A kilt for my daughter

[plaid preacher]

Greetings everyone! About a week ago I received a parcel in the post. It contained
fabric.jpg; approximately 2m of Lamont tartan in Marton Mills Jura. I found the fabric online at everyone's favourite auction site. I was initially a little disappointed as I had bid on a piece of fabric in the ancient colour scheme, but it's Lamont tartan for my 13 year old daughter, and she doesn't care a whole lot. On the plus side, I was told the fabric was 13 oz and MM Jura is 16 oz, so I think it was a fine substitution. The plan is to sew up a box pleated kilt.

This morning I had a few minutes and so I pulled out the straight pins and did a couple of test pleatings. I don't know it if applies to all tartans, but because of the sett of the Lamont, it was really pretty easy to lay out one you got your initial measurements, as the green stripes are exactly half the width of the blue blocks.
Here it is pleated to the stripe. Each pleat is 2 1/4 in wide; and I have used the half sett. It may be difficult to pick up in the photos, but the blue blocks are not all identical. Based on the black watch tartan, one block has two black tracing stripes running down the middle, the next has two black tracing stripes running along the outside of the square. Therefore a white stripe is in the middle of the sett. One half sett measures 6 1/2 in, so I figured that was sufficient depth for the pleats.

box pleat - stripe.jpg

And here is a test pleated to the sett. Again, I am working with one half of the full sett, but it seems to work out, and the alternating blue blocks worked out as well. In this case, each pleat is 3 1/4 in.
box pleat - sett.jpg

I showed them to my daughter, and she is leaning toward pleating to the stripe; which just happens to be how my knife-pleated kilt is laid out.

This is my first attempt at making my own kilt. I have read Barb Tewkesbury's TAoK and the box-pleat suppliment, and some days am foolish enough to think I might be able to do this.

I willd post as work continues, but as this is my first attempt, I suspect progress will be slow. All comments gratefully received .... especially when we really get into it.

[Rick Y]

You can do it. Just take each step carefully (read the whole step before starting the step), think about what you are doing, take pains to be as accurate as possible, and before you know it she will have a beautiful new kilt. Have fun.

[Lorna]

Sounds like you're off to a good start. Best of luck!

[Elizabeth]

Looks like a great first project. Be sure to update with progress!