Corduroy X-Kilt

[Panache]

I've joined the lengths of fabric, so I've now got about 135 inches of fabric.



With some fairly good seams



But, there is a little bit of a "lump" where the seams are, so I'll iron them out flat



Here's the end product



It looks so good, I'm not sure it will matter if I'm not able to hide the seams inside a pleat! Also, I could not tell if there was any difference between the naps, whether sewn one way or the other, despite what the clerk at the store said. Hopefully, I won't finish the whole darn thing and find out I was wrong!

[Panache]

Because the bottom of the fabric does not have a selvedged edge when joined like I have done (and even if it did, it didn't look like it would make an attractive hem), I decided to hem the length.

So, I marked 1.5 inches (remember, my "victim" has a drop of 22.5 inches and I have a 24 inch wide strip of fabric now)



Then I started to iron the hem in



But realized I had not yet "locked in" the edge to keep it from fraying. My tired old machine does not have an overlock stitch, so I had to run zig zags back and forth and a line of straight stitching down the middle of these. Instead of turning the fabric around when I got to the end of the zig zag and wanted to go back the other way, I flipped it over (so I didn't have to deal with all the material under the arm of the machine.





Next, I finished ironing the edge up and pinned it, checking to be sure it is indeed at 22.5 inches.



Next step...the over apron strip with velcro and the actual sewing of the hem

[Panache]

Now, this is a modern kilt and the hem could very well have been machine sewn, but I, as many know, am an anal-retentive, obsessive-compulsive, perfectionist. I did not want this hem to show. So, just as I did with Panache's Stillwater, I blind stitched the hem. This time did not require as much alcohol to cut the boredom, because I was watching Shogun, and because 135 inches is substantially less that the ~250 inches of the Stillwater. I got comfy in my chair, and sewed it up (I finished in about 1.5 hours).

[Panache]

I've only been able to do a little bit today-laid it out and measured. For reference (and I did ask my subject if posting these measurements was OK first): Waist 44", Rump 47.5" (I am using 48"-it's just easier), Fell 6.5", Drop 22.5". Very close to Alan H's measurements actually

Remember, I said corduroy presented some unique challenges? Well it also has one wonderful quality: the lines are already there, so you don't have to worry about chalking a straight line when marking out the pleats. Just mark on the edge and then follow one of the wales/cords/whatever down to the other edge



Here's everything marked-12 pleats (3"), 10" over-apron, fell line (I just marked on the pleat lines-figured this was all I needed to do). Note that my floor is not large enough to lay it all out at once. Also, you may be able to see on the right, that one of the joins is visible, right on top of a pleat. Sigh. Oh well, I was warned, and at least it's barely visible. Also, note the marks for the A-shaping of the front apron.



I'm probably not going to be able to do more today. Hopefully, the chalk won't rub off too much when I roll up the fabric.

[Panache]

AAAUGH! Just had a horrible thought-went back to the kilt, all neatly covered up with cloth on the living room floor and counted the pleats-I only put in 10! Not enough for 48" (10" over apron, plus 10 3" pleats only equals 40"). So I squeezed in 2 more pleats, but that puts the under apron at only 13" (at least I don't need seam allowance since the edge is selvedged). I'm not sure if this is going to be a problem when it comes to modesty? It should be ok, since it is still wider than the over apron. We'll see.

Hmmmm... 3" times 12 pleats plus 10 inches only equals 46" and I need 48", but I figure I can fudge on a few (or all) of the pleats by a bare fraction of an inch and come out OK.

[Panache]

Last night, I ripped out a small portion of the hem, added another panel and blind stitched that portion of hem.

This afternoon, I laid it out again, brushed off the old chalk marks as best I could and marked it out again-this time with a 9" apron and 13 3" pleats.



I A-shaped the front apron again-much harder to get a straight line when going diagonally on corduroy, but the general idea is chalked in.



Here I am sewing the outer portions of the pleats. Again, note how corduroy has its own guide lines so it is very easy to stay consistently close to the edge.



This picture is to show just how close to invisible the joins are between the panels of fabric. The seam is just to the left of the sewing machine foot. Really, I swear.



Here it is with all the "ridges" sewn in-it took about 1 hour, 15 minutes to do 13 pleats. The hem is to the left and the waist band will be to the right.

[Panache]

Today, I started by sewing the fabric with the velcro onto the over apron. Seeing as how this was about 10:00 am, I had not yet been drinking and now understand the concept

Here, pinning it into place, matching the A shaping



Sewn along the top (raw) edge



Trimming the edge to match the left hand edge of the apron



Here, I've pinned down the edges of the apron-this was a challenge, since corduroy wants to be STRAIGHT, not diagonal, but I managed to tweak it



Here it is sewn down-with measuring tape to prove it is indeed 9"



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