Making your own kilt. Where to start?

[Barb T]

Hi all,

Personally, I don't think it really matters what kind of kilt you start with. If you're interested in making a traditional kilt (which is all hand sewn), the only real difference between a 4-yard box pleated kilt, a 5-yard knife-pleat, a Kingussie, and an 8-yard knife-pleated kilt is 1) how many pleats you have to sew and 2) which way pleats fold. Other than that, the entire rest of the kilt is made exactly the same. So pick the kind of kilt you'd like to wear, and make that one.

OH - and, as Steve Ashton and I have said many times on this forum, it's going to take you several 10s of hours to make your first hand-sewn kilt, so thinking of doing a "practice" kilt is pretty much a waste of time. Buy the best tartan you can afford (real kilting tartan is, in fact, the easiest to work with), and think of it as not only the first kilt that you make but also the first kilt that you plan to WEAR. The H*** with practice! You're going to put so much time into sewing your first kilt that you're going to want good fabric and your best workmanship, not just a practice piece that you won't want to wear in public (as Steve said, you don't want to make a 50-yard kilt......one that only looks good at 50 yards......)

[Drymen Kilts]

Hi Barb;
If you were making a drop waist with a longer below the knee length would you say a Kingussie pleat over a box pleat.
Kelsey saw a long kilt in Halifax and now wants me to make her one. She called it a maxi kilt.

C-A Drymen

[The Wizard of BC]

Drymen Kilts,

First of all, if you are wanting to make something for a woman that will be longer than a man's kilt, may I suggest that you look at a lighter weight fabric. Something in the 10 oz range. As this is to be longer than a man's kilt, you may be using wider fabric. The weight of all that fabric adds up really quick.

A man's 8 yard kilt made from 16oz fabric will weigh in at right around 4 pounds. The average woman does not expect or want to wear something that robust.

And if you are making something for a lady you may want to make a skirt not a kilt. A kilt is one of the most complex garments. Right up there with a man's custom made suit coat.
Lady's skirts usually do not have all the internal elements that a man's kilt does.

It will still be Tartan so many people will still refer to it as a kilt even though it is actually made like any other ladies skirt. I have seen lengths from ultra mini down to hostess length and skirts with pleats all around or no pleats at all, called a kilt just because of the Tartan fabric.

[Katia]

The thing to remember about a kilted skirt, however, is that it hasn't the yardage of a "real" kilt and therefore none of the same movement that makes a kilt so lovely. So if you're making this for someone else, make sure to find out if she's okay with that first! (I'd rather carry the weight and have the movement-- I'm not into Duke Ellington but I think do kilts are one place where it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!)