Hats off..

[Kilted Taper]

To all of you that have made your own kilts, and to Barb for her fantastic book. I purchased her book for my mother (avid sewer, co-owns a sewing shop, etc). I had never once seen her defeated by a project, until now. She sent the book to me so that I could take a look at it....WOW...very detailed and very involved.

Maybe one say I'll be brave enough to tackle it myself!

[Barb T]

You always know where you (or your mom) can come with questions!

And, there are quite a few guys on this forum who have successfully made kilts using the instructions in the book. In some ways, I think it's actually easier if you _aren't_ an expert seamstress, because kilts are just not sewn the way _anything_ else is sewn!

Barb

[Pleater]

I think that for most people who are used to ordinary dressmaking all that cloth is just so intimidating.

I find that - particularly as I use pieced together strips, the first thing to do is to put in pleats to control all that length and get the pleats in the right place on the cloth.

If the cloth is a bit skimpy then getting an extra pleat or two by fitting the pleats onto the cloth with greatest economy is important.

Working with strips does mean you can have - say four strips of 54 inches, and work on them individually which is easier than in one piece.

You can pinch a few inches from the under apron and extend the apron if necessary by shuffling the joins to the left (as viewed from the right side) so they are not symetrical.

It can seem like a bit job to convert all that cloth into a kilt - but with a systematic approach it can easily be broken down into smaller sections, and then it is just a matter of time to complete each section of the work.

Once the hem (if required) is done I either tack or permanently sew the edges of the pleats, and then press the individual pleats along the visible edge before putting them into place using safety pins, both at the waist and at the hem. That seems to get things under control and the thing now looks like a kilt, it can be tried on and adjusted. I sew the joins together. I try to make them as the back fold of a pleat, and sew them from hip to hem. When the supression to the waist is done I press them flat and sew them down. The lower part is sewn at the same distance from the edge, at the top the narrowing to the waist means that the outer part is sewn down with the same seam allowance, but the inner part has a seam allowance which increases towards the top. It can be cut off or left, whatever you find works best.

It might be an idea to find an old sheet, tear it into strips and practise on that before trying out the technique on anything expensive.

I think that having regularly tackled household things such as curtains and make patchwork quilts by hand I am simply not intimidated by however many yards of fabric.

[Southern Breeze]

I've made two kilts, one canvas and the other in tartan. It's given me the highest respect for those who do it as a profession.

[UmAnOnion]

I am in the midst of working on kilt #8 for myself. and asking myself why in the hell am i doing this again...

Having made dresses, suits, shirts and the like in the past, kilt making - even on the casual level - is quite a challenge and i greatly admire & respect and am in deep awe of those who do it full time...

Hats off indeed!!!