Ladies wear.

[kevinkinney]

Boy, you guys know what buttons to press to get a topic rolling. Nothing kills time at the keyboard like asking somebody about their hobbies.

To continue the thread about ladies wear from the general forum- here's my original submission, an 18 ounce full length skirt for my wife, and a few details about the idea.

The belt came from my half of the closet. The wool from a clearance lot at a chain store. I counted 22 pleats in all. This one's for our cold MN winters, and weight a total of 5 pounds. It used 5 yards of the 18 ounce cloth at 35" wide, and it took 5 hours to make in our shop. (90 minutes of that was spent picking the weave apart at the fringe) There's a single 1 1/8" buckle for the hip, and belt loops for a 3" belt. The inner apron, like that of my kilts, is held in place with a simple piece of nylon webbing and a small platic sliding buckle. Oddly enough, the extra 24" at 5 yards in length just seems to reach the tops of my knees. <score!>

Here's a detail photo of the apron, belt loops, the fringe, and the ad-hoc 3" belt.

In comparison, here's my Weathered Mackenzie in 13 ounce wool. I chose the 5/8" buckles to fit on my bony little hips, and to coordinate with the belt and sporran that I wear in the field. Both skirt and kilt have fully lined aprons that balance the heft of the pleats and fight our bitter winds far better than single layers of cloth. The kilt took 10 hours on a table top in my dad's dining room, using an anemic iron and a woefully underpowered Singer home sewing machine. (it was vacation, so I was under enjoying several fine beverages at the time. Doubtless that slowed my progress too) They're both 95% machine stitched, with only 6" of top stitching showing on the skirt, and small tacks showing on the kilt atop the belt loops.

The fabric of the kilt held it's press very well. The skirt has been pressed several times with poor results. I love the black fabric, but it's a bit too stout for my tastes. I'm eager to make a few more items for Beth, as my wardrobe is outpacing hers. Has anyone got ideas for ladies wear? The internet is full of identical styles. I'm eager to try something original for Beth.

Cheers.

Kevin.

[The Wizard of BC]

Kevin,

Welcome to our rabble. It's good to see another thread pusher.
Can you tell us a little about yourself? What other things do you sew?
Also can you be a bit more specific in your question? What exactly are you asking for?

[kevinkinney]

Hi again,

I'm a 20 year veteran of the outdoor industry, with time at 10 or so factories including Black Diamond, Bible Tents, Prijon Kayaks, Woolrich, Granite Gear, and Aerostich. I also built a business (now closed) by the name of Vulpine- which designed and manufactured adadptive outerwear for people with disabilities for about a decade. I've worked from the bottom up to the top in sewing plants, on my way to following the dream we live. Last season we bought out our largest contract client because we were having more fun making their clothes that they were. We've sold off our other interests and became Empire Canvas Works.

Withouth getting into to much detail (We're here on the forum for real reasons as well as personal interests) we make natural fiber outwear, handwear, and footwear. While most of it is ancient tech, we've tweaked some of it to the point that Iditarod racers, and countless cold weather explorers, fish and game wardens, and even some Canadian Military units are wearing our garb.

I invite you to visit out site at www.empirecanvasworks.com and see where we're at now. I won't discuss the new stuff until it's posted in May, and we've paid up, but suffice to say all the prototyping has my clan hopping with glee <in a subtle and acceptable way of course>.

I craft kilts and accessories for fun. It keeps all the synapses busy during the long winters of production sewing. I've waited too long to start outfitting my family, but my 3 year old loves his kilt and his mother is patiently waiting for more outfits to fit her. So, my interest in the topic is to see what other women are wearing/making for themselves. I've wasted months of my life looking at the retail sites. They all seel the same styles of ladies wear, and it is kinda bland in comparison to our choices as males.

Long conservative dresses are lovely, but what else is there other than a splash of tartan in the form of a sash?

Cheers,

Kevin.

[The Wizard of BC]

Are my eyes playing tricks on me or are the pleats on the black skirt going in the wrong direction?

[kevinkinney]

Hmm,

I'm not exactly sure which direction the pleats on a skirt go. it's my first. I assumed that it was the reverse of the kilt, and simply worked backwards.

AACCK! I stand corrected. They are backwards!

Oh well. Ebay here I come. (with a quick stop in Photoshop)

Box pleats next week.

Thanks for saving me future pain.

Kevin.

Kevin.

[brandycr]

Still looks good to me id wear it .

[KiltedKnight]

Welcome from Los Angeles!

I'm originally from Duluth myself, still have one brother in Duluth out on Lakewood Road and another lives in Hoyt Lake.

[McMurdo]

I would say troll around the DIY section, there are some very talented lassies doing some nice work in there.

[The F-H.C.A.G.]

I'll be starting my thread on my "cheerleader" X-Marks tartan skirt tomorrow hopefully! The kids will be at school, and Panache is going to play golf, so I'll have the house (and more importantly the table) to myself and can get started. It'll be in the DIY section as usual. There, I said it, now I'm committed to getting started tomorrow!

And here's a picture of a nice mini, created by our own AlanH recently.



For the back side, you'll have to check out the Belmont Kilt night thread from last month in Show Us Your Pics I believe.

Be well,

[David Dalglish]

Welcome from Carlisle England, The kilt looks good.