First time Kilt - little sewing experience

[Married a Scott]

Hello everyone! I apologize if my question has been answered, trying to read all the posts, but there are TONS!! My husband is Scottish and would love to have a kilt, but we don't really have the money to get an "official" kilt made from his family tartan. I have recently become a stay-at-home mom and am looking for activities to do - and thought that a kilt would be a good project!

My question is, my husband is a BIG guy - like 6'4" tall and about 350 lbs. He has a HUGE beer belly. I am wondering, when I am looking at things about measurement, am I supposed to be measuring his waist as where he wears his jeans, UNDER his belly, or at his belly button?? I have seen kilts worn both ways, and I don't want to screw it up or do all this work on it and have him look silly wearing it. I have read that I should pick a less expensive fabric to experiment on, so I will be sure to do that - but I was just wondering about the measurements!! Thank you for your help and any other information you could give me would be Great!! I think I will find lots of information on this website!!

[brandycr]

Kilts are not easy to sew .I love to sew make everything from quilts to dresses for me daughter and myself but a kilt is hard .Not so much the sewing its all stright lines but the pleating and pinning .If you go to google they are many sites with directions.

[Doc]

First, , I would measure at the navel. But there are several different styles of kilt, worn in a low, medium or hi rise to the waist. What type of kilt were you going to try? Several members will say try the x-kilt for your first kilt, I agree. The instuctions are very straight forward. They are in the DIY forum. Again welcome and don't be afraid to ask, but do watch out for falling puns and such.

[The Wizard of BC]

The single best thing anyone can offer as advice is to find a copy of Barb Tewksbury's book "The Art of Kiltmaking"
Available on-line at celticdragonpress.com

[brandycr]

Oh yeah shes a member and awesome kilt maker!Dont know why I didnt think of that good on you the wizard of bc!Follow the wiz's advice find barbs book!

[Weasel Mender]

Being of equal size with your husband my recomendation is "the X-marks box pleat in a HEAVY weight poly cotton blend It worked well for me Also check Tartan Hiker's strap mod for the kilt works great
Weasel
PS I measured at my navel

[cacunn]

I stand 6 foot 1 inch and have a beer enhanced waist line. When making a kilt what you are starting with is a cylinder that goes around the belly and the back side. The apron in the front hangs down straight from the belly and straight for the back side in the back. Once the cylinder is measured the top of the cylinder is tapered in the back to adjust for the amount the back side sticks out.

I would suggest a couple of things:

1) Start by watching Steve Ashton’s instructions on how to measure fro a Freedom Kilt. Steve is a member of this forum and gives a very good insight on the measure measurements for a kilt. This is found at: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=26096

2) Download and read Alan H’s instructions for making a X-Kilt. This is a box pleat kilt designed for a solid color fabric. IMHO (in my humble opinion) I would use a poly-cotton blend that is wrinkle resistant rather than the cotton twill suggested. This manual can be found at:
http://www.modelautoracing.com/kilt/X-Kilt_final2.pdf

3) I slightly disagree with brandycr about sewing the kilt. The x-kilt is a simple design and fairly easy to make. Brandycr is right in that the hard part is all the straight lines that need to be sewn. Non-wool materials don’t hold a pleat as well as wool and to compensate the pleats are sewn in. This is done by sewing a line of stitches about 1/16th of an inch back from the pleat edge. This can be tricky. Take an extra piece of material and practice. I have a foot for my sewing machine that has a foot for making blind hems. It has an adjustable guide that sets the distance between the needle and the edge of the cloth. This makes it easy for me to sew a line very close to the edge of the material.

4) Make an X-Kilt while waiting for your copy of Barb Tewksbury's book "The Art of Kiltmaking" to come in the mail.

5) Read Barb Tewksbury's book "The Art of Kiltmaking"

6) Everyone on this forum is happy to help and give assistance. The various kilt makers are great in the way they will assist everyone with advice they have learned over the years.

Welcome and have fun.

[mkmound]

The other option for getting hubby kilted quickly, while you're ordering and reading the books, is to to check out some of the vendors who are sponsors on this board . . . for example, USA Kilts' "Casual" models, Stillwater Kilts, and others. They have very reasonable entry-level prices. This also gives him the opportunity to acquire the belt, sporran, and the other accessories he'll need for the outfit.

Oh, and to X Marks the Scot from North Texas!!

[McMurdo]

About the measuring question, for a traditional kilt you would measure at the belly button, or true waist for a more casual kilt you measure from the waist, the same as jeans. I think that a traditional waist is best as it has a slimming effect.

[morrison]

A. all above.

ditto


and
A warm welcome to ya Married a Scott.