Homeade kilts for kids

[AppalachianHighlander]

So, my wife picked up a few yards of Black Watch material from a local fabric shop and is intending on making some small kilts for my toddlers for a renaissance faire this weekend. She's not trying to make the perfect kilt, but would like them to not look like a skirt. I bought a few buckles for her to sew into the hips to secure it, but I'm unsure how to keep the pleats in it. In my head I picture laying it out in the way you would a great kilt (folding the pleats manually, laying on it, then fastening it), but I'm just completely ignorant of any other method except sewing the pleats in. Has anyone ever tried to do something like this that would have some advice?

Thank in advance.

[ShaunMaxwell]

Years ago, I made a couple of kilts for our girl out of tartan scarves. On the first, I pleated the central part of the scarf (nothing exact — I just eyeballed it), pressed the pleats and stitched them in — about 4 inches per pleat. Here’s the first:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...11-08-a-42625/

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...s-games-55185/

You can see that she was able to wear this for some time!

I did the second one the same way, only to the stripe — which was easier and looked better:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...es-pics-47609/

I didn’t bother with buckles, but just belted them around her.

Once she’d outgrown them, I removed the stitches and reclaimed my scarves.

Perhaps something along these lines would work for your crew. Looking forward to seeing photos!

Cheers,

SM

[AppalachianHighlander]

Years ago, I made a couple of kilts for our girl out of tartan scarves. On the first, I pleated the central part of the scarf (nothing exact — I just eyeballed it), pressed the pleats and stitched them in — about 4 inches per pleat. Here’s the first:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...11-08-a-42625/

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...s-games-55185/

You can see that she was able to wear this for some time!

I did the second one the same way, only to the stripe — which was easier and looked better:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...es-pics-47609/

I didn’t bother with buckles, but just belted them around her.

Once she’d outgrown them, I removed the stitches and reclaimed my scarves.

Perhaps something along these lines would work for your crew. Looking forward to seeing photos!

Cheers,

SM

That looks like a professional job! Very well done. Did you double the material up or is it a single layer? Also, how far did it wrap around her on the inside, behind the apron? Just modeled after your kilts?

[ShaunMaxwell]

Did you double the material up or is it a single layer? Also, how far did it wrap around her on the inside, behind the apron? Just modeled after your kilts?

The material is a single layer, as I'd mentioned, a scarf that measured about 52" in length and 10.25" in height. I was able to locate the Drummond of Perth version (to the stripe) and found that it was intact. The pleated portion is about 9" wide (pleats sewn down about 4.25" from the top), with an under apron of about 9.5" and and apron of about 12".

Here's a photo of the unstitched Maxwell scarf compared to the stitched up Drummond of Perth, if it helps you visualize the description above:



Initially, it fit her just about like a standard kilt would in regards to the under apron/apron, only it wrapped to the left rather than the right. As she grew, it became shorter and didn't wrap quite as well, but was still a workable (and inexpensive) skirt. But hey, I got a couple of years out of it and it was pretty darn cute.

Once she outgrew the scarf, we replaced the ruffles on one of her denim skirts with some cotton Maxwell tartan:



These days, she's more likely just to wear a sash or, weather permitting, her Maxwell hunting dress from Red Bubble (pictured with my friend Brad Atwood at last year's Salado gathering):



Hope that helps!

SM

[The Wizard of BC]

A kid kilt can be as simple or as complex as your skills allow.

Basically you will need to lay the fabric on a table and cut it lengthwise into the widths needed for each child. Remember to account for hems if there are raw edges to the planned bottoms after cutting.
You will then lay out and mark one flat section on each end for the overlapping aprons and enough fabric between the aprons to fold and press into some pleats.

The type of pleats you choose to fold into the fabric, and the hip circumference of each child, will determine how much fabric will be needed for each kilt.

You will need an iron to crease the pleats and apron edges. Depending on the composition of the fabric you may, or may not, need to edge stitch the pleat creases so the hold. (Any fabric with cotton will need edge stitching. Cotton will not hold a crease.)

You will also need to construct some type of waistbanding to cover the upper raw edge.

Depending on the age of the child you may, or may not, choose to sew down and taper a Fell area from the waist to hips for shaping.

Many toddler kilts are pleats sewn directly into the waistbanding without a Fell.

A basic, home sewing machine should be able to handle all your needs for a child's kilt. If your wife has ever made a skirt she should have enough basic knowledge to make a child's kilt. It is just basically a wrap around skirt. It is the pleats in the back and flat aprons in the front which will signal 'kilt' to most people.

I would not worry about stabilizer or interfacing in a child's kilt. They will outgrow the garment quickly and is not usually needed for shape or swish in a basic child's garment.

[AppalachianHighlander]

Shaun, thank you for the visual. That did help.

Steve, thank you sir for the overview. I'll show this to my wife this evening. Unfortunately, our sewing machine broke last week so it looks like I'm going to have to sew one and she the other if we're to have them by Saturday. We'll make it a competition.

Again, thank you both for the help. I'll post updates and photos here of the process.

[Lady Grey]

So cute... but I would caution against the great kilt method!
I think it would result in a very very happy toddler running around semi naked trailing some fabric on the ground being chased by parents.
(I’ve never met a toddler that didn’t love undressing in public to embarrass the grown ups)

Here’s a link to a simple sewn one
http://www.bethanysewandsew.com/2010...-scottish.html

As long as it “sort of” stays on most of the day i would consider it a win!
And hopefully they sleep in the car on the way home.