Self-Colored Kilt

**CaseyB** · 11th August 10, 06:57 AM

I am working on a self-colored kilt following the instructions in Barb T.'s book and I am having a lot of trouble keeping the pleats even up and down since there are no tartan lines to compare then to. What suggestions would you guys have for that?

**Paul Henry** · 11th August 10, 07:07 AM

I'm made many plain coloured kilts, and yes you are right it's a little harder as there are no guidlines to work with, so the answers is to measure very carefully and either pin or do a line of basting the length you need. Basting takes a little longer but is worth the extra effort. Remember though that with a plain fabric , providing everything is vertical the slight variation in depth of the pleat isn't so important as long as the wodth of the visible part of the fell is identical across the back.Good luck

**The Wizard of BC** · 11th August 10, 08:39 AM

The answer to your question is Chalk. Tailors Chalk or even everyday school type chalk.

You can lay-out your pleats with it. You can mark the bottom of your Fell and where your waistband strip is going to be. You can make tick marks where ever you want or need.

Heck, you can draw a Tartan pattern if you want and if it would help. But I find that marking the edges of the pleats for the vertical and a couple of ticks for the horizontal keeps everything lined up perfectly.

Sharpen the end of your chalk with a knife or a piece of sandpaper to get nice sharp lines.

When your done, slap your fabric with your hand and the chalk comes right off.

**fluter** · 11th August 10, 10:24 AM

A framing square can come in handy, too! This works especially well, since my old drawing table has become the sewing table.

sm13-drawing by arcturus1997, on Flickr

**ChattanCat** · 12th August 10, 07:36 AM

Originally Posted by The Wizard of BC

The answer to your question is Chalk. Tailors Chalk or even everyday school type chalk.

I would only use tailors chalk because it comes out even when you don't want it too... Other chalks may have wax mixed in to help hold the shape of the chalk.

Cheers,

**CaseyB** · 13th August 10, 08:37 AM

I tried to use chalk to mark the waist and the bottom of the fell, but it kept brushing off, so I basted those lines and used chalk to mark the center of the pleats. That system seems to be working out fairly well so far.

Hmm, the chalk doesn't show up that well in these pictures, but trust me, it's there!