Too much kilt for £99 ($149)?

[tpa]

As a result of an eBay listing I bought an 8 yard, medium weight wool kilt for £99. advertised as ex-hire, but some brand new, it quickly became obvious, talking on the phone, that it would be new as I was to allow a couple of weeks for it to be delivered to them. I ordered over the phone because a) I loved the tartan and have always fancied an Isle of Skye kilt and b) I was curious to see what you got in wool for £99. They said the shortest they could do was 23", which I agreed to. Two months later after a chasing phone call it arrived the next day.

The first most obvious thing about it was the weight, which was 50% heavier than my other woollen kilts and the majority of this was in the waist band area at the back. This was 2-3 times as thick as my other kilts. Obvious conclusion, no pleat material cut out. Below are pictures of the kilt as received, the material was quite stiff and it was hemmed by ½" and the stiffness of this hem made the pleats do funny things.



It did not feel very comfortable to wear with all that material around the back, so armed with Barb's excellent book, I decided to see if I could alter it by removing some of the material. It is also too long for the way I like to wear my casual kilts, but I shall leave that to my excellent local sewing shop, who will keep it for a week and hem it to my instructions which will also include additional shortening to the first pleats under the front apron, which hang down on both sides.

Unpicking the lining, which was very easy confirmed that none of the pleating had been cut out and also that although the ling had reinforcing sewn in between two layers of lining material, none of this was attached to the buckle mounting points or in fact serving any purpose at all other than to further increase the bulk.

It has taken a few months to find the time (and courage) to go further, but now I have unpicked the top of the pleats, cut out the material (almost 200g/7oz) as per Barbs instructions.
The next step is the steeking. Don't hold your breath on this but hopefully it will happen quicker than the cutting out! More to follow.