Irish national retailor underway

[Erisianmonkey]

I posted awhile back that I was going to retailor my Irish national thrifty kilt to something that suited me better. I have begun. The work that has been done to date is the removal of the waistband and taking out the pleats. As my waist to hip ratio is very small, I am putting all the taper in the pleats and leaving the fringe and underapron edge alone. I can't post pics at the moment as my camera is not working right. Will try and post pics of pleating if I can get the camera working right by then.

[ChattanCat]

I was wondering what the waist and hip measurement of the apron were? Are the pleats not cut in the fell?

[Erisianmonkey]

There's essentially no fell in Jerry's Thrifty's. The pleats are secured by a line of stitching at the top and by the places where the waistband is sewn down. There's also no deep or reverse pleat. I wore the kilt a few times, but without those two features, I had to be on constant alert not to answer the question unintentionally. I'm gaining room in this kilt by changing the pleat reveals from 1" to 2". The sett on this fabric is ~3", so I may find it necessary to sew down the pleats, but I won't be sure until I get the pleating pinned up to check fit.

[Moosedog]

Erisian Monkey-
Looking forward to the reviews. I have "cut down" or otherwise redone a couple of Stillwaters. The 24-inch length means I can redo it from the top and have a more tailored look at the proper length for me. I know it seems silly to spend work on a relatively inexpensive kilt but it has helped me better understand the nuances of fit and construction.

Wallace--the pleats are not cut on any Stillwater. On the Economy (phasing out) or the new Thrifty models less fabric is used so there is not enough bulk at the waist to require it. On the standard and heavyweight models it does make for a bulky waist (Bradley calls it "pillow butt.") They also use interfacing on the lighter models to help the top of the kilt keep its shape so no extra reinforcement is required there.

I'm trying to decide if I want to cut away and reinforce the pleats on one of my SWK heavyweights this afternoon. I'd like to watch a football game and I find it the perfect time to hand sew.

Moosedog