A question, Barb, on length of tartan needed.

[marypenny]

My next kilt will be a challenge, I am afraid. The hips are 47" , waist is 50", and I have 8 yards. As I look at the chart on pg 45, I need 9 yd. However I do have another 8 yards, as I bought two kilts, double width. Can I take a yard from that length of material and somehow add it into the first kilt? Or is that just too difficult for a real novice to do? I can simply tell my son that I don't have enough Patriot tartan, and I do have enough of the Duncan, so it's Duncan or nothing. Any recommendations? Thanks so much for your input. Mary

[Barb T]

Hi Mary,

You can certainly add a yard to your original 8 yard length. If you have double width fabric you would need one join seam anyway, and I would just add your one-yard piece to the middle of the back and have two joining seams.

Does that make sense? It will leave you, though, with only 7 yards for a second kilt. Is that OK?

Barb

[marypenny]

I have an 8 yard double width piece, so what it means, if I understand the graph in your book, is that I would only be able to make a kilt for a smaller-than-usual man..hmmm. Maybe the 5 yard double width Duncan would be a much better choice after all! I will need to ponder this! And I do have experience with the Duncan..chuckle. Since his waist is larger than his hips I am making another tubular kilt, apparently! Thank you for the input. I think I see where we are going here. Mary

[sydnie7]

Mary, you might want to remeasure him using the towel trick -- roll up a towel and tuck it under his tummy to "fill in" the hip measure. The front apron should hang straight down, not tuck in beneath the bulge. Depending on what he carries on his hips and rump, you may need a finished hip measure that is larger than his waist.

Another way to do this is mark an imaginary "side seam" and measure around the front of his waist from seam to seam. Then measure around back of hips from seam to seam. Add those two to find your needed hip measure. Give me a call when we're home next week if you want to has this out further.

[Pleater]

You would still need to shape the back of the kilt in to the small of the back - not make a tube.

A kilt is two different halves, the front, consider it a bay window you need to curtain, and you'll probably need to put in deep pleats at the side so that when seated there is enough material to cover the thighs. The fell at the back is a fan of pleats shaped to follow the shape of the body between where the pleats fall free from the body and the waist.

If you are short of material, could you use a piece of dark toning fabric to make the under apron? If it gives you enough fabric so that the apron will cover the under apron in almost all situations then it might be something to consider.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Tarheel]

Ladies, Thank you for sharing this "meeting of the minds" with the rest of us. The intricate details of kilt building will give a new pride of donning the attire to us. Anyone not sporting a kilt is just covering skin with clothes.