Kilt article in Threads Magazine

[Alan H]

I've read through Ann Stewarts article in the Feb/March 1991 "Threads" magazine and I though it was pretty good. "Threads" is put out by the Taunton Press, the same outfit that publishes "Wooden Boat", "Fine Woodworking" and "Fine Homebuilding". I got my wife an inaugral subscription all those years ago and she took the magazine for about seven years and really enjoyed it.

Anywho....anybody familiar with that article? Thoughts about using it for a guide for a first-timer? I've read it and it's pretty understandable.

BTW, Backissues may be available from Threads, 63 S. Main St., P.O. Box 5506 Newtown, CT 06470-5506.

[Barb T]

Well, hmmmm. One of the reasons I wrote my book is because the instructions in the Threads article (which are essentially the same as the ones in the Folkwear pattern) are pretty thin. If you have a simple tartan and a square body shape, you can make an OK kilt from the instructions, although some of the interior construction that I think is really important in a kilt is missing. If the tartan is complex, or you need much shaping in the kilt, the level of detail just isn't there. I had learned to make kilts before I read the Threads article, so it's hard for me to evaluate whether someone would be able to learn from those instructions. As an experienced kiltmaker, though, I thought they were pretty inadequate. In some ways, they reminded me of the Kliban "How to Draw a Cat" sketch. Make three circles with two triangles on top, turn it around, and it miraculously looks like one of his wonderful cat drawings. Or the American Scientist cartoon that shows a physicist in front of the blackboard with a whole string of complex equations on one side of the board linked to the same on the other end of the board by the phrase "and then a miracle happens"...

Jimmy might want to weigh in on this one, since my comments are a little biased!! But, the kinds of important details that he and I learned when we were taught how to make proper traditional kilts is pretty tough to convey in a few pages.

Barb

[bubba]

I've never seen the Threads article but I do have the Folkwear set. It's good enough to make a fairly decent looking kilt but, as Barb said, not detailed enough to make a real traditional kilt. The Prince Charlie jacket and waistcoat patterns in the set are worth the price by themselves.

[Canuck]

I used the Threads aricle in conjunction with the folklore pattern and another source which I got from the net to make two of my traditional kilts. What one lacked in detail or explanation the other filled in some of the gaps. I now have Barbs book as well and am working on another traditional kilt. I use the information from all sources and it gives me a better comprehension on building a kilt. The threads article gives you the bare basics and if it's a kilt you want to make for "Country dancing" It works. If you want a better quality kilt that has a better fit then Barbs book is the way to go.
All the best on your project.
Robert