Tapering pleats on XKilt.

[auteurusa]

Okay, having completed my first self XKilt in black cotton/poly (as evidenced by my avatar photo) I have given in to the kilt bug and am in the process of making a second XKilt in a woven Blackwatch cotton/poly twill I found at the local fabric store.

Being endowed with what some would call (pardon me) a "white boy butt" my natural waist and rump measurement are both forty inches and required no tapering in the first XKilt. The current sett size, however, result in a pleat and over-apron of forty-two inches when measured at the fell.

I would like to taper but am confused. I have consulted Alan H's XKilt instructions, Barb's Aok and box pleat supplement. And, thank you both for these excellent resources. Yet, I must take all due credit for my apparent lack of understanding.

Rabble, Alan, and Barb, would any of you help me understand tapering ? Do I anchor the inner pleat at one edge along the fell, then pull the opposite edge of the same pleat across the gap to touch the edge of the next pleat ? And, if so, what does one do with the resulting blister fold created on the outer pleat ?

Thanks to all in advance.

[Pleater]

I'd have thought that you'd still need some shaping to fit the pleats into the waist at the back. The measurements might be the same but I bet you aren't tubular.
When you stand with your back to a flat surface can you put your fingers between the surface and your body at waist height? If so then you should shape the pleats to have the kilt follow that shape.
If you have a bay window in front then the kilt aprons should fall vertically from the outermost arc. That will make the actual size of the kilt larger than the minimum circumference as found by the tape measure, but the kilt is a skirt and must abide by the rules of skirt making and the law of gravity.

I don't see why the size of the set would mean that the kilt turned out larger than intended. These are box pleats, usually they are made with some feature in the tartan as a centreline. You can make the visible panels smaller and have the inner folds overlapping behind it in order to put more fabric into them, or jut tweak the division between pleats and aprons and have the edge of the pleats an inch further around to the front each side - no one would notice that.

Do make good deep pleats beneath both aprons for ease of movement and sitting down.


To taper the pleats the top of the panel, the outer part of the box pleat, is narrowed. You can do that by moving the fold towards the middle of the panel - though that will make the edge longer than the middle - it is the infamous hypotenuse of a right angled triangle, so to get the fell to lie in a smooth curve you might need to cut the fabric on the inside of the kilt to release the tension.

Another option is to overlap the outer folds.

A lot depends on what material you are using. A cloth which is finely woven tends to be less willing to distort than one with coarser threads. A wool or wool blend can be pressed to shape it but a cotton is unlikely to be compliant.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[auteurusa]

Pleater,
Thanks so much for your suggestions.

The pleat size in the XKilt suggested a 3" outer, and a 5 1/4" inner box. Which was easy, when I think back on it, to follow in a solid color self kilt. But, temptation toward tradition beckoned I tangle in tartan that has a 3 1/4" sett. Spread across eight outer box pleats resulted in the nearest measurement at forty-two inches to the target of s forty inch natural waist.

I may follow your wise suggestion to pleat to the stripe with the remaining fabric on my next (future) kilt. Wow, so that's how the kilt bug bites !

The inner curve at the small of the back shaping, does that mean I should spread the taper from the center back inner pleat as well as at the hips ?

I've included a deep 12" under apron pleat, whose importance I now understand having worn the first XKilt, and, as you say, for ease of movement and sitting down. Think I'll sew down the fold on that under apron pleat to keep it from pooching when I walk.

I take your point regarding the weight weave. This fine cotton is lighter even than the twill used to make men's pants and my first XKilt. It is less than compliant hiding nothing. Perhaps the answer is to spread the minimal taper I need across all but the first two front facing apron pleats. Oh someday, to have a wool and the weather to wear it !

I've attempted to upload photos of the build in process, but this seems blocked in a way the avatar photo was not.

Thank you, Pleater.

[auteurusa]

On second thought, maybe I'll just pinch the outer box pleat inward and toward the half inch gap between the inner fold pleats rather than trying to overlap inner pleat edge to inner pleat edge. That would hide the resulting blister on the inside fold. That, if I understand, is what you suggested in the fourth paragraph.

[Alan H]

I'm late to this party but it appears that you have figured something out.

Anne has a point. The measurements may be the same, but you're not a cylinder. So THINK about tapering. You'll probably want some taper in the pleats, and a correspondingly larger hip measurement in the aprons.

[Pleater]

You are trying to pleat to the set? Ah - I see - I have done a few kilts to the sett now, but I like centred stripes so I wasn't quite visualising the problem.

I also tend to use pliable fabrics, so I can get away with more easing than a city financier. If your fabric is very rigid then putting the taper at the outer edges is probably going to give a better fit.

It is only experience and experiment which will get you to where you can shape garments to fit perfectly. If you keep notes about how much and where you put in the tapers and a reminder of what fabric you were working with then it should not be too painful a process.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[auteurusa]

Anne, and Alan,
Your insights are much appreciated. Somehow I got away without tapering in the much heavier self kilt. This tartan is much lighter weight than most woolens, I am sure. And It's more forgiving in the sewing than heavier cotton, yet also more demanding in the construction given shaping and alignment.

I decided to pinch the outer pleats inward and toward the gap provided between the inner pleat spacing. Given the sett size and natural waist measurements there are only eight pleats. So, I spread out the two inches for tapering along the four back pleats as the two forward facing pleats on either apron side (the front four) were visibly less forgiving.

I am taking notes. It's also funny I keep returning to the first kilt for reference.

You must imagine how useful it is to bounce ideas of your experiences.

Sincerely,
Jim.

[Pleater]

These days I make reverse Kingussie style kilts and I find that I don't need to sew in shaping - with wool blend or all wool fabrics which swing well I can get away with just sewing the top edge onto a waistband with reinforcement included. More rigid fabrics might not accommodate enough distortion as happily, but I tend to avoid them these days.

With knife pleats all facing the same way the pleats skew, opening out untidily, but the mirror image pleats pointing to the centre back somehow counter the tendency.

The style also allows me to ride my bicycle and satisfies my liking of symmetry which a normal kilt doesn't have - a box pleated kilt is fairly neutral, but the way the pleats of the reverse Kingussie wrap around like the feathers on a bird's wings is very pleasing to my mind. There is probably some acronym for the condition, but it seems harmless enough.

You might like to give it a try - particularly for a kilt to wear when hiking as the pleats do not snag.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[auteurusa]

Anne,
Thanks for the suggestion. Does the reverse in the Kingussie refer to the center back box pleat amidst knife pleating on either side being exposed as in a standard box pleat, or does the reverse bury, as it were, the box such that only knife pleats are seen to face one another ?

Oh, and does that rear center box eliminate tapering elsewhere (perhaps it functions as an "A" shaped pleat whose angles are dictated by the amount of tapering required) ?

I've seen so few Kingussie's in person. They are unique, and aesthetically refreshing.

Sincerely,
Jim.

[Pleater]

The Kingussie has a box pleat centre back and the knife pleats point forwards, which I find a nuisance as I wear my kilts out in the heathland and they snag very easily.

The reverse Kingussie has the pleats pointing backwards and the centre back is an inverted box peat which makes riding my bike easy. The inverted box pleat is hidden behind the knife pleats.

I do not know why the style of pleating seems to negate the need to sew in tapers, but having spent time between mirrors checking how the pleats lie, for me at least there is no need.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: