OK, I finally got started on it this weekend. I mis-figured how to fold in the depth of the pleats and had to rip three out and start over, but I figure that's fair game for a first-kilt, eh? This puppy is going to be a four yarder. The pleat depth is 4 inches; a two inch overlap with a 1.25 inch reveal. Well, to be honest, this canvas is kind of tough to work with and impossible to pin in place and so the pleat overlap depth varies from 1 7/8 to 2 1/2 (the one extra deep pleat is there to hide a goof) , but let's not get picky. Most of them are pretty close to 2 inches deep. The reveal is more-or-less reasonably constant at 1.25 inches, though the side pleats...I built three of them a bit fan-shaped, so the reveal is about 3/4 of an inch at the waistline and about 1 1/2 inches halfway down the pleat. I figure that'll do for a bit of taper to the waistline. The pleats across the back are straight, and pretty much, more-or-less right in there at 1.25 inches reveal and 2 inches deep.

My waistline is 40, my butt is 44. I fringed the right apron edge with a fold-over of the raw edge of the material and double stitched it. I stitched down the left hand edge of the apron, full-length. The distance across the apron front is 19 inches, and I A-shaped/tapered the apron by about an inch and a half on each side so the bottom is about 22 inches.. I also stiched down the INNER fold that lies under the left hand edge of the apron, though I don't think I got it quite right and might have to rip it out and relocate it. All the other pleats are stitched down 6 inches from the top of the waistband. Each pleat is triple-stiched at the top 1-inch of the waistband and triple stitched at the bottom 1-inch of those 6 inches. As it stands now I don't plan to stitch down the rest of the pleats, though I might change my mind.

The kilt is turning out a bit longer than I'd planned. It's covering my knee instead of being at the middle of it, but a lot of contemporary kilts are that long, so I'm not gonna sweat it. I'll remember this for future work, though.

Anyway, I have two questions. Number one: I've done 18 pleats, and when I drape the half-finished thing around me ****, it looks like I'm going to need more like 22 pleats. I calculated very carefully, what's the deal here? Is it common to use more material than it appears you will need? I have more material so it's no big deal, but I'm flummoxed. When I compare it to one of Rocky's philabegs that I own I notice that to get a kilt that fits me, he put in 18 pleats with a 1.5 inch reveal, so I went wrong somewhere.

Second question... I'm coming to the conclusion that this sucker is going to be stiff as a board. To get pleats that look like anything I'm going to have to keep after them with an iron, which will just make it stiffer. Barring that, I can stitch down the pleats which will make it even stiffer!

This is standard Carhart canvas, the stuff they make their work clothes out of.

I know that canvas is supposed to be a bit stiff, but sheesh!!! Any suggestions of how to lighten this thing up?? Hopefully it'll soften up a bit after I wash it a couple of times (I washed the material once and machine-dried it before working on it) I understand that some of the Utilikilts are Carhardt canvas, are they a lot stiffer than other kilts?

If I make another kilt I think I'm going with a lighter twill material more like what a pair of Dockers pants are made out of, or PV. Well, I know I'm making one more kilt (I ordered Barb's book) but I mean another "casual" kilt.