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
Steve Ashton www.freedomkilts.com Skype (webcam enabled) thewizardofbc
I wear the kilt because: Swish + Swagger = Swoon.
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
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.
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.
to X Marks the Scot from North Texas!!
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