Attempting My first kilt (Where can I purchase inexpensive plaid?)

[Steve Ashton]

When making a kilt you start with a long length of fabric either 8 yards long or of 2 pieces each 4 yards long sewn together. The width of this long piece is the length of the finished kilt.

You sew the kilt by folding this length of fabric into pleats.

It is one of almost the last steps before you take scissors to the fabric. Up until that time you could take out all the stitches and the whole thing would be one long piece of fabric again. You can practice over and over as many times as you need without hurting anything.

So, the prevailing wisdom is not to buy practice fabric, but buy the best fabric you can afford.

If you buy and make a practice kilt, in the end, all you have is a practice kilt. You then must spend more money on the fabric for your real kilt.

If you have purchased the real fabric up front you would have something you could be proud of and be able to say "I made this".

It is also the prevailing wisdom that the best quality fabric that you can afford is the best fabric for a kilt. Good quality kilt wool is a dream to sew and to press. That is why kiltmakers use it.
Good quality kilt wool of hard spun worsted wool woven in a twill by one of the Tartan weaving mills is expensive, yes. But the end product is so much more pleasing. It is easier to work with, looks best, hangs, and swishes best.

The second bit of advice I can give you is to contact Barb Tewksbury at Celtic Dragon Press (http://www.artofkiltmaking.com/ or click on Barb's link in the right column) and order a copy of "The Art of Kiltmaking". Don't order on Amazon or anywhere else, just get it directly from the author.