My new kilt-in-making - with pics!

[Maksim]

I've been planning this project for a long time, but only now all the required parts have come together: nice cloth, enough time, agreement from my wife that she won't be needing the sewing machine for a couple of days (she´s studying to be a handicrafts teacher so she uses the machine a lot) - and of course, a loaded camera battery.

I bought the cloth a year ago, so I've had good time to get familiar with it and envision the possible uses. It's a dark blue / "light indigo" gabardine, 5m x 1,20m in size. So, a lot of material to work on.

I've made two X-kilts and one knife-pleat kilt, so now I decided to do something a bit different. If I've understood correctly, the term "Reverse Kingussie" refers to a pleating where lots of knife pleats surround one box pleat in the back. This is what I set out to do.

At first, let me present the legendary Swedish sewing machine, Husqvarna 2000, that has served my family for nearly 40 years, and still goes strong.



Then, the cloth. This is a rather close look, with 1,5 inches showing.



"Well planned is half done." So, I had a plan, and it looks like this:



Contrary to my previous kilt projects, I began this one with hemming the cloth. I figured that, as there's a chance of mismeasuring the length, I will buy some more time with this. And I think this was a good decision, (even though the sewing looks terribly askew in this close a shot).



Then I drew some lines. A tiler's square and a tailor's chalk helped a lot.



Then, the sewing began.







I got this far. There's the apron on the left, then six knife pleats and finally, a box pleat in the right end.



Then I got a look from our border-collie Valma, saying "What about me?"



To be continued...

[piperdbh]

So far, so good...

[sydnie7]

Yes, looks good so far!

I also hem first, but only the pleated length, stopping just where the deep pleats will begin at either far end of cloth. That lets me come back and adjust the hem upward at three points: so the deep pleats don't show behind the aprons and the end of the underapron doesn't show behind the front apron.

But that's something I developed over time, so for a first RevK you are storming right along!

[ali8780]

looks great so far! I'm impressed with all of the planning, it's truly a key to success. Usually I do all of mine in my head though, which is probably a bad idea...

[Alan H]

I echo what ali8780 had to say. I'm doing a really hard contemporary kilt right now, with inserts, and while I've done a fair bit of planning on paper, an awful lot of it get's done on the wing, right on the sewing table!

[vorpallemur]

I echo what ali8780 had to say. I'm doing a really hard contemporary kilt right now, with inserts, and while I've done a fair bit of planning on paper, an awful lot of it get's done on the wing, right on the sewing table!

I thought you were a retired kiltmaker, progressing to boats? Show us pics of the new kilt!

[The_Tailor]

okay, I have some cloth IDENTICAL to that. I wasn't sure about using it at first but now I'm going to.

[Protoncollider]

I want yor machine! It must be the best sewing machine ever made!

[jhockin]

hmmmm, .... another case of KMM (Kilt making Mania)?

[Mike in Dayton]

If your dog is as much of a "helper" as mine when doing household projects your kilt will take an extra 2-months to make. Now where did that spool of thread go....DOG!!!

The pictures look great. Looking forward to the next set. I am collecting material to do the same. Other pending projects will delay me a couple of months before I can start my kilt project.

Mike