Heavy Kilt

**Brian F** · 21st September 07, 06:33 AM

Hey all!

Long time since I've really been on...school has been robbing my time, sanity, and soul for yet another year (3 semesters left after this one!).

Anyway, I am setting out to put my second and third X-Kilts into production. One will be a medium weight Mossy Oak camo for hunting and hiking (and, if I can get him to concede, to wear to a NWTF convention with my FiL).

The (possible) third, however, will be for cooler hunting and camping situations. Has any attempted making anything out of military issue wool blankets before? I used to have one that I used for everything, but it got traded off at a reenactment earlier this year.

A few questions about this fabric:
1) Does it hold a pleat well?
2) How should I go about lining it? The itchiness doesn't bother my legs, but other places...yeah...

3) Anyone got any tips for actually camouflaging the stuff? Olive drab will work quite well, but I would like to dye/paint/something to add a little something to it.

Thanks in advance. I'll post pictures of both kilts once they are finished (which, should be one solid weekend of work).

~Yeti

**auld argonian** · 21st September 07, 07:11 AM

The army blanket concept came up on another thread recently...it'll be interesting to see a kilt made out of an army blanket. Certainly, the X-Kilt design would be a great starting place for this material because it wouldn't leave the maker having to deal with the incredible bulk in the waistband that they'd end up with if they went with knife pleats. The surplus store near me has some grey woolen blankets...not sure if they're US or foreign issue; they have a shipload of stuff from Euro-land...I think that my son was wearing a cap from the old East German Army there for a while.

As to the scratchiness...not that I want to impinge on your freedom here but, honestly, if you have to wear underwear of some kind to keep from getting your wulley sanded off, is that so bad? Think about it...you can always find a discreet way to take some shorts off if you have to but once you have some...irritation, shall we say...it may take a day or two to get things back to normal. Someone will undoubtedly recommend Body Glide and I understand that that's a perfect solution though I haven't tried it myself. Don't worry about "keepin' it real" if it's going to be uncomfortable...

Best

AA

**Brian F** · 21st September 07, 07:33 AM

Originally Posted by auld argonian

The surplus store near me has some grey woolen blankets...not sure if they're US or foreign issue

As to the scratchiness...not that I want to impinge on your freedom here but, honestly, if you have to wear underwear of some kind to keep from getting your wulley sanded off, is that so bad?

1) I don't believe that the US ever issued gray blankets...I may be mistaken, however.

2) No, wearing underwear versus losing my wulley (BTW, that is officially my new favorite word!) is not a bad thing. I just didn't know if there was some type of lining I could use.

3) What is this Body Glide you speak of? Seriously, I have ideas...but I am not sure.

**auld argonian** · 21st September 07, 07:36 AM

http://www.usakilts.com/other_accessories.php

...body glide...

Best

AA

**James MacMillan** · 21st September 07, 08:23 AM

Originally Posted by Yeti

1) I don't believe that the US ever issued gray blankets...I may be mistaken, however.

The Navy issued Gray Blankets with a nice deep blue stripe!

**Jerry** · 22nd September 07, 04:28 AM

Originally Posted by auld argonian

The army blanket concept came up on another thread recently...it'll be interesting to see a kilt made out of an army blanket. Certainly, the X-Kilt design would be a great starting place for this material because it wouldn't leave the maker having to deal with the incredible bulk in the waistband that they'd end up with if they went with knife pleats. The surplus store near me has some grey woolen blankets...not sure if they're US or foreign issue; they have a shipload of stuff from Euro-land...I think that my son was wearing a cap from the old East German Army there for a while.

As to the scratchiness...not that I want to impinge on your freedom here but, honestly, if you have to wear underwear of some kind to keep from getting your wulley sanded off, is that so bad? Think about it...you can always find a discreet way to take some shorts off if you have to but once you have some...irritation, shall we say...it may take a day or two to get things back to normal. Someone will undoubtedly recommend Body Glide and I understand that that's a perfect solution though I haven't tried it myself. Don't worry about "keepin' it real" if it's going to be uncomfortable...

Best

AA

AA, the wool blankets we had in the navy were grey like the ones you are describing, so they could be USN issue. Some had USN stenciled on them, but I also saw some that did not have the stencil.

**Pleater** · 22nd September 07, 06:53 AM

You could just make a kilt liner, or several, so you could have - maybe one of Goretex, and a couple of a polycotton, so you could change it easily.

All you need to do is take a length of fabric slightly shorter than the kilt and put in shaping at the back using darts, have the smooth side inside - so the hems are all turned outwards, and to fasten it put two short lengths of strong elastic, or shock cord at the edges of the waist and sew on two buttons. They will not be uncomfortable if they are above the level of the belt.

To make a permanent lining you would probably sew a piece of fabric to the inside of the under apron and its pleat - something lightweight.

You could use the same material to line the fell, even if you did not cut it out and reinforce it, down to whatever length you like, either long enough to sit on or just enough to protect the rump when standing/walking.

Hmm - somewhere I have two ancient and threadbare kahki blankets I was thinking of making into a coat at one time - when the 'in' colours were kahki and cream.

**Kid Cossack** · 21st September 07, 11:25 AM

Yeti:

I keep on thinking about it. I've got my old "green monster" that I was issued in '92, and it's been washed and dried to the point where it's thinned down some. I don't want to cut on it until I'm confident in my skills, and the new ones I picked up are still way too thick and fuzzy. I'm going to practice some more, and probably wash the new blankets until they thin down some, then try with one of them.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

**James MacMillan** · 21st September 07, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by Kid Cossack

Yeti:

I keep on thinking about it. I've got my old "green monster" that I was issued in '92, and it's been washed and dried to the point where it's thinned down some. I don't want to cut on it until I'm confident in my skills, and the new ones I picked up are still way too thick and fuzzy. I'm going to practice some more, and probably wash the new blankets until they thin down some, then try with one of them.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Surely those things won't hold a pleat?

Or are we talking about some other typle of blanket?

The kind that we had in the Corps, I can't see how they would hold a pleat, unless it was sewn in.......?

**Kid Cossack** · 21st September 07, 06:41 PM

Originally Posted by James MacMillan

Surely those things won't hold a pleat?

Or are we talking about some other typle of blanket?

The kind that we had in the Corps, I can't see how they would hold a pleat, unless it was sewn in.......?

I bet that's the one you're thinking of. As for holding a pleat . . . we won't know until we tries it, will we? I'm pretty sure it would be a very "soft" pleat if they would hold. I was thinking of a box pleat, with six or eight boxes, and about a 2/3-sized apron like Jeff put on the PKs.

It would be non-traditional, but I can't get it out of my mind for some reason.