New MacDonald of ClanRanald

[New World Czech]

Will it arrived yesterday and I know it hasn't happened until photos are posted. This is an excellent kilt from an ebay offering by Josh Brown.
I will post better shots after I hem it. Maybe Burns Night with my $6 Argyll.

[AKScott]

Burn's night is right around the corner.

If you are planning to wear a waistcoat/ vest can you get away with clip on suspenders just this once?

That would be a lot of fabric to try to hem in a hurry.

Been thinking lately about kilt related purchases and choices I wouldn't repeat. About the only thing I regret is rushing.

That is a gorgeous sett, you have a lot of options with that kilt.

[OC Richard]

Beautiful kilt!

It is a bit too long, perhaps... I'm used to high-waisted military kilts, so it doesn't look all that long to me.

Anyhow, I myself wouldn't hem it at the bottom, but rather have a kiltmaker remove length from the top. I could be wrong, but my understanding is that removing excess length from the top is the "proper" way. Perhaps a kiltmaker should chime in and set me straight on this point.

[Paul Henry]

Beautiful kilt!

It is a bit too long, perhaps... I'm used to high-waisted military kilts, so it doesn't look all that long to me.

Anyhow, I myself wouldn't hem it at the bottom, but rather have a kiltmaker remove length from the top. I could be wrong, but my understanding is that removing excess length from the top is the "proper" way. Perhaps a kiltmaker should chime in and set me straight on this point.

The ideal way would be to lose the extra length from the top of the kilt, however this is hardly ever done, as it means virtually taking the entire kilt apart and starting again, which is a very time consuming and consequently expensive.So kilts are usually hemmed at the bottom when they need to be shortened, some people seriously frown on this, but if it is done properly it is virutally invisible and doesn't really affect the hand either. I've hemmed many kilts, and I imagine most of the other kiltmakers on here have as well at one time or another.

There are several ways of doing the actual sewing, but the key thing is to make sure that the stitches do no go through to the front of the fabric, just to catch a single thread or two, and that they are not too tight,and allow the inside layer to move slightly because of the double thickness in the fold of the pleats.
This is the usual way I hem, but it's not the only one

[New World Czech]

AKScott: I will be attending a Burns Night on the 28th. This is a box pleated kilt so about 1/2 the material of a tank and my stitching has improved as I am in the process of constructing my first DIY. I am unable to wear a vest as my accessories has not shipped yet. If I can't complete the job I have another kilt to wear, I will not rush on this fine garment.

OC Richard: As paulhenry pointed out taking length from the top would be the preferred method that my budget will not allow. I was just happy to find my first 16oz wool kilt at a price that wouldn't cause my wife to faint.

[fluter]

OC Richard: As paulhenry pointed out taking length from the top would be the preferred method that my budget will not allow. I was just happy to find my first 16oz wool kilt at a price that wouldn't cause my wife to faint.

Well done, that's a nice looking kilt. It's hard to tell the length from your photo. Usually I put the camera on a tripod at about waist height, as suggested by someone here. Shooting from higher tends to hide the knees altogether.

Paul Henry's hem stitching suggestion is great: just like a pair of trousers, but much bigger stitches (maybe 1/2 inch) to allow a bit of movement.

[seanachie]

The ideal way would be to lose the extra length from the top of the kilt, however this is hardly ever done, as it means virtually taking the entire kilt apart and starting again, which is a very time consuming and consequently expensive.So kilts are usually hemmed at the bottom when they need to be shortened, some people seriously frown on this, but if it is done properly it is virutally invisible and doesn't really affect the hand either. I've hemmed many kilts, and I imagine most of the other kiltmakers on here have as well at one time or another.

There are several ways of doing the actual sewing, but the key thing is to make sure that the stitches do no go through to the front of the fabric, just to catch a single thread or two, and that they are not too tight,and allow the inside layer to move slightly because of the double thickness in the fold of the pleats.
This is the usual way I hem, but it's not the only one

Good info as always, Paul thanks. You are correct about hemming done well. I have a tweed kilt that had to have a hem put on it (I am assuming because there was no kilt selvedge) and the hem is really, really hard to discern. Unless the point was raised I doubt anyone would realize it.

[auld argonian]

I have some of the wool Xmarks tartan with the "bad selvedge" and figger that it has to be hemmed before being made into a kilt...probably easier to do before pleating than after but I've heard that the hemming doesn't affect the "swish" as much as you would think.

Best

AA