Posted in News - 2008 News Archive

Aspiring kilt-maker not fazed by years of apprenticeship

By Laura Fraser - The Chronicle Herald Limited

ST. ANNS — Christine Cann could become a doctor about as quickly as she could a kilt-maker. The Baddeck Bay woman has worked under kilt-maker Ann Cantwell for two years and will spend the next five stitching, pleating and learning about the tartans she’ll use once she becomes a full-fledged artisan

Not many people realize how much time goes into learning the trade, Ms. Cann said while showing a reporter around her sunlit studio at the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts.

"When I accepted the position, I knew it would be a commitment," she said. "It was going to be a career choice and not just another job. It’s kind of a more offbeat career path, but . . . I wanted to stay in Cape Breton (instead of) going out west, so it’s nice to have an opportunity to do something I love here."

Ms. Cann, 30, grew up in Cape Breton but says she never really connected to her Celtic roots until she started listening to the Rankin Family singing on the radio in her teen years.

Most people have been encouraging about her career move, she said, although some have half-jokingly told her she might be better off going to medical school or getting a PhD.

But even though she thought she had applied for a seamstress position two years ago, she says she doesn’t regret her decision to stay.

"When I came for the interview (here), I found out it was actually for a kilt-maker and I thought, "Hmm, that’s kind of cool."

Much of those first two years was spent identifying the more popular tartans and learning the history of their clans.

She’s since watched grown men cry as they put on a kilt for the first time. As the belt buckle clips in, securing at least eight heavy metres of tartan, unknown Scottish ghosts sometimes reflect out of the man’s misty eyes.

Ms. Cantwell said she and her apprentice have seen people find their ancestry in what looks like only patches of colour and stripes.

"It’s almost eerie, really," the teacher said. "We had a Russian come in here this summer and he couldn’t speak a word of English."

"Thankfully, he had a translator," Ms. Cann interrupted.

"He had a real deep desire to try on a kilt, and so we dressed him all up and he got very emotional," the teacher continued.

"So I told him that somewhere along the lines, some Scotsperson travelled to Russia and that there was a connection. But he must have had an ancestor . . . from Scotland to have that feeling, you know. And you’ll often hear that from customers, they’ll just have this feeling."

The apprentice and her teacher shared their stories in tandem, seamlessly filling in each other’s blanks. Last summer, Ms. Cann made her first kilt. It turned into a 40-hour project.

"I only hope to improve," she said, adding that her teacher usually finishes a kilt in about half that time. "Some people will attempt to make a kilt from reading a book, but I’m really glad I had Ann here. There’s a lot of questions and you can’t get answers from a book. You have to learn from someone with experience."

Ms. Cantwell has worked as a kilt-maker for 13 years. She studied under a master kilt-maker at the Gaelic college and says she’s proud to pass on the art to a new student.

The two women share a studio filled with metres of multicoloured tartans. One half-finished kilt sat on the table, folded into about 10 pleats. The finished kilt would contain about 5,000 stitches.

To sew those with a machine would be cheating, Ms. Cann said. Part of the job is to keep the traditional methods alive.

"Doing it this way, well, it’s an art," she said. "And for me, it’s a labour of love."

Copyright © 2008 The Chronicle Herald Limited. All rights Reserved.

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