US Bicentennial In Progress

[Barb T]

That's looking VERY nice. I had considered buying some of that fabric and having one of our resident Kilt Makers here sew it up. But, I haven't seen the fabric on Ebay in a bit.

Lochcarron no longer weaves it, and I have been unable to find anyone else who carries it as part of their regular stock. I discovered this because my future son-in-law chose this tartan for his wedding kilt, and I tried to order it from Lochcarron. Luckily, I negotiated a great swap with McWages on this forum - he had gotten a bunch on EBay awhile back, and he swapped me an 8-yard kilt length for two 4-yard pieces of tartan that he'd been wanting and that I ordered from Lochcarron.

So, if you've got a piece of Bicentennial, consider yourself lucky!!

I'll post pictures after their wedding in June.

***BTW KT - did you use an even or an odd # of pleats?? This is one of the few kilts I've made with an even # of pleats and without a center back pleat, because both the red/white block and the blue block with the double white stripe were too big for one centered pleat without losing too much of the pattern in the taper toward the waist. The center back of the kilt actually lies between two pleats in the middle of the back. If my question is confusing to anyone, just holler, and I'll post a pic tomorrow.

B

[Kilted Taper]

***BTW KT - did you use an even or an odd # of pleats?? This is one of the few kilts I've made with an even # of pleats and without a center back pleat, because both the red/white block and the blue block with the double white stripe were too big for one centered pleat without losing too much of the pattern in the taper toward the waist. The center back of the kilt actually lies between two pleats in the middle of the back. If my question is confusing to anyone, just holler, and I'll post a pic tomorrow.

B

Pleae post a pic. I am working with an odd number of pleats. I had huge issues trying to determine the pleats and how to match my center back stripe. I finally threw my hands in the air and just said do what you can. I got close, but was a little off, due to the taper. From a distance I am sure no one will notice. I picked a tough one to do my first pleating to the sett.

[Barb T]

Hi KT and others

The issue with the Bicentennial tartan (as KT has discovered!) is that neither the red/white block nor the blue block with the double white stripe makes a good center back pleat. The red/white block (see tartan scan below) is about an inch and a quarter wide. Pleats are typically 3/4-7/8" at the hips, and if you try to make a center back pleat out of that you have to split it up. If the pleat has any taper at all, you'll lose stripes on the edges of the pleats between the hips and the waist, which isn't ideal (when you pleat a kilt, you try to accommodate any taper in a solid color block so that little stripes don't peter out).

OK, so we try the blue block with the white stripes. Unfortunately, it's exactly an inch from the edge of one white stripe to the edge of the other, and it's less than 5/8" between them. Grrr. Even at the hips, you can't make one pleat that has either only the blue between the white or both white stripes in one pleat. The pleat edges would have to lie in the white stripe (which is tough to do well), and the stripes would vanish by the time you got to the top of the kilt.

I finally decided to have an even number of pleats, putting a pleat with one of the white stripes on each side of the center back (see below). I centered the white stripe in each of the pleats, and it looks fine.

Tough tartan to start with, KT!

Cheers,

Barb

[mddock58]

So Barb,
Is this going to wind up as an example of one of those "difficult tartans" in your update?

[Barb T]

So Barb,
Is this going to wind up as an example of one of those "difficult tartans" in your update?

You bet!!

Barb

[MacWage]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/btewksbu/Bicentennialtartan.jpg[/img]

HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I recongnize that MATERIAL!!!!!!
I wonder where she got it from????


Actually, that is a difficult tartan to work with, but REALLY nice in person. It looks bright in virtually every pic I've seen, but I LOVE the colors in person.

I have not begun mine yet, I just can't decide how to do it in box-pleats. If I do it it stripe, to red or blue? So, I might just make it to 1.5 repeats and box pleat to sett (centered on blue, of course)!
(who thought making kilts was SO MUCH MATH!!!!)

Eagerly awaiting the other half of the sweet "deal!"
(I'm just glad BOTH of us think it was such a great deal!!!)

[Barb T]

!

Actually, that is a difficult tartan to work with, but REALLY nice in person. It looks bright in virtually every pic I've seen, but I LOVE the colors in person.

And it's a good illustration of how the overall impression of a tartan changes with distance. Up close, the red dominates. At a distance, the tartan looks "bluer" and less bright.

I have not begun mine yet, I just can't decide how to do it in box-pleats. If I do it it stripe, to red or blue? So, I might just make it to 1.5 repeats and box pleat to sett (centered on blue, of course)!
(who thought making kilts was SO MUCH MATH!!!!)

Try pinning it all three ways and then stand back a good ways - maybe 15 feet. I suspect that pleating to the red/white will look really busy, but I'd have to check to see.

Eagerly awaiting the other half of the sweet "deal!"
(I'm just glad BOTH of us think it was such a great deal!!!)

As soon as Lochcarron weaves it, you'll have it!!

Much cheer,

B

[MacWage]

Double post when trying to edit first pic to appear.

While it's there anyways, The kilt looks REALLY GOOD!!!
I am always impressed and amazed that so many of us can make kilts. It just inspired me to try harder to make mine decent. Also, that so many kiltmakers are willing to share the "secrets" to us hack, that we can become actually decent at it.

Thanks for the pics Kilted Taper!!! Have fun making them!!