Still an amateur in San Antonio

[ASinclair]

Hello!

and

[Father Bill]

Welcome to the "Great Rabble!"

[The Wizard of BC]

Welcome.

If you don't mind a few tips from someone who has been doing much the same thing for a while now.

Cotton and cotton blend fabrics will always need edge stitching to the pleats. Cotton will not hold a crease. Remember having to iron cotton shirts?

Your pictures also do not show if you are planing to include taper to your aprons. On this type of kilt it can make a big difference in the final look.
You don't say how wide your aprons are going to be. On a kilt with the narrow style of pleats in your picture a kilt will usually look better with an apron which is just a bit wider than 1/2 of the waist circumference.

And finally, there are many products which are today know by their brand names. Q-tip cotton swabs, Kleenex facial tissue, and Zipper fasteners are just a few.
But, out of respect for the inspiration of Steven Villagas, we usually do not use the word Utilikilt to describe a type of kilt as this is the brand name of the Utilikilt co. We usually call these utility style kilts.

Welcome to the exciting and rewarding world of kilts.

[plaid preacher]

from Southwestern Ontario. You kilt looks great, but I would concur with Steve, sew it all the way down the pleats. After all that work, you wouldn't want to have to start over.

[muttly78]

from Southwestern Ontario. You kilt looks great, but I would concur with Steve, sew it all the way down the pleats. After all that work, you wouldn't want to have to start over.

That's two to one lol so that's what I'll do!

[The Wizard of BC]

The pleats on a kilt made in accordance with "The Art of Kiltmaking" will be between 5/8" and 3/4".

Any larger than 1 1/4" and you are up in a cargo kilt range. A Utilikilt brand garment will have varying pleat widths between 1 1/4" up to 2 1/4".

The apron at the waist will be a bit wider than 1/2 the waist circumference.
The apron at the hip will be a bit less than 1/2 the hip circumference.

About Cotton - People have been trying to find ways for cotton to hold a crease for a lot of years. The best solution is to blend the cotton with a synthetic fiber and that is why we see Poly/cotton fabrics so much today. When you set the creases in Poly/cotton you are actually melting the Polyester component.

The only other way is to edge stitch.
The vinegar method will help but will come out after just a few washings. The idea of a 'chemical set' is actually more of a softening of the fibers to allow them to be pressed easier.

You say that your fabric is heavy brushed Twill. Do you know that actual weight? I've never seen cotton twill woven in Tartan at anything more than pajama bottom fabric.

To find the weight of your fabric you weight a piece of your fabric 60" x 36". This will be the weight in ounces of 1 fabric yard. The average kilt fabric will be between 13 and 16 ounces per fabric yard.

[muttly78]

The pleats on a kilt made in accordance with "The Art of Kiltmaking" will be between 5/8" and 3/4".

Any larger than 1 1/4" and you are up in a cargo kilt range. A Utilikilt brand garment will have varying pleat widths between 1 1/4" up to 2 1/4".

The apron at the waist will be a bit wider than 1/2 the waist circumference.
The apron at the hip will be a bit less than 1/2 the hip circumference.

About Cotton - People have been trying to find ways for cotton to hold a crease for a lot of years. The best solution is to blend the cotton with a synthetic fiber and that is why we see Poly/cotton fabrics so much today. When you set the creases in Poly/cotton you are actually melting the Polyester component.

The only other way is to edge stitch.
The vinegar method will help but will come out after just a few washings. The idea of a 'chemical set' is actually more of a softening of the fibers to allow them to be pressed easier.

You say that your fabric is heavy brushed Twill. Do you know that actual weight? I've never seen cotton twill woven in Tartan at anything more than pajama bottom fabric.

To find the weight of your fabric you weight a piece of your fabric 60" x 36". This will be the weight in ounces of 1 fabric yard. The average kilt fabric will be between 13 and 16 ounces per fabric yard.

Thanks so much for the info.. stoked I've been using good measurements on the aprons and pleats. As for the weight of the fabric I'm not sure. It's definitely heavier than shirting... It was labeled as medium weight. I know that doesn't say much for cotton lol. Too late to weigh it since I cut it, but it's only available in 45" width. It's settled in going to edge such this one as well.. as it was said better safe than sorry after all the work. 🤔

[JohntheBiker]

Hello and welcome from Toronto!

[WillowEstate]

Hi and a belated welcome from sunny Queensland!

[muttly78]

Welcome.

If you don't mind a few tips from someone who has been doing much the same thing for a while now.

Cotton and cotton blend fabrics will always need edge stitching to the pleats. Cotton will not hold a crease. Remember having to iron cotton shirts?

Your pictures also do not show if you are planing to include taper to your aprons. On this type of kilt it can make a big difference in the final look.
You don't say how wide your aprons are going to be. On a kilt with the narrow style of pleats in your picture a kilt will usually look better with an apron which is just a bit wider than 1/2 of the waist circumference.

And finally, there are many products which are today know by their brand names. Q-tip cotton swabs, Kleenex facial tissue, and Zipper fasteners are just a few.
But, out of respect for the inspiration of Steven Villagas, we usually do not use the word Utilikilt to describe a type of kilt as this is the brand name of the Utilikilt co. We usually call these utility style kilts.

Welcome to the exciting and rewarding world of kilts.

Thanks I was wondering on the phrasing for the style lol. The fabric that I'm using is a brushed cotton twill is pretty heavy I press with a 2-1 ratio distilled vinegar solution to "chemically set" the pleats, and I noticed after I washed it those pleats were still there (didn't flatten out at the stitching) so I figured I'd try the same on this one and not edge stitch the outers as well (was just a thought to see what happens). The measurements I use for my aprons are 18 3/4" the pleated length is 26 1/4". I use 3/4" pleats instead of full 1 because the sett on this fabric is 4" and I wanted a little more depth the the pleats. I do taper because my waist to hip is 40 to 45" so I taper both sides of the inner and outer aprons and the spread the rest in the pleats. I also put a pocket on the under apron that's hidden behind the front apron. I lined with the same material I made it out of which I will just use liner next time instead. But here's the pics of the blue