Moving the buckles-TAKE NOTE

[Chas]

Dang it. I almost did that with mine. I was afraid the loose end of the inner apron wold sag below the bottom of the rest of the kilt.

Is this a non issue, something that only works if you move the strap a little bit, or do you cut off the excess?

I would say you could move the strap about 2" without concern. If you move it more, the edge of the under apron may feel uncomfortable on the back of the leg.

The inner apron can be folded back on itself if neccessary. I think cutting would be a last resort. There is a thread somewhere here about reducing a kilt by 10". I think BarbT either started it or posted.

Regards

Chas

[ChattanCat]

Yes, I recall that post. The kilt was a band kilt and the kilt needed to be taken in because of rapid weight loss. The apron covered much of the pleats and altering the kilt was not an option because the kilt was owned by the band.

Folding back the under apron would be a good idea, but it depends on the material. I tried folding back an acrylic kilt and it just didn't feel right and I don't wear it because of the fit and the material. I prefer to redo the under apron's edge by reconstruction. I would take off the top band for a few inches, remove the stitching holding the already folded material of the inner apron, refold the apron and restitch it back together.

[Barb T]

Hi guys

Here's the post, where I moved the buckles 10-11" (yikes! But I defy anyone to argue that it's a bad solution!!!):

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...oo-much-59745/

Yes, a kilt is a custom-made garment, and yes, the loops would be "off center" if you moved the buckles too much. But it's better in the long run to have a kilt fit (and I don't put loops on most kilts to begin with - not trying to start any arguments here ; ).

Anyway, as Wally says, if you move the underapron strap, there's no need to cut into the kilt to move the left side buckle.

And I agree with Wally - moving buckles isn't tricky - you have to be careful not to cut the tartan, but it's just a matter of patience. Much easier than rebuilding the whole darn kilt and a _bundle_ cheaper than getting a new one! And, if the loops look odd after moving the buckles, cut the suckers off.

[mookien]

Hi guys

Yes, a kilt is a custom-made garment, and yes, the loops would be "off center" if you moved the buckles too much. But it's better in the long run to have a kilt fit (and I don't put loops on most kilts to begin with - not trying to start any arguments here ; ).

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And I agree with Wally - moving buckles isn't tricky - you have to be careful not to cut the tartan, but it's just a matter of patience. Much easier than rebuilding the whole darn kilt and a _bundle_ cheaper than getting a new one! And, if the loops look odd after moving the buckles, cut the suckers off.

Barb T: Why can't you move the belt loops to re-center them, after you move the buckles?

[AKScott]

Barb T: Why can't you move the belt loops to re-center them, after you move the buckles?

Well, you could, but the whole shebang is twisted around from zero.

You don't need them, just cut them off ;-)

[mookien]

AKScott: Knowing nothing about sewing kilts, I don't know what you mean by "the whole shebang is twisted around from zero".

Let me ask a two-part question differently and as a kilt wearer. If the belt loops in the back are off center (eg left-shifted two inches) and I would like them centered (ie moved two inches to the right), can that be done, and how difficult is it to do so?

[Chas]

Well, you could, but the whole shebang is twisted around from zero.

You don't need them, just cut them off ;-)

I have done this more than once and I have never had anything twisted. If done correctly the back stays where it is and the two aprons move - covering more or less of each other.

If this is hard to visualise, do it in reality. Place your kilt on your bed, as you would wear it - aprons covering each other, but not buckled up.

Now take the outer apron and shift it over 1 inch and then do the same to the inner. The waist should be 2 inches wider - but the back has not moved at all.

Regards

Chas

[Barb T]

....but the back has not moved at all.

No, actually, this is not the case. If you wrap the apron farther around, it covers up, let's say, 2" of the tartan in the pleats on the apron edge side. But the other side of the pleats is a mirror image, and that portion of the tartan is _not_ covered up, because you don't move the left apron edge relative to the pleats. That means that, when you have an even expanse of pleats left and right across the back of the wearer, the old center back will be skewed 1" to the right. Another way of thinking about this is that you still want the center front of the apron centered. This means that you have to rotate the kilt 1" counterclockwise (looking down toward your feet) compared to where you wore it before. That skews the center back 1" counterclockwise as well.

So, in your example, Chas, the wrinkle comes in the fact that, once you have the kilt on, you have to rotate it to get the front apron centered again. If this isn't obvious, think about it using an example where you'd try to get a man's kilt to fit a kid and you'd have to wrap the apron around so far that only 6" of pleats show along the very edge of the pleats next to the left apron edge. What was centered in that 6" of pleats would certainly not be the old center back.

As far as the loops go, I didn't remove them from the band kilt because someone larger might need that kilt in the future. If you were working on your own kilt, you could certainly move them. How easy that is depends on how the kiltmaker sewed the loops on. When I sew loops on, I put them on before putting the top band on, so the top of the loops are actually stitched into the top band seam. If you wanted to move those loops, you'd need to actually unstitch the top band (which would also require unstitching a portion of the lining to get at the seam), take the loop off, move it, and stitch everything back together again. On the other hand, if the kiltmaker sewed the loop on at the very end, it's a simple matter of cutting the stitches and moving the loop.

[MacBean]

...I don't put loops on most kilts to begin with...

Having one of Barb's kilts with no loops and another full-length kilt with loops, I have to say I myself find sporran loops of little purpose.

[mookien]

Barb T: I think you answered my question. The loops on both my kilts are sewn under the top band. I hope they don't ever have to be moved. :-)