Asymmetrical top apron?

[Mainelydad]

I'm making kilts for myself and my son who is getting married this October. I've finished mine and feel I can do a better job on his, now that I've been through the process. I have one nagging question. When marking out the kilt an extra inch is added to the top apron (pg 55 of TAOK). So the center stripe is actually slightly off center? Did I miss a step somewhere?

[Grizzled Ian]

To my way of thinking, the centre stripe is the centre stripe; and the extra 1 inch is wrapped a little further around the right hip. Barb explains in her additional notes that the extra inch allows a little bit of expansion to the wearer's waistline before doing the minor surgery to your kilt of moving buckles or straps. The crucial consideration here is that, without the extra inch, any slight waistline expansion is almost immediately noticeable as the apron fringe exposes the underapron.

[Mainelydad]

Thanks so much for clarifying that. Now I feel confident that I can proceed without feeling that I'm making a mistake from the outset.

[Pleater]

Think of it as the Christmas dinner adaption.

Anne the Pleater

[Barb T]

The center stripe is, in fact, still centered when you wear the kilt, but the extra inch on the fringe edge makes sure that the fringe edge completely covers the underapron. The kilt is pretty thick with all the canvas, etc., and the apron has to wrap around not on the bod but also the additional thickness of the kilt. This simply makes sure that it does.