reducing bulk in kingussies

[Kiltman]

I've just finished experimenting with making a reverse kingussie. It was made with very light fabric and so I did not need to reduce the bulk which pleating makes. If I were to make one with heavier fabric, would I reduce the bulk in the same manner as with knife-pleated kilts? What does one do with the larger pleat? Thanks for the help.

[Pleater]

If you are putting in all the reinforcement of the standard kilt, then you can cut out the back of the inverted box pleat just like the smaller ones, it would be best to sew the two sides of the centre back pleat through the outer folds. You can do this very easily on a sewing machine if you do it first, just fold the fabric right sides together and sew along the folds.

My way of making these starts with pressing in the outer folds of the pleats, so it is fairly easy to see the sewing line. I also make the inverted pleat straight, with no supression. This was, at first, because I usually had ten pleats each side, not counting the centre back, and dividing by ten is so simple both in metric and tenths of an inch.....

If you are not reinforcing the back of the kilt then I would leave the centre back box pleat intact as it will cover some of the raw edges and also help to stabilise the shape. You would only need to line from the inside folds of the inverted box pleat to the edges of the line of pleats.

Anne the Pleater

[M. A. C. Newsome]

You really don't need to be using any more than five yards of cloth (for an average sized gent) in a Kingussie pleated kilt. So there shouldn't be that much bulk to reduce, really. I see no need to cut out the pleats.

[Pleater]

Ah - ignorance is bliss - I put lots of fabric into my reverse Kingussies.

I have several which are 7 to 8 yards, and the camo one I am working on will be 5 strips of 5 ft, cut selvage to selvage so the pattern looks right.

I will make the front apron with two layers of fabric, shaping both sides, and put in quite deep under apron pleats, which takes a fair bit of fabric, and the inverted box pleat is double the size of the normal pleats, minus an inch or so as the two edges meet.

I never thought of the reverse Kingussie style as particularly frugal in the amount of cloth it uses - but I did work up to it on my own rather than copy an existing kilt.

Anne the Pleater

[pdcorlis]

Kiltman - are you using tartan fabric or...?

I love the idea of a reverse K!

[Kiltman]

Kiltman - are you using tartan fabric or...?

I love the idea of a reverse K!

Tartan of course.
When we meet during the holidays let's talk about it. Pockets are easy with the reverse K.

[pdcorlis]

Fantastic - I'll give you a shout when you're back in town.

Cheers!

[Pleater]

I've been thinking of including conceiled pockets.

When I shape the edges of the aprons I fold in 4 inches at the waistline, making a pleat 2 inches deep, and taper it to nothing.

If I cut the inside fold of that tapering pleat for access to a pocket, there could either be a pocket bag hung from the waistband or a patch pocket sewn to the under apron pleat.

I place belt loops at the centre back and one at each edge of the aprons, that being where I need them, so the weight of anything in the pockets would hang from the apron edge loops. That seems to be a good idea.

Was it this type of pocket you were thinking of, or the external patch pockets?

Anne the Pleater

[Ryan Ross]

You really don't need to be using any more than five yards of cloth (for an average sized gent) in a Kingussie pleated kilt. So there shouldn't be that much bulk to reduce, really. I see no need to cut out the pleats.

Too much material makes for complications, yeah?

[Kiltman]

I've been thinking of including conceiled pockets.

When I shape the edges of the aprons I fold in 4 inches at the waistline, making a pleat 2 inches deep, and taper it to nothing.

If I cut the inside fold of that tapering pleat for access to a pocket, there could either be a pocket bag hung from the waistband or a patch pocket sewn to the under apron pleat.

I place belt loops at the centre back and one at each edge of the aprons, that being where I need them, so the weight of anything in the pockets would hang from the apron edge loops. That seems to be a good idea.

Was it this type of pocket you were thinking of, or the external patch pockets?

Anne the Pleater

Pretty much. I got the idea from the Steve at Freedom Kilts. He has all the pleats go the same direction and then adds another one that is reversed. So when I started looking at the reverse K it seemed to fit well with pockets and not have a reversed pleat.