Building an Xkilt - Adjustment Advice Needed

**federkeil** · 30th March 12, 08:16 PM

Ok so I measured out a 48" Rump and set up the kilt to have 13 - 3" pleats and a 9" Over Apron.

I just finished bar tacking the pleats at the fell line and measured it out. From the edge of the Over Apron to the edge of the last pleat I get 49 and 3/4 inches. 1 and 3/4 inches greater than my rump measurement. In the instructions it says that up to 1" over is fine (as a maximum) and I would be within that 1" based on initial measurements except that when I "A" shaped the Over Apron it added a full inch to the rump at the fell line.

Is the 1-3/4" going to be an issue with the final fit, or should I fix this before tapering?

As I see it I have two options if I need to fix it: 1) I shrink the Over Apron by 1" to 1-1/2", or 2) I take out a pleat and increase my Over Apron by an inch.

**NeightRG** · 30th March 12, 08:30 PM

On my last kilt, I actually chose to go a bit generous on the hip/rump measurement, and I'm really glad I did. A slightly loose fit on the rump is actually letting it hang much more naturally than my previous kilts. As long as you have a wide enough part of the waist well fitted to take the weight, it should be fine - just be careful on your final apron shaping.

**Tartan Hiker** · 31st March 12, 12:06 PM

That will be fine. The XKilt is all about active living, and the extra room back there will not be a problem at all. You don't mention the fabric you are using, but unless you are using 100% nylon it'll probably shrink a bit in the wash and/or on the pressing table.

**federkeil** · 31st March 12, 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by Tartan Hiker

That will be fine. The XKilt is all about active living, and the extra room back there will not be a problem at all. You don't mention the fabric you are using, but unless you are using 100% nylon it'll probably shrink a bit in the wash and/or on the pressing table.

I'm making it out of a Poly/Cotton Twill. I don't know the official weight, it's lighter than my utilikilt so I'd assume medium weight cloth.

**dea3369** · 31st March 12, 06:22 PM

I agree with Nate and Bill. I've made five X-Kilts and a larger-than-intended rump on the kilt should be fine. Just make sure the waist is spot-on for your measurement. That means you're going to taper more pleats or make more significant tapers or both. good luck. btw, box pleats or RevK?

**federkeil** · 31st March 12, 08:12 PM

box pleats.

I ended up leaving things alone.

**Alan H** · 3rd April 12, 08:13 PM

What they all said.

**Joe I** · 13th April 12, 02:06 AM

Alan do you know anything about Military box pleat kilts?

**Tartan Hiker** · 20th April 12, 11:57 AM

Well, I'm not Alan, but I'll jump in here with my opinion.

First of all, the entire concept of the X-kilt manual was to give men what they needed to bang out their very own kilt, with as little hooplah and fanfare as possible. Make a kilt quickly with the minimal amount of material so that it wears easily, washes and dries quickly, requires the minimum of fuss and bother, and can be used without worry in all manner of messy and manly situations. Taking the time to wrestle with mil-box pleats would violate a number of these premises.

Secondly, poly-cotton or similar fabric would not hold its shape the same way that wool does. The bulk of a mil-box would probably cause the pleats look pretty dreadful in short order. It would look great on the sewing table but in actual use I fear it would deteriorate into a mess. Some creative edge-stitching could avoid this, but now you've got a very stiff garment that I would imagine to be not very comfortable to wear. Also, with the extra bulk you'd probably have to cut out the pleats under the fell, add a liner, and now look at all the time you've invested!

All that aside, if you want to do it, why not? I made several x-kilts and then started experimenting...first with wider aprons, then regular knife pleats, rev-K pleats, cargo pockets, all sorts of things. I can safely say that of the 20-some-odd I've made there are no two identically assembled. That's the beauty of Alan's vision, so embrace it and start experimenting. We'll never know until someone does it, and I don't remember this ever being done before.

**Alan H** · 20th April 12, 12:24 PM

What Tartan Hiker said. Exactly. I could not say it any better.

AND

I've never made a military box pleat kilt. The only X Marks guy I know who has, is way2fractious. He's made a couple of them, but Richard doesn't post on X Marks any more that I know of. Richard has taken three of Elsie's Kilt Kamps, and "helped out" at one or two more as sort of an adjunct professor, so to speak. At least I think that's the case. He's the most accomplished kiltmaker that I know, personally.