At it, again...

[Alan H]

Leather straps on, this morning. I put it on and buckled it. Nice. In fact, it's *quite* nice. I kinda wish I got to keep it!

I will take some pictures before I send it off.

[Alan H]

It's done. Pretty much every work sesion has been documented in this thread, most were about 75-90 minutes at a shot. You can calculate how long it took me if you want.

Pics!





I've got it on for a couple of hours, to make sure nothing falls apart. It gets boxed up and sent off to its new owner this weekend! It's nice, a good job for the intended purpose.

[Eck]

It's been great following your progress Alan and the final product looks fantastic - you must be really chuffed and I'm sure your friend Mike will be over the moon with it. Well done Sir.

[CMcG]

As both a kilt-maker and a kilt-wearer, it must be difficult to sew something for someone who is the same size as oneself. Were it me, I'd be hard pressed to let that kilt go

[Panache]

Handsome kilt Alan! You do good work for a fellow that often spends his time chucking lumps of metal, stones, and logs about.

Cheers

Jamie

[Mike S]

It turned out wonderfully!

[GoodGirlGonePlaid]

Fantastic! You're giving that up?!!!!

[Alan H]

Thanks, everybody!~ Yes, it came out quite well.

I've lost count of how many kilts i've made, it's probably somewhere between 30-40 now. Some were barely there, most were at least competent. The majority, I'd say were really pretty nice. Of that ....call it 35.... only about 10 were for me. I've since sold off three of those, still have seven. so I'm used to making kilts for other people.

Heck, I made the original X-Kilt...and after wearing it for a while, gave it to Piper George. Then I made four prototype X-Kilts, adjusting this and that as I went along until I hit on what seemed best to me. All of those went to other people. Panache has a kilt I made him. The F-H.C.A.G has a kilted miniskirt that I made her. X-Marker TimC has an X Marks tartan box-pleat kilt that I made for him. Piper George had a Dutch MacKay kilt (lost it in a house fire a couple of years ago)_ that I made for him. etc... etc.... I don't "do" kilts that I get paid for. It's not a business with me. I make kilts for friends and people I like, because I LIKE them...and because making a kilt is an enjoyable thing.

It's no big deal.

Besides, I have 10 kilts right now. How many kilts does one guy need?

[CMcG]

<snip>
Besides, I have 10 kilts right now. How many kilts does one guy need?

Is Hamish available for comment on that question?

[Alan H]

Is Hamish available for comment on that question?

Actually I expect that even Hamish would agree that he does not NEED his 104 or whatever kilts. He LIKES them for sure.... he's said many times that he wears as many as he can, and I'm sure that he takes pride in his Kilt Kollection, but does not NEED them.

I don' t have a "Kollection" so I just have my twelve, which is plenty. I've been thinking about thinning the herd, actually. I almost never wear my X-Kilt, my go-to camo kilt is the reverse kinguisse. When that one wears out, I'll make another one.

1.) The Red Nicholson, Modern...my very first "more or less" traditionally sewn wool kilt. It's not even worsted kilting wool, it's "saxony" a much looser weave. I didn't follow Barb and Elsie's instructions to the letter, even, but kinda close. There are "issues" with this kilt, but I hold on to it because a.) it's bright red and b.) you never forget your "first"!

2.) The wool/poly Holyrood...I didn't make it. It's WAY too small. I'll probably give it to an up and coming athlete, soon. ***

3.) The brown wool, non-twill "sort of kilt" that I made last year... It's too light. I'll probably give this one to an up and coming athlete, as well. I love the earth tones of the pattern, though. If it were 6+ yards and worsted twill, I'd keep it for sure. I guess I'll keep it in case my PV MacNaughton gets destroyed for some reason. Then I'll just throw in this one. I don't care if it gets tacky and chalk on it***

4.) The fraser and kirkbright 6-yard, pleated to "no stripe" wool/poly 11 ounce Modern Lindsay. I love this kilt. It's a tad short at 23 inches, but I deal with it. I have the material because I bought it when I was making the prototypes for the X-Skirt manual. I used the leftover to make this kilt. I banged it together but damn if it doesn't look pretty darned good. I love the Lindsay tartan. I wear this all the time in the summer. LOVE IT....but when it finally wears out, I probably won't build another Lindsay tartan kilt.

5.) The 5 (6?) yard polyester-viscose Weathered MacNaughton that I bought off of ebay.. It's too small now, but this is my throwing kilt. After I quit doing squats and deadlifts, my butt muscles will probably get smaller and this will fit better again. Ditto for losing 30 pounds. Meanwhile, it's the schiznit for wearing on the field. I'm toying with buying 2 1/2 yards of the MacNaughton PV and making a super-simple throwing kilt. That way I'll be wearing the Clan colors, but the thing I have around me butt will fit a little bit better. I probably won't bother.

6.) Worsted wool, box-pleated California Modern kilt that I made. LOVE THIS KILT. I wear it all the time. My butt has gotten bigger from all the squatting and deadlifting, so the fit is less than perfect, but it's still "OK" and after I quit throwing and drop 30 pounds it'll be super-great again. LOVE THIS KILT. Did I say that I love this kilt? It's the simplest constructed kilt I own and it's just the bomb. That's because it's made out of really nice Locharron cloth.

7.) Gold Brothers Scottish National Tartan 8 yard. I just love the tartan, so I bought it last year. It looks pretty good, and it fits my great big butt, these days. I'm wearing it a lot right now. There are details that bug me that someone who's not a kiltmaker would never notice. When I quit throwing and drop 30 pounds, I will swim in this thing and will probably give it away. ***

8.) My "predator" camouflage X-Kilt. A bit tight right now, but still OK. When I'm done throwing ... yeah, I said that already.. This is "My" X-kilt, and I suppose I should keep it, huh? You know, after making a dozen of them for other people, I should keep one for myself? Panache has its twin.

9.) My Gray Stewart, lightweight wool tartan, 7-yard knife pleat. I will never get rid of this kilt, even though it's really a bit long at 25+ inches. I might re-hem it someday. I made this kilt at my in-laws house, from my mother in laws sewing kit and two skirts I bought from a vendor on ebay. I made it while my MIL was dying from cancer...just being there in the house to support Mrs Alan and her brother during those last days. It makes me think of my MIL, whom I loved very much and miss terribly. I'll never sell this kilt.

10.) The digital camouflage poly-cotton 5-yard reverse kinguisse knockaround kilt. --laid back. --closes with velcro. It's my backpacking kilt. The pleats suck and refuse to stay pressed. The reverse pleat sags out. I don't care, I LOVE this kilt. I made it on my mother in laws old singer a few years ago, while we were on vacation at their summer house. It's gone backpacking with me in the Sierra Nevada for 4 years and has many miles on it. Wilderness mice have chewed on it. It's been in a dozen Sierra lakes. Someday it will wear out and I'll make another one. It's da BOMB.

11.) Hall tartan box-pleat. I don't like this kilt, there wasn't enough material to do it right. The material is much too light to make a good kilt. It hangs lousy. The material was out-RAGEOUSLY expensive for what I got. I hate the tartan. I only got it because "Hall" is a family name, though I can't identify if my Hall ancestor came from the Scottish side or the English. The tartan dates from 1996 or something and to my eyes it's just way, way too busy.. I did everything I could think of to make this "work" and it sucks. It's a box-pleat, so if I felt like it, I could tear it apart and use the wool to make a tartan waistcoat....which would probably be a better use for the stuff. If I had it to do all over again, that's what I'd do, except when the hell will I wear a tartan waistcoat?

12.) My most wonderful kilt...M'Lady Chrystels Modern Capercaillie tartan. I ordered 7 meters of material, but I have reason to think that maybe the order got screwed up because she sewed it up with the number of pleats that would correspond to a 5-yard kilt. I don't know why it turned out that way, the kilt is certainly heavy enough for the full 7 meters that I thought were ordered what *whatever*. I absolutely love *everything* about this kilt except for how it's pleated. Nonetheless, this is the best constructed, and made out of the finest material kilt that I have and I dearly love it. I mostly save it for "special" occasions. And it fits.

That's my collection. Twelve kilts. If I were to add one more, I would make a new Holyrood tartan 6-7 yard because I love the tartan and miss being able to wear it. But I mean...really....come on. Isn't 12 enough?

Oh, and in the box, waiting patiently, slowly coming together one or two pleats at a time over the last 3 + years......the 8 yard, pleated to stripe, 13-ounce Fraser and Kirkbright custom-run worsted wool Ancient MacNaughton. Someday.....

If the kilt description has a *** behind it, that's a kilt that wouldn't break my heart to let go.