black denim kilt underway

**usonian** · 11th April 12, 08:23 PM

Pleats cut, stabilizer and canvas stitched on, underapron and apron edges finished (I finished the apron with a plain edge, as denim fringe looks unsightly, like a ripped pair of jeans) belt-hole reinforced. Feels like the home stretch coming up! Top edge, pressing, buckles, straps and lining to go.

**Aspiringloser** · 11th April 12, 08:47 PM

The light at the end of the tunnel. And boy is it ever bright!

**NeightRG** · 11th April 12, 09:20 PM

Originally Posted by usonian

Pleats cut, stabilizer and canvas stitched on, underapron and apron edges finished (I finished the apron with a plain edge, as denim fringe looks unsightly, like a ripped pair of jeans) belt-hole reinforced. Feels like the home stretch coming up! Top edge, pressing, buckles, straps and lining to go.

If you wanted, you could always make a fringe out of a piece of different fabric, for contrast. Like this - http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...an-kilt-73085/
Otherwise, denim being a warp-faced fabric, using fabric from a perpendicular cut of denim should provide a fringe of the same colour as the rest of the kilt.

**usonian** · 12th April 12, 05:12 AM

The weft threads of my denim are actually black, but the cotton fibers are inclined to curl and fuzz. I like the contrasting fringe on your X-Marks kilt, but on a solid black kilt I think it would be too prominent, and I'm not feeling compelled to go find a piece of black wool to make fringe. No big deal, this was never a wholly traditional kilt to begin with.

**NeightRG** · 12th April 12, 11:57 AM

Ahh. I get where you're coming from now.

**usonian** · 16th April 12, 07:20 AM

Attaching the top band is a pretty dramatic step; the kilt goes from looking like a big pile of pleats and basting to looking like a real garment.

Pressing takes it that much further - I don't have a photo, but this 100% cotton denim seems to take a nice sharp pleat; I can't wait to see how they look hanging free. I suspect I pulled the steeking a bit too tight in a couple of places (A bit of warping in a couple of pleats above the fell), but as the pleats were already a bit of a mess I'm not going to let it bother me.

And with the addition of the buckles and straps, it really looks official. Next time I'll just spend the extra few bucks and buy prefab straps; I fashioned mine out of a thrift store belt, but lacking real leatherworking tools and experience they're a bit, shall we say, rustic.

Despite the numerous little problems here and there I'm pretty well pleased overall. I'll know where to pay extra attention next time around.

All I have left now is the back lining, but I suspect I won't get to finish that up until tomorrow... a particularly frustrating kind of jones. And I'll probably wind up spending about as long removing cat hair from this thing as I did making it!

**usonian** · 16th April 12, 07:21 PM

...aaand finished! I need to thoroughly de-lint it, pluck or trim a few last basting threads, and wait for daylight to get a couple of photos. I need to play with strap adjustments, but it seems to fit pretty well; snug around the waist and hips without any weird bunching or bulging. The apron seems maybe a little bit skimpy - maybe because of my splits, but I suspect it's more due to having done a slight, straight angle at the edges rather than a more pronounced flare. (When I was in the planning stages I read a thread here recommending a straight taper rather than a flare, since cotton doesn't lend itself to shaping as nicely as wool does.) Or maybe it's fine and I just haven't paid much attention to how kilts behave at the sides in photos... I'll be interested to see what folks have to say. I think the length is good. The pleats seem to hang pretty well at the back despite the skewing across the fell and wonky fell line.

Very gratifying for a first effort. Photos tomorrow.

**Aspiringloser** · 16th April 12, 07:23 PM

Bring on the pics!

**usonian** · 17th April 12, 05:13 AM

Further observations: The apron definitely could have used a bit more shaping; even if I had kept it at a straight taper, it should have been more pronounced. Looking at where it would normally cover the underapron, I can see how it would hang straight down if it angled out a bit more. Currently the underapron shows through a bit. On the other side, my deep pleat might be a little bit skimpy. I think I may also move the apron buckle back by 3/4 of an inch now that I see how everything lines up.

Anyway, without further ado:

The low-ish camera angle makes it look maybe a tad short, and I think my shirt was bunched over the waistband on one side; it's not lopsided as it appears in the front view.