given
pieces of fine fabric - sheers, satins, velvets and with
those made small garments entirely by hand, and
embellished with beadwork. It was only later on that I
realized the value of having learned to make small,neat
stitches in these slippery, fragile fabrics - no easy
task for a beginner. Eventually, I worked with cotton
and woolens and how much easier it was to make a neat
stitch with those! I graduated to larger garments and
was designing and making most of my own clothing
entirely by hand by the time I was a teenager. I didn't
use a sewing machine until I was an adult and then, only
used it to make handbags from materials too thick or
unusual to stitch by hand such as plastics and mosquito
netting.
My interest in making kilts was sparked during a trip to
Scotland in 1999. What can I say about a man in a kilt?
Inspiring to say the least!
I purchased a kilt in Inverness - from a shop
specializing in kilts since the 1800's. It was a
beautiful, handmade kilt in a heavy weight, Ancient
Mackenzie tartan.
After I got home, I took it apart and examined the
construction, making notes as I unstitched the thousands
of stitches in the garment. Then, I put it back
together, took it apart again and put in a new lining, a
new waistband, new straps and when it was finished, it
looked like a brand new kilt. That was several years
ago, and now many kilts later, that beautifully made
kilt by an Inverness kiltmaker is still the standard I
follow for every kilt I make.
My Dad's ancestors hail from Perthshire, Scotland. They
were weavers in Kenmore until the 1830s when they
emigrated to Upper Canada. They brought their weaving
heritage with them and are recorded in the history of
the township they settled in as being accomplished
weavers.
The kilts I make are entirely hand made in the Highland
tradition of kiltmaking using the finest 100% wool
tartan available and woven in Scotland and Canada.
It is my honour to keep alive the standards of fine
workmanship set by my paternal and maternal ancestors
and those dedicated weavers I work with allowing me to
provide you with a kilt infused with tradition and skill
along with my personal dedication to the craft of
Kiltmaking!
joyce@sonsanddaughtersofscotland.com
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