Traditional kilt length

[Granite]

Hi,

My kilt is 25.5 inches in length...

[Blu (Ontario)]

Maybe you should do what I did......... Get a second kilt made! :eek:
But be forwarned... it can be a real problem with this whole kilt thing. They're habit forming! :mrgreen:

blu

[Thistle Stop]

Hi,

My kilt is 25.5 inches in length...

Probably too long then! So, I guess the only choices are to wear it a bit high or get it shortened.

[Granite]

Hi,

Maybe I was getting worked up over nothing. I did ask a few local kilt makers what they recommended, and all said that trying to shorten it was a bad idea. I did read somewhere that a 6' footer can get away wearing a 25" inch kilt, whilst someone who is approx 6'2" in height can comfortably wear a 26"inch kilt, so I fall smack in the middle of all that.

I did have it on at the weekend, for a friendly 'do', and some people commented that it looked short!

I've decided that it isn't worth worrying about anymore, it's my kilt, there isn't another one like it, so what the hell. I treated the kilt to a new sporran for the party and my wife likened me to the 'Porridge Oats' man, which went down well for the ego.

All is good now!

[Thistle Stop]

Hi,

Maybe I was getting worked up over nothing. I did ask a few local kilt makers what they recommended, and all said that trying to shorten it was a bad idea. I did read somewhere that a 6' footer can get away wearing a 25" inch kilt, whilst someone who is approx 6'2" in height can comfortably wear a 26"inch kilt, so I fall smack in the middle of all that.

I did have it on at the weekend, for a friendly 'do', and some people commented that it looked short!

I've decided that it isn't worth worrying about anymore, it's my kilt, there isn't another one like it, so what the hell. I treated the kilt to a new sporran for the party and my wife likened me to the 'Porridge Oats' man, which went down well for the ego.

All is good now!

Sounds like a good solution to the problem!

[Barb T]

Hi folks

The traditional length for a kilt is actually _top of the knee cap_, not mid-knee (in fact, I've seen it written in several places "may be shorter but never longer"). The woman I learned kiltmaking from apprenticed in Glasgow in 1947 with Thomas Gordon's, and that is what they were taught as well. Both of us measure for a kilt by measuring from the true waist (not top of hip bone) straight down the thigh to the top of the knee cap. If you have someone kneel on the floor and you measure from the waist to the floor, the kilt will be too long.

Worn to mid-knee, there's essentially no "leg" showing between the top of the kilt and the top of the kilt hose, which looks odd. For some reason, many Americans wear their kilts longer than is traditional, and it's made worse by not wearing the kilt at the proper height. Walk around any Highland Games, and you'll see guys with kilts hanging down below the tops of their kilt hose.

It's impossible to correlate body height and kilt length, because it depends on whether someone is high waisted or not, and how long their thigh bones are, both of which vary amongst individuals of the same height. I've made kilts for small women that are inches longer than one for a taller man, and both come to the top of the knee. That's why it's crucial to measure each person.

Barb

[Barb T]

Just a quick comment on hemming. While a traditional kilt is not supposed to be hemmed, a kilt that is too long looks better hemmed than too long. We routinely put hems in the 16 oz kilts that are made for the younger band members who are still growing, and, quite frankly, when it's done well, you simply can't tell unless you walk up and feel the edge of the kilt.

So, I would never bother to take length off a kilt from the waist. I would turn up a hem (even in a heavy weight kilt), do it properly, and would bet you that you would never notice, even if two people were standing next to one another, one kilt with a hem and one not.

Hemming a kilt is a fairly quick job, but it's not just a matter of turning up a hem. You do have to take out the apron and underapron edges before turning it up, and you do have to turn up parts of the hem differently than others.

Cheers,

Barb