When sewing tartans the bolder stripes are your friends, you do not want to make them vanish but make them the centre of the panels.

First you need to measure and mark the over apron, the fabric needed for tapering, the under apron pleat, then the deeper fold at the left of the first panel and finally locate the stripes which will be the centre of the first and second visible panels.

To sew panels with the bold stripe centred, fold the tartan right side inside and pin along two adjacent central red stripes, between the yellow ones. Make sure that the fabric matches up at the horisontal stripes. Now mark with chalk or soap the start of the sewing line at the base of the fell one inch from the centre of the red stripe towards the fold, so there will be one inch that side of the red stripe. Now mark the line you will sew up to the waist, moving it towards the red stripe by half of the amount you need to narrow each panel at the waist.

Sew the two layers together. This is the right hand side of the first panel of the kilt after the apron. You will do the left hand side later.

Mark the fold at the waist and base of the fell with a pin - then bring the fold to the stitching line, so you have half of the fabric to each side of the seam. Press the fabric into two equal 'wings' and baste them at the lower edge and just below the fell.

Now you repeat the same process to sew along the other side of the panel, and you should have a complete box pleat 2 inches wide at the base of the fell narrowing to the waist, and half of the next pleat.

Work along the fabric creating panels, basting as you go, then give a second harder pressing once all the folds have been made. Then you can concentrate on the aprons, under apron pleats and larger folds at the edges of the pleats.

You will have to join the two halves of the material together into one strip. I try to put the join to the left of the centre back so as to allow extra fabric for the shaping of the apron and centering the pattern. The under apron usually has a straight edge so the second half of the kilt takes slightly less fabric than the first. I make the join an inner fold of a pleat.