To alter, or not to alter

**Jim Murray** · 9th February 13, 09:20 PM

This is my dad's old kilt of the Murray tartan, of which I am now the proud owner. I understand a kilt of proper length should reach about to the top or middle of the knee. This one comes to just below my knee, and I have it higher up on the waist than I'd like it. My question is does it look too terrible to wear like this?
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A friend of mine who knows about sewing says you should never hem it up from the bottom, you have to take it in from the top. I didn't quite understand the reasoning for this, but it seems like a huge undertaking.

**Jock Scot** · 10th February 13, 03:45 AM

I know its not what you like, but it is perfectly ok to wear it even higher and would look far better. Remember it is the bottom of the kilt that is important and in all honesty, the top can look after itself. For me, if the kilt fits in all other aspects then I would have absolutely no hesitation in wearing my father's kilt higher up the waist, I would perhaps cover the top with a jacket or pullover though, as high on the waist does look a little odd to modern eyes.

**neloon** · 10th February 13, 04:09 AM

Jim,
There may well be some technical reason why hemming from the bottom is less than perfect but it is commonly done with childrens' kilts to allow for growth. Otherwise, I agree with Jock.
Alan

**Chas** · 10th February 13, 04:48 AM

The thing is, you have a waist measurement and a hip measurement. So does your kilt. When you put it on and it fits at the waist and fits at the hips - that is the height it is supposed to be! Moving the kilt up higher will bring the hip measurement (which is larger) up to where your waist is (which is smaller). This does not lead to a well fitting kilt. If it is too long, that is a problem of the hem, not of the waist.

Any kilt can be hemmed. I wear a MacLeod hunting and defy anyone to tell me how deep the hem is, without taking it in their hands and looking.

Will hemming a kilt make a difference to the swish? Yes, it will. I would argue that the swish is in fact better.

Think grandfather clocks. There have been pendulum clocks in use for a lot longer than the modern kilt. Why have that weight at the bottom (like a hem)? I give you no answers, except to say 'pendulum effect' and that Google is your friend.

If it were me, I would have it hemmed. That way you can choose the exact height you want.

Regards

Chas

**Jock Scot** · 10th February 13, 05:42 AM

I hear what you say Chas, but we are talking "heirloom" here not a new bespoke kilt, so by implication, we are not going to be too precise about things. If the bottom of the kilt is at present at centre of the knee height, which apparently it is ,then we are only talking at most two inches to raise the whole kilt to the more advantageous and traditional top of the knee height, we are not talking about six inches, or even a foot! Worth a try I would say, which costs nothing.

**Tartan Tess** · 10th February 13, 06:45 AM

Hemming a kilt from the bottom is alot easier and cheaper than having it altered from the top

**McElmurry** · 10th February 13, 10:21 AM

I am in a similar situation. My kilt is too long but is precisely constructed to fit my waist (36) and hips (44). Consequently, I will eventually have it hemmed. If my kilt was handed down to me and fit poorly in the fell I would consider a complete rebuild. As an interim measure you may want to consider adding buttons to the kilt and wearing braces to experiment with different heights/lengths. As Chas pointed out if you wear the kilt higher such that the bottom of the fell is no longer at the widest part of your hips the pleats will not hang straight. As Jock Scot pointed out you can wear the kilt higher on the waist and cover the top with a sweater or vest to balance the look. Also, you can leave plenty of leg showing above the hose so the kilt and hose don't run together visually.

Here is a picture of me on Christmas eve. The top of my kilt is about 2.5 inches above my navel. The straps are midway between the top of my hipbone and the bottom of my ribcage on the side.

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Here I am on a hike wearing a vest to help balance the look and protect the kilt from my daypack. The straps are one hole looser in this photo and the kilt is riding about an inch lower. This is definitely a more modern look but the deer and elk didn't seem to mind.

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**madmacs** · 10th February 13, 02:28 PM

I have a used kilt that's 22" long, a used kilt that's 24" and a couple of bespoke that are 25.5"

They all fit... The 2 buckle fastening rather than 3 helps the hang, and the fit in my opinion.

If your waist is not significantly different than your fathers, then the rise shouldnt be a problem. With my first kilt I was advised that it should come to 3 fingers below the ribs. That gave me a length of 25.5" with my height of 6'2"

Yours looks ok to me, If you're concerned, a wider belt will help the look, a waistcoat will help the look, a sweater will help the look.

**Sammac** · 10th February 13, 03:01 PM

If you are going to be wearing a waistcoat then that will cover the top of the kilt so it will not be seen.

**Pleater** · 10th February 13, 03:14 PM

As I am at a considerable distance,

I will declare it to be not at all sensible to advise that something be taken up from the top - when it involves a complete disassembly of the garment.

I have made kilts from all sorts of materials and hemmed some out of necessity - where the material had to be worn with the warp rather than the weft vertical for instance.

When hung up in a row it would not be possible to tell which of the kilts had a hem and which not, unless you picked up the lower edge and turned it over. Just sewing that length of edge is quite enough work, I think - taking apart and remaking is really too much to contemplate.

It seems strange when a coat, trousers, jacket or skirt would be hemmed to make it shorter that it is not right for a kilt to be treated the same way.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: