How much tartan for a kilt?

[Barb T]

Now, I'm on the part where it says I need 1/2 hip measurement plus 15-17" AND 1/2 hip plus 5-6" for the underapron! You gotta be kidding!? for this kilt, that's 43" to 46" AFTER the last pleat!!T.

Yes - you need that much material after the last pleat so that you can have 15-17" for the inverted pleat next to the underapron and the 5-6" for the facing on the left hand side of the underapron. In other words, you need more fabric than it actually takes for just the pleating and the two aprons.

Start by finding the middle of the fabric and lay out half the pleats each way. If you put the middle pleat at the end of the first half of the fabric, you'll have enough fabric left on the second half for the inverted pleat and facings without having to do any extra figuring.

The pleats on trad kilts that I make are typically 3/4"-7/8" at the hip, rather than an inch at the hip (and it's the hip measurement that you want to base it on). So, for a tartan with a set of 7" or so, you can get 25-27 pleats into a kilt. That's pretty typical. It's rare to see a man's kilt with only 20 pleats. If you have 8 yards of tartan, you'll have enough fabric for that many pleats.

Is it going better, or do you still have questions?

Barb

[Thunderbolt]

Well, it's not going great just now.

My first problem came figuring exactly how much material I needed. I have the measurements, I have the sett distance, I know all the information. I'm just not sure how to plug everything in to get the length of tartan needed.

I thought I did, got the material, ripped it to length and left the width WAY to long, I knew. Well, when it came to layout, I found the middle pleat, however, I must have missed the step where it said to figure the width needed first, because when I marked the pleats on one side, I ended up with 17 pleats, ON ONE SIDE! So somewhere, I'm figuring, I missed where to find the center back stripe, based on the number of pleats I intend to have, but I haven't been able to figure that out yet! See, I'm all messed up!

I'm a machinist, not a tailor. That's my first problem!

T.

[ChattanCat]

Well, it's not going great just now.

I'm a machinist, not a tailor. That's my first problem!

T.

You will do good with your background. Just use your engineering skills.

[The Wizard of BC]

Ah, a machinist with a question... Then perhaps an Engineer can help with an answer.

First, a disclaimer---I assume because you are using Barb's book that you intend to make a Traditional Style Kilt. You're not going to try to adapt or change anything. If you are,(other than using a VERY light weight fabric)you will just confuse yourself. Barb is the expert here. Follow the book. Follow her instructions and answers she posts here.
I am not a Traditional Style Kiltmaker. Anything I say here does not count if it disagrees with Barb in any way.
But, I probably understand the way your brain works. I understand numbers and measuring.

So, give us the numbers you have so far. We need:
Your Hip measurement,
Waist measurement,
Your Drop,
Your split numbers,
The total amount of fabric you have to work with.
What Tartan your fabric is,
And it can be helpful to know your height and weight.

When you post these we can start.

[Thunderbolt]

Ah, a machinist with a question... Then perhaps an Engineer can help with an answer.

Well there ya go!

Here's what I have so far.
So, give us the numbers you have so far. We need:
Your Hip measurement, 41"
Waist measurement,45"
Your Drop,21"
Your split numbers,Waist/Apron 21", waist/pleat 20", Hips/apron 22", hips/pleats 23"
The total amount of fabric you have to work with. As much as I need. I have probably 30yds, double width
What Tartan your fabric is,It has a 6.125" sett (6 1/8")
And it can be helpful to know your height and weight. 5'7", 215lbs

Also I should add that I'm pleating to stripe, not sett.

Thanks all for the help. I'm going for a hike now. Need to get out for a while...

T.

[ChattanCat]

So you have two engineers, and an expert kilt maker helping you. I am a mechanical engineer.

Is your hip less than your waist? If so, you probably want to look in the back of the book for Appendix B, splitting measurements: Person #29 has uses the same measurement for the waist and hips.

Wallace

[The Wizard of BC]

You did not say which Tartan you are working with. But I assume that it not a real Tartan because no one has 30 yards of expensive Tartan just laying around.

Sometimes when a kiltmaker has only a given amount of fabric they adjust pleat width to make the kilt the correct size but you have plenty to play with so let's just run the numbers.

Starting from the outer apron edge you will need;

7" to 9" for the Fringe edge
22" for your Outer Apron
9" to 10" for the Deep Pleat
23 to 25 repeats of your Tartan pattern or 6.125" X 23 = 140.875" to 6.125" X 25 = 153.125".
15" to 17" for the Reverse Pleat
22" for the Inner Apron
5" to 6" for the Apron edging.

If you use the smaller of all the requirements you will need a total of;

7"+22"+9"+140.875"+15"+22"+5"=220.875" or 6.135 yards if single width or 3.068 yards double width.

If you use the larger of all the requirements you will need a total of;
9"+22"+10"+153.125"+17"+22"+6"=239.125" or 6.6423 yards single width or 3.321 yards double width.

The difference in the two numbers is to allow you to adjust the spacing from the raw edge of the fabric to the center of the apron because you want to put a prominent stripe in the center and may have to add or subtract from your numbers to allow that. Then in the deep and reverse pleats you have to have some fudge factor to align the stripe you choose to pleat to aligned just as you do the apron center stripe.

Because you listed a waist that is larger than your hip you will make a kilt with no taper. It will hang vertically from your waist. But because your splits indicate that you may have reversed two numbers, I assume your waist is 41" and your hips 45"

Given these numbers you will have a pleat widths as follows;
If you use 23 pleats
At the hip the width will be 23"/23pleats=1"
At the waist the width will be 20"/23pleats=.8695"

If you use 24 pleats
At the hip, 23"/24pleats=.9583"
At the waist, 20"/24pleats=.8333"

If you use 25 pleats
.92" & .8 respectively.

But hey, you've got plenty of fabric to play with, so whack off 4 yards of double width and go to it.

I hope this helps.

[Barb T]

Steve's calculation is a good one and shows why you got 17 pleats in half the tartan. The sett of your tartan is relatively small (just over 6"), and because you're pleating to the stripe, you can get more pleats out of your tartan than you would pleating to the sett.

If you truly have 30 yards, the most sensible thing to do is hack off a piece 8 yards long and the right width and start laying it out from one end. Chances are you'll have some left over, but you won't have to put a join in the middle of the kilt.

Barb

[Thunderbolt]

Been a long few days.

I have to make some corrections..

First, I switched the measurements, Waist is 41 and hip is 45.

The math should still be about the same, right?

The tartan is a real tartan, I got a fantastic deal on it, as long as I bought the roll, so I did. The problem is that it is lightweight, 11oz. Not perfect for a kilt but good to learn with and plentiful.

So, if I cut a length of 8yds, when I go to find the center back, how will I know? Just figure a number of pleats first and use half that number for the center back pleat?

T.

[ChattanCat]

Ok, Mark the underapron. This is on the other end. Mark the 1/2 hip plus 15 - 17" for the last pleat mark.

Since you are pleating to the stripe, just start marking each pleat. See Option B: Marking pleats to the stripe. Make sure you mark the pleat number. I do it every five pleats and write the number of the pleat with the chalk.

Let us know how many pleats?