Yorkshire folk have a reputation for being thrifty, and I have been wondering how to use the leftover pieces of cloth from the middle when the two selvaged edges have been removed to make kilts.

I have been giving myself the luxury of a continuous strip for each kilt, where possible, and so I have strips 7 to 8 yards long, and 56 or 60 minus (2x24) wide - 8 or 12 inches. As the cloth has been bought off eBay, and/or as a bolt, I have some full width left overs too, in some cases.

Assuming that the kilts were 24 inches long, where the pattern allows - (I don't think it will, for instance, work very well on fabric with a strong selvage to selvage stripe or design) the strips can be used as the outside of the pleats for another kilt.

I can cut it into 4 inch strips, maybe do a bit of shaping at the fell, then fold the edges over and maybe interface them - so there is no ridge at the edges when pressed and the strips are heavier. Then take some lighter material and sew the strips down onto it, then fold it to box pleats, or knife pleats as desired.

The thinner fabric would only need to be from the hem to the bottom of the fell - with a bit extra as overlap. It could be held in place horisontally using 'wonder web' - the fine double sided hemming tape you melt with an iron, so there would not be a line of horisontal stitching across the strips.

Now, 8 yards, 24 ft, divided into 24 inch lengths would then give 12 strips of 4 inches, if from a 56 inch wide cloth.

If it was from 60 inch cloth then 3 of the 4 inch strips could be cut from the leftover piece, and 12 inches would just about do a narrow apron.

If there was not enough spare whole fabric to make at least the over apron then the under apron could be just the lighter fabric, perhaps lined, and the over apron could be strips of the heavier fabric joined almost edge to edge over a tape, with a narrow piece of the light cloth sewn down to cover the raw edges.

This is probably going to be more useful with a 60 inch wide fabric, or with shorter lengths than 24inches being taken off, but it is a possible source of an extra kilt from expensive material.