Taking in a waist 2"

[Electric_Napalm]

Hello, I've got a quick question for those perhaps a bit more handy at these kind of modifications than myself.
When I ordered my first (and so far, only) kilt I assumed that my true waist measurement would provide a nice fit, but upon receiving a 42" waist kilt, I found that I had to pull the straps all the way to the first hole to buckle them up tight.

It's not a massive problem, but a slight inconvenience that necessitates belt wearing at all times. Does anybody have a suggestion on how to take the waist in by a few inches so I can wear it without making new holes in the straps?

I was thinking of folding over and stitching somewhere along it, or maybe moving the buckles, but this is all quite beyond me.

[Arizona Scot]

Had the same problem with my first kilt only I measured wrong thought that it would be okay, but always felt loose. I took mine to a local alterations shop here in town and had them move the strap on the left side in on the apron about an inch to inch and a half, also had them move the buckles on the right side the same amount. Worked out perfect great fit and it only cost fifteen dollars. That five dollars per move. Oh by the way welcome to the rabble from sunny Arizona.

[The Wizard of BC]

2 inches is about the maximum amount you can take in a tank without throwing off the look of the kilt. But it can be done quite simply.

The first step is to put on the kilt without putting the straps through the buckles. Insure the kilt is on snug but not tight and that the waistband is aligned along the top. Have a look in a mirror to check that the kilt is hanging correctly, the pleats are not splaying and the apron not puckering.

Mark the kilt on the buckle side with a piece of sharpened blackboard chalk along the edge of the outer apron from waistband to the bottom of the Fell. This is where the apron will lay after you reposition the buckles.

Now with a sharp knife, seam ripper or scalpel cut just the stitches fastening the tabs that hold the two buckles on the right side and also cut the stitches that sew the left strap to the under apron. DO NOT CUT OFF THE LEFT BUCKLE!

Put the two right buckles onto the right side straps using the center hole. Lay the kilt out on a table as if it were fastened on you with the area where the buckles go on the top and centered in front of you.

Bring the outer apron over until it is aligned with the mark you made and with the chalk mark the new position of the two buckle tabs. This is the new location of the tabs and where you are going to carefully sew them back on.

Use a good quality polyester thread, such as Gutterman, in a color that matches the color of the buckle tabs. Use little tiny stitches and try to make them as close to the edge of the tabs as you can. The idea is to catch just a couple of yarns with each stitch and make them as invisible as possible.

Once you have the right side buckles re-attached put the kilt back on with the center hole of the loose left strap through the buckle and also through the hole in the waist.
You will now make a mark on the front of the under apron where the end of the strap now aligns. You will need to push the outer apron down and out of the way to mark the under apron and it helps if you have one of those big spring alligator clips or a real strong clothes pin so you can do all three things at once. (pinch the strap in position to the inner apron, push the outer apron out of the way and make the mark with the chalk.)

Now all you have to do is sew the left strap back onto the front face of the inner apron. (yes, it is going to be moved from the edge of the under apron to some where on the front face.) Make three or four passes of the thread through each hole in the strap. This sewing needs to be strong because this is where the most stress is when you cinch the kilt on everyday.

That's basically all there is to it. Remove and reposition the two right side buckles and remove and reposition the left side strap.

If your kilt has sporran loops on the back you will find that they may now be off center. You can simply cut them off and throw them away. They just help the sporran strap from falling off really skinny hips.

You may also find that the pattern of the pleating may be off center too if your kilt is pleated to the Sett. You can't correct this and will just have to live with it.

But hey, your kilt will fit, you get bragging rights that you did it yourself, and two or three hours sitting sewing your kilt is a lot more fun and relaxing than the same time sitting and watching TV.

ps. If you stick yourself while sewing it's considered good luck.

[Electric_Napalm]

Thanks for the advice and the warm welcome, I'll save the instructions and see if I can find a place locally that will do it for me. I'm rather inept when it comes to sewing, I have trouble patching up my own socks sometimes.

[emolas]

The Wizard actually makes kilts so he does thing the "proper" and professional way. I, on the other hand, am lazy and just want it to fit quickly so here's how it should be done compared to what I did (along with pictures):

2 inches is about the maximum amount you can take in a tank without throwing off the look of the kilt. But it can be done quite simply.

The first step is to put on the kilt without putting the straps through the buckles. Insure the kilt is on snug but not tight and that the waistband is aligned along the top. Have a look in a mirror to check that the kilt is hanging correctly, the pleats are not splaying and the apron not puckering.

Mark the kilt on the buckle side with a piece of sharpened blackboard chalk along the edge of the outer apron from waistband to the bottom of the Fell. This is where the apron will lay after you reposition the buckles.

I just put the kilt on and pinched the excess fabric until it was tight then measured the excess (only 1.5" in my case)

Now with a sharp knife, seam ripper or scalpel cut just the stitches fastening the tabs that hold the two buckles on the right side and also cut the stitches that sew the left strap to the under apron. DO NOT CUT OFF THE LEFT BUCKLE!

Put the two right buckles onto the right side straps using the center hole. Lay the kilt out on a table as if it were fastened on you with the area where the buckles go on the top and centered in front of you.

Bring the outer apron over until it is aligned with the mark you made and with the chalk mark the new position of the two buckle tabs. This is the new location of the tabs and where you are going to carefully sew them back on.

I cut off the underapron strap and the top buckle only. Since I like to have my third buckle looser than my top one, I can put them through the same hole and I still have 1.5" more room in the butt. Then I just moved them 1.5" from where they were.

since the pic isn't working

It's not a problem that they don't align because I always wear a belt and you never see the buckle.

Use a good quality polyester thread, such as Gutterman, in a color that matches the color of the buckle tabs. Use little tiny stitches and try to make them as close to the edge of the tabs as you can. The idea is to catch just a couple of yarns with each stitch and make them as invisible as possible.

I just stitched it down backward then folded it over so you can't see the stitches when it is buckled.

Once you have the right side buckles re-attached put the kilt back on with the center hole of the loose left strap through the buckle and also through the hole in the waist.
You will now make a mark on the front of the under apron where the end of the strap now aligns. You will need to push the outer apron down and out of the way to mark the under apron and it helps if you have one of those big spring alligator clips or a real strong clothes pin so you can do all three things at once. (pinch the strap in position to the inner apron, push the outer apron out of the way and make the mark with the chalk.)

Now all you have to do is sew the left strap back onto the front face of the inner apron. (yes, it is going to be moved from the edge of the under apron to some where on the front face.) Make three or four passes of the thread through each hole in the strap. This sewing needs to be strong because this is where the most stress is when you cinch the kilt on everyday.

Again, I didn't need to do all the fitting and stuff because I just moved everything 1.5". Here is what the underapron strap will look like:

since the pic isn't working

All I had lying around was white thread but I used it anyway since it wouldn't show. If you look closely you can see the original stitch marks on the edge of the apron. Here is what it looks like when buckled:

since the pic isn't working
You will have a little bit of excess apron that will just tuck behind the buckle.

That's basically all there is to it. Remove and reposition the two right side buckles and remove and reposition the left side strap.

If your kilt has sporran loops on the back you will find that they may now be off center. You can simply cut them off and throw them away. They just help the sporran strap from falling off really skinny hips.

You may also find that the pattern of the pleating may be off center too if your kilt is pleated to the Sett. You can't correct this and will just have to live with it.

But hey, your kilt will fit, you get bragging rights that you did it yourself, and two or three hours sitting sewing your kilt is a lot more fun and relaxing than the same time sitting and watching TV.

ps. If you stick yourself while sewing it's considered good luck.

Don't feel like it's a large project. You should have no problems doing it no matter how badly you can or can't sew. The Wizard's instructions are excellent and much more professional than mine but also sound a bit intimidating. It took me all of maybe 5-10 minutes to move a buckle and a strap 1.5" and make my kilt fit better. In hindsight though, I should have put the buckle through the second hole in the strap when I measured how much I would have to take it in.

[emolas]

that's odd, my pictures don't seem to be working...

[starbkjrus]

that's odd, my pictures don't seem to be working...

Nope, not for me either.

[Electric_Napalm]

I see at least one, thanks for the simplified answer.

[Electric_Napalm]

As I was getting ready to rip out some threads, I thought that I might just be able to fold over a bit of the kilt by the front buckles and sew it down. After a bit of work with a needle and thread I came up with this. It doesn't affect the way the tartan sits and isn't noticeable behind a belt, tell me what you think.

I stitched over just the black part at the top of the kilt, my shirt is covering up the point that I folded it to.

With a belt covering most of it:

And finally, a front view of the whole thing:


I think it should work for now, and I can fasten my straps on the second hole instead of tugging it around to the first.
Perhaps a bit unprofessional, but it took 5 minutes to accomplish and you can hardly tell in the end.

[ChattanCat]

What ever it takes, you are scottish and we do things the way we want. Welcome to the fray.