Making my first kilt - opinions please!

[Stilletto_Rebel]

I started making my first kilt on the weekend and, I have to be honest, it's proving a lot harder than I anticipated!!

The material I am using is 'heavy' cotton Bundeswehr camouflage. It's nice fabric but quite light. I anticipate it being a summer kilt. I bought a total of 7 meters (to make a 6 meter kilt with some spare for a pocket, belt loops, etc.) costing £40 inc. postage.



Today, as the snow had prevented me getting to work, I started on the pleats. Kaiser the cat supervised.



The pleats:



There are 17 pleats with 2.5cm at the waist and 3cm at the hips.



Please give me your honest opinions on what you think of them. I've a terrible feeling I've messed up somewhere, but cannot figure out where. Also, should it so messy along the waistline?

[sydnie7]

Is that the Art of Kiltmaking I see in the corner of one photo? Or where are you getting your instructions? Most folks use the X-Kilt instructions for making their first kilt, especially with such a casual fabric. But I'm like you, jumped in to a knife pleat first thing, although with a fashion tartan in wool -- so it's not carved in stone that you make an X-Kilt first.

Are you machine sewing or hand stitching? If you have a machine, topstitching each pleat edge, inner and outer folds, will make your cotton behave better.

Not sure what you mean by "messy" along the waistline. The top edges will not be even throughout all the folds -- AoK mentions trimming them evenly before attaching waistband, IIRC.

It looks as if you have already hemmed it. You will want to go back and re-hem in a few areas, otherwise the different layers will not line up. You can see where the deep pleat is sticking out below the top apron, for example -- that hem will need to be taken up, then tapered to meet the rest of hemline. There's a thread here titled "bits of hem in a properly made kilt" or words to that effect, where Barb T shows what I'm talking about.

The fabric looks great and I hope it turns out well for you. Keep posting questions and the rabble here will provide all the help and support we can!

[Squeaky McMurdo]

I think I see what you mean by it being messy at the waistline.

I made a knife pleated 5 yard kilt out of mossy oak camo (actually I made two, but I took in the waist a little too much on the first and was too lazy to unpick it all, so I just finished it and sold it to another xmarker) I was vaguely following the X kilt instructions in order to get a good idea of what I needed to do.

Anyway, it looks like you're trying to keep the top of the pleats all lined up into a neat line. Don't. Just taper them how they need to be and let the tops of the pleats fall where they may. You can trim them into a straight line later if you want to. I didn't find doing that necessary but I used a wide waist band.

--Chelsea McMurdo--

[The Wizard of BC]

As the fabric you are using is Cotton I would strongly suggest you edge stitch the inside and outside creases of each and every pleat.

It also looks from the photos that you have very deep pleats.
In Tartan fabric the average size of the Tartan pattern is 6"-8". This determines the depth of the pleats. In non Tartan fabric we are not limited to any one particular size but I have found by experimentation that a Sett size of 7"-9" works best. With non-Wool fabrics you need a little more fabric because Cottons and Poly/Cottons are a bit stiffer than Wool.

(Just so we are using the same terms what I mean by Sett size that is the distance from one pleat edge to the same edge on the next pleat.)

I would also strongly suggest that you taper your apron edges. Cottons and Poly/Cottons usually require a lot more taper than Wool so don't use the instructions in "The Art of Kiltmaking" to determine your amount of Taper.

When you taper you will have to use straight lines. This is because non Wool fabrics don't mold with steam as well as Wool does.

And one last thing. You say your pleat reveal is 3cm. That is perfectly fine. But I have found that with Camo fabric narrow pleats tend to get quite busy. Try pleating this Camo up with a pleat reveal of around 3.8cm and then step back as far as you can and look at the effect. Then choose which you like best. Usually, non-Traditional Kilts have pleat reveals of between 2.54cm and 6.35cm. I use 2.45cm for my narrow pleats and 3.81cm for my wide pleats.

I hope these hints help.

[Stilletto_Rebel]

Is that the Art of Kiltmaking I see in the corner of one photo?

Good eye! It is indeed.

Are you machine sewing or hand stitching?

Hand-stitching. I'm emigrating to Australia soon otherwise I would have invested in a machine.

It looks as if you have already hemmed it.

You do have a good eye!!

Yes, I've hemmed along the selvedge and the edge of the front apron.

You will want to go back and re-hem in a few areas, otherwise the different layers will not line up. You can see where the deep pleat is sticking out below the top apron, for example -- that hem will need to be taken up, then tapered to meet the rest of hemline. There's a thread here titled "bits of hem in a properly made kilt" or words to that effect, where Barb T shows what I'm talking about.

Yeah, there's something about it that doesn't feel.... right. I'm going to have a look for Barb T's thread.

The fabric looks great and I hope it turns out well for you. Keep posting questions and the rabble here will provide all the help and support we can!

[Stilletto_Rebel]

Ok, I found the thread Sydnie mentioned: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/l...x.html?t=40778. There's some excellent tips there!

It also looks from the photos that you have very deep pleats. In Tartan fabric the average size of the Tartan pattern is 6"-8". This determines the depth of the pleats. In non Tartan fabric we are not limited to any one particular size but I have found by experimentation that a Sett size of 7"-9" works best. With non-Wool fabrics you need a little more fabric because Cottons and Poly/Cottons are a bit stiffer than Wool.

My sett size is 33cm (13"). I'll reduce it to 8"

I would also strongly suggest that you taper your apron edges. Cottons and Poly/Cottons usually require a lot more taper than Wool so don't use the instructions in "The Art of Kiltmaking" to determine your amount of Taper.

How much taper would you recommend?

When you taper you will have to use straight lines. This is because non Wool fabrics don't mold with steam as well as Wool does.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean with tapering with straight lines.

And one last thing. You say your pleat reveal is 3cm. That is perfectly fine. But I have found that with Camo fabric narrow pleats tend to get quite busy. Try pleating this Camo up with a pleat reveal of around 3.8cm and then step back as far as you can and look at the effect. Then choose which you like best. Usually, non-Traditional Kilts have pleat reveals of between 2.54cm and 6.35cm. I use 2.45cm for my narrow pleats and 3.81cm for my wide pleats.

I hope these hints help.

Cool, thanks. I'll try a pleat reveal of 3.8cm when I reduce my sett to 8".

[Pleater]

Are you sure that the outer folds of the pleats are on the straight grain of the fabric?

I find that pressing the outer folds into the strip of fabric before doing any multiple foldings makes things a lot easier.

I always work on the part of the fabric which will be concealed once the sewing is done, and use a pressing cloth.

Once the outer folds are done I then fold up the kilt to the hip measurement and press the inner folds from the lower edge up to the hip line. On some kilts I sew a few stitches at the lower edge to hold the fold, and provide a guide for future pressings.

I then start to sew the top, narrowing the pleats to the waist measurement.

The under apron pleats are sewn last, and I lift the inner fold about one half inch, pin it and try on the kilt. If the apron edge is pulled in I reduce the amount of lift until the pleat lies flat. This makes a long slender triangle of fabric raised above the top edges of the aprons, but it is easily hidden in the waist band.

I found it really difficult, once the kilt was sewn, to press the pleats hard enough to set the folds without also getting an imprint of the folds beneath showing on the outside of the kilt, so I did the first pressing before forming the pleats and that seems to work for me.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: