sewing a kilt

[manverinyel]

Hello all and thank you for taking the time to read my questions! I and some of my family have wanted to purchase kilts for some time, and in addition I have taken up Highland dancing, and while I can borrow a kilt for competing in Games, at some point I will need my own.

That said, it seems to me that the most cost-effective option will be to purchase the fabric and sew the kilts myself--I already sew a fair bit and while I expect it will be a challenge, I believe I am up to it. That said, I see from shopping for tartan fabrics online--we are Bell of the Borders clan--that there are a LOT of different options out there, and I'd like some advice on which to choose. I need something that will swing well when I dance, but I'd also like something as lightweight as possible, as I live in southern Arizona (well upwards of 40 C daily in summer.) On the other hand, for tradition's sake I am partial to pure wool over a polyester blend. Will an 8- or 10-oz wool be suitable for my purposes?

Also, I'm unsure how much fabric I will need. I know the traditional length is 8 yards no matter your size, but I'm very thin and at upwards of US$75 a meter even one meter less would be helpful. How big of a difference will it make if I skimp on the fabric?

Lastly, does anyone have any experience with a particular kilt pattern that they can recommend/warn me against?

Again, I'm very grateful for your time and any advice your community can give me. Thank you!!!

[unixken]

I can not offer answers to all of your questions, but I can recommend that you begin by ordering a copy of the book "The Art of Kiltmaking", by Barb Tewksbury and Elsie Stuehmeyer. This book will give you all the information you need to build your kilt with all the needed internal structural elements, it will show you how to plan your pleats to work with your chosen tartan, and teach all the subtle points needed to ensure a good fit!

You can order the book directly from Barb, at Celtic Dragon Press, here... http://www.celticdragonpress.com/

[ASinclair]

Hello, manverinyel!

[Deesquared]

From one new member to another...
Be aware that most tartan fabric is sold as a double width. So, if you do actually end up needing 8 yards of fabric, you actually only need to buy 4 yards, then rip it in half along the centre and piece it into one long piece. Makes a huge difference in your price estimate!
That's a very basic description though! Be sure to get your hands on Barb's book where she goes over each step in detail.
I just started on my first kilt, a dancer's kilt for my dd, and I only had to buy 3.5 yards of tartan.

Good luck!
Dianna

[Highlander31]

Unixken pretty much covered everything I had to say.
Barb is a member here and I think you will find her posts on kiltmaking very informative.

Btw, welcome to the forum.

[Elf]

Good luck in this project. Here is a bit of what I learned making my first kilt: First, as Unixken says, get the Art of Kiltmaking book. I first made a test kilt in plain fabric. I used a pleat size and depth based on the size of my tartan planned for the next kilt. Being thin myself, I used a bit less than 8 yards, but more important was the size of the sett. Also as the book describes, if the fabric comes double width, you only need to order half the nominal yardage. That makes the sticker shock considerably less. Again, happy sewing.

[Pleater]

The kilts used by dancers are the light weight fabrics, 10oz is usually referred to as being for dancers, and it is also made in versions with more white or brighter dyes so as to catch the eye.

Traditional kilts are not 8 yards of fabric - though when making one it might need the purchase of 4 yards of material so as to get the sett of the tartan placed well on the apron and then align the same part of the sett at the centre back.

Kilts aren't made from a pattern as the tartan is the guide to placing the folds. Do not separate the fabric along the centre line, but along the line you want it for the length of the kilt, otherwise you will have to cut off several inches from the top of the kilt. Woollen fabric is 54inches wide, half that would be 27inches. I and quite a few others wear kilts 24 inches long.

If you decide to make a kilt in plain fabric, that is actually slightly more difficult than working with a tartan or patterns with lines as the threads are used to guide the folding and tapering. You do need a fabric which has the pattern woven in, not printed on, as often the pattern is not on the grain - I have one kilt which I made early on in my career which has printed lines which wander off square by a couple of inches. That was interesting.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[The Wizard of BC]

Hello manverinyel,

First off, welcome to this addiction we call the kilt.

Second, avoid all the 'patterns' for kilts that you find on-line. They have been reviewed by members here and all of them are, very truthfully, crap. There is only one real source when trying to figure out how to make a kilt and that is "The Art of Kiltmaking".
The author is Barb Tewksbury and she is a member here.. You can find the book listed on line but sometime the price is ridiculous. It is far easier and cheaper to purchase your copy directly from her at www.CelticDragonPress.com.

Barb herself is just a post away and is more than happy to advise and help.

A kilt suitable for judged highland dance is a very special and specific garment. The inner construction and the pleating must be correct in order to get the swish needed and to impress the judges. Some judges knock off points for a poorly made kilt and in some circles to compete at all the kilt must be made and worn in a specific way. Please check with your local dance instructors.

Good kilt wool is expensive, we all know that. Please do your self the favor of saving a few pennies at a time and purchase the best fabric you can afford. The end product is well worth the expense. One source for Dance Tartans is House of Edgar

http://www.houseofedgar.com/acatalog...g_Tartans.html

These are 13 oz Tartans in the Dance, or bright with lots of white, patterns preferred by most dancers. Many, but not all, kiltmakers will sell fabric by the yard and some will be willing to order your choice of fabric for you.This may actually be the most cost effective method as they can order fabric at wholesale and they will absorb the customs costs. Some of the better kilt makers will allow you to pay in installments.

In X Marks you have stumbled across the most authoritative and helpful on-line community dedicated to the kilt. Enjoy and don't be afraid to ask lots of questions. That is why we are here.

[Dixiecat]

First, welcome to Xmarks.

Second, sewing a kilt is a very rewarding experience. I highly recommend it! As previously mentioned, Barb's book is very, very good and will give you the best instruction for making your own kilt.


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A kilt suitable for judged highland dance is a very special and specific garment. The inner construction and the pleating must be correct in order to get the swish needed and to impress the judges. Some judges knock off points for a poorly made kilt and in some circles to compete at all the kilt must be made and worn in a specific way. Please check with your local dance instructors.

The above is not good advice however. All dancers in North America and in fact most of the world's highland dancers, compete under the SOBHD umbrella (ScotDance in Canada and FUSTA in the US) and all follow the SOBHD dress code guidelines. A dancer competing in BC will wear and be judged exactly as a dancer competing in Florida. It is true that judges will deduct points for dress code variations, but not for poorly made kilts. Say rather, for ill-fitting kilts/jackets, unpressed jackets/kilts, holey hose/ghillies, etc., but a judge does not go around assessing the quality of kilts. I will concede however, that if a poorly made kilt has an apron hanging down or if the hem is glaringly uneven, then PERHAPS marks may be deducted, but a judge can't see if one kilt is made with quality leather straps and another isn't for example.

Judges are also very forgiving of a dancer's attire below the Premier category. They know that dancers grow and that outfits can be expensive and are mostly 2nd hand for the Beginner and Novice categories. In a workshop with a judge, it was said that they rarely will deduct points on a dress code violation unless it's a very obvious and glaring issue, i.e. laces untying, hose falling down, jackets/vests coming unbuttoned, etc. Even in Premier a judge is reluctant to deduct on dress code violations unless faced with a tie or at a championship level when a dancer should look their very best.

Steve is right about one thing, this is the best site in the world to discuss kilts and tartans, but for questions particularly pertaining to highland dance, I recommend dance.net.

[manverinyel]

Wow, that is quite a lot of responses!!! Thank you all so much for the useful information. I will start with Barb's book and see where to go from there.