Making an X-Marks Tartan Kilt: an ongoing thread

**Alan H** · 11th January 07, 04:14 PM

My goal: Kilt, completed for the X Marks Burns Night on the 20th. Official "Start" date was Monday, January 8th. I have 12 days to do it.

BACKGROUND:

I've owned the tartan for over a year. This is from Run #1. I was going to use it to make my first kilt, but Steve from Freedom Kilts aid "Oh, NO you don't!" and told me to practice, first. All right so five X-Kilts and three tartan kilts, later...I think I've practiced. Of those three tartan kilts, my first was a 7 yarder, 27 pleats, pleated to stripe in saxony wool I got for cheap off of ebay. I'm wearing it right now. I wrote up the process long ago in a similar thread to this one. It took me 47 hours of work, total to do this kilt. Everything on this kilt was hand-sewn except the inside of the waistband, the sporran loops, and the right hand edge of the over-apron by the fringe. I hemmed this one. Here it is...

I made the second tartan kilt just a couple of months ago. It's pleated to the sett, specifically for practice for the X-Marks kilt. The pleats are hand-sewn, and I hemmed it by hand, but most of the rest of the kilt is machine sewn. It has 24 pleats, and has a nice swing to it, though it's a bit light. The material is the stuff that Fraser and Kirkbright has had in their remnants pile practically forever. I didn't time myself on this one. You can see it here:

The third tartan kilt was the Dutch MacKay kilt I did for Piper George. We don't have any pics of that, yet, but you'll see it at the Nor Cal Burns Night. It's an 8 yarder, 32 pleats and it took bluidy FOREVER. I didn't time myself, though, so I don't really know how long that was. It's all hand sewn as well, except for the inside of the waistband and the sporran loops...well, and the buckle straps.

OK, so with all that in mind.... I started my X-Marks Tartan Kilt. It'll be a 6-yarder with 25 pleats, and a one-inch reveal.. Now, I've spent untold hours laying the material out and folding it this way and that and pleating it various ways. I finally pleated a mess of it three different ways....A.) sett B.) yellow stripe C.) No stripe (dark blue area) under a big piece of glass about 2 weeks ago. I've decided....pleat to No Stripe. Seeing Barb Tewksbury's Isle of Skye kilt, pleated to no stripe convinced me....that and staring at it for a long time.

OK, so that's the background. I'm going to hand-sew everything on this kilt except the inside of the waistband and the sporran loops and buckle straps.

**Alan H** · 11th January 07, 04:20 PM

Evening 1: One hour

Cut it out! (I still can't bring myself to rip tartan.)

half an hour...join the two halves with the overlock stitches on my wife's sewing machine....did it crooked.

Evening 2: three hours

*undo half of the "join" I did, re-pin and re-join
*fumble around looking for sett count paperwork I did already, wasted 20 minutes when it was tucked into Barb's book, all along.
* laid out over-apron, chalked in lines, ID'd center stripe, and basted apron edges down..checked three times with tape measure, etc.
* sewed down left edge of over-apron
* five pleats sewn in.

TOTAL: 4.5 hours.

**Alan H** · 12th January 07, 03:35 PM

Mid-day today: 3 hours

Eight more pleats hand-sewn in, now up to number thirteen, with two more pinned in. I wasted some time, I could have probably gotten 1-2 more done if I'd focused super-hard during the three hours.

TOTAL: 7.5 hours.
I think I'm going to get this one done in under 27 hours, a HECK of an improvement over Kilt #1.