This is not my first kilt, but the first one I have made. My grandmother made my first one 16 years ago and it was a bit different. It had knife pleats and didn't fit nearly as well.
This was a tough project for me. The XKilt instructions were great, but written in prose. I'm a "dive in and just reference the instructions" kind of person and it can't be done that way. ;) I spent over 16 hours on this kilt. I pre-cut the fabric too short at the very beginning and had to figure out how to sew the pieces back together without it showing.
The material is a medium weight, poly-cotton blend. It holds it's shape well and hangs nicely There are eleven pleats and I have sewn down almost every inner and outer pleat. I used pins sparsely. I mostly ironed the dickens out of every pleat and fold. I found this to be safer for my blood pressure. ;)
The sporran is pretty much a bust. I tried making it more like a cargo pocket, but the material hung slack. I added the faux fur to match my lady's barbarian outfit for a ren fest wedding. It also helped to conceal my saggy sporran (are you know thinking about my saggy sporran? shame on you!).
After wearing the kilt all day, I found it to fit very well and was very comfortable. I made some mental notes on the things that is needed to do to complete my kilt. The under and. over apron pleats need to be sewn down. I need belt loops and something more than just velcro for the over apron. I will probably use the buttons from my failed sporran.
The ghillie shirt, belt and buckle came from Kiltmart. The buckle needs some aging and "Cymru" engraved on it, but I am happy with the quality/price of all three. The boots are some suede boots with more of the faux fur wrapped around with leather laces.
Overall, I'm very happy with my x-kilt. I'm a little impressed with the sewing too.I will make my adjustments when I use the left over material for my son's x-kilt and my daughters x-skirt.
Beginning of the day.
End of the day after a few brews.
Originally Posted by Kilted in Maine
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