Question for kiltmakers

[ardchoille]

I've been gathering kiltmaking information for a while and.. I think I can.. I think I can..

But I have to ask, because you good folks still have all your hair and are not in the loony bin. How do you not go completely bonkers during all that hand sewing and still produce a beautiful kilt? That has to be in the neighbourhood of 30 hours of hand sewing. Being hearing impaired, I can't really listen to the tv or radio while sewing and if I take my eyes off the sewing I'll end up sewing my fingers to the kilt.

If I could just find that book that teaches patience..

[fluter]

if I take my eyes off the sewing I'll end up sewing my fingers to the kilt.

I just did that today! and i was watching the whole time. I got the needle though the callus on my left index finger (the one under the pleat), and didn't notice until I tried to move my hand.

As to patience, I can do some things and not others. Even the things I can do, sometimes make me appreciate how a couple of hundred dollars worth of an expert's time can be a bargain! I guess the bottom line is to try it, and see whether you enjoy it.

I'm working on a practice piece with expendable cloth from the fabric store. I had done a bit of preparation and mark-up, and this afternoon (being off work) sewed about 8 pleats' worth. I was working on how to make small stitches, and still be sure I'm getting through all 3 layers of fabric. Hence the unwary index finger.

I've made 2 X-kilts (well almost 2, I'm also easily distracted), and am knitting my second pair of hose. I find this all enjoyable, it's just a question of when I can afford the time to have fun with it. Most often, I try to work a little while on a project, and then get back to my daily chores. You may find that a tractable approach, if you can keep the thread of continuity of the project when you come back to it.

[ThreadBbdr]

With any long needlework project (and knitting and weaving), I usually set a kitchen timer. Work for a set time, then get up, move around (check x marks or one of my other forums....), take the dog for a run around the block, whatever.

That breaks up the project into managable chunks when it is not going well, and keeps me from getting an eyestrain headache or swollen feet from sitting too long if it is going so well that I loose track of the time. (And sometimes both of those extremes can happen one right after another on the SAME project!).

So tackle each pleat as it's own little mini project. You'll get through them.

[ardchoille]

With any long needlework project (and knitting and weaving), I usually set a kitchen timer. Work for a set time, then get up, move around (check x marks or one of my other forums....), take the dog for a run around the block, whatever.

So tackle each pleat as it's own little mini project. You'll get through them.

Sounds like excellent advice. I do have a timer that I can plug a desk lamp into so that the lamp blinks on and off when the timer is "ringing".

[Barb T]

I've done lots of hand crafts in my life, everything from hand weaving to finish carpentry. I get inspired to knit every time I go to Iceland to teach field geology and I see all the fabulous wool. So I buy wool, and I knit hats as we're driving from place to place. And most of the students (even the guys!) buy wool and learn how to knit to pass the time while we're driving on crummy, rainy days. But I'm good for only a few hats or a sweater every couple years. I get _really bored_ when I'm knitting because it's the same thing over and over and over until you get done , even if what you're knitting has a pattern. I find the same thing with embroidery and needlepoint.

My mom has asked me many times whether I'm tired of making kilts yet (she's a hand weaver). What I tell her is the thing I like about kiltmaking is that each part of the process is different. Just about the time I've had enough of stitching pleats, the pleats are done, and it's time to do the next step, etc. etc. And each tartan is different, so it's not as repetitious as making, say, velveteen vests for Highland dancers. So I actually don't get bored making kilts. There are parts I like better than others (for some reason, I hate putting on the buckles - probably because, in the first kilt I made, I must have sewn each buckle on three times before I got it right). And it's not a trivial thing that I really enjoy the people I make kilts for - many of them I've never met in person, but we've emailed or talked over the phone, and that's a really important thing to me.

[The Kilted Reverend]

I have great respect for anybody who has the patience to make anything. I just don't have the patience.

TKR

[ChattanCat]

Sounds like excellent advice. I do have a timer that I can plug a desk lamp into so that the lamp blinks on and off when the timer is "ringing".

I can do 1, 2, or sometimes 3 pleats before I have to stand and walk. Sometimes the walk takes me to Xmarks, sometimes it's just a lap around the house. The thumb takes the most beating (pain). I have to give it a rest and a get up and stretch, move, and rest the thumb works for me.

My mom has asked me many times whether I'm tired of making kilts yet (she's a hand weaver). What I tell her is the thing I like about kiltmaking is that each part of the process is different. Just about the time I've had enough of stitching pleats, the pleats are done, and it's time to do the next step, etc. etc. And each tartan is different, so it's not as repetitious as making, say, velveteen vests for Highland dancers. So I actually don't get bored making kilts. There are parts I like better than others (for some reason, I hate putting on the buckles - probably because, in the first kilt I made, I must have sewn each buckle on three times before I got it right). And it's not a trivial thing that I really enjoy the people I make kilts for - many of them I've never met in person, but we've emailed or talked over the phone, and that's a really important thing to me.

Yes, every kilt is different. I "engineer" (yes, I are one) each kilt to the specifications given by the client. There are pleatings to the sett or stripe. Pleating to the sett is complex only with complex tartans with a lot of elements. Pleating to the stripe involves communication with the client to determine which stripe looks best. It is the thought process that keeps my mind occupied.

I also like to exceede the expectations of the client.

Wallace

[ccga3359]

How do you know that our kiltmakers have all their own hair? i know for a fact that Steve's hair is the finest P-V available and loonie bin? We haven't heard from Robert in some time...

[Alan H]

When I sewed up Piper Georges Dutch MacKay kilt I poured myself a couple fingers of whisky and I'd sew until the whisky was gone. I'm a whisky sipper, you see? Two fingers would last me about three-four pleats. Once that was done, I'd put it away until the next night, or whenever. It took me about eight evenings to sew his pleats.

Anyway, just take your time and do them right. If they don't come out right, rip 'em out and do them again. Look at it this way, you're going to take 20+ hours to hand-sew those pleats. yup. but you're going to WEAR THE KILT for a whole, whole lot longer than that, when you're done!

[matheson]

I have to second the messages of patience. What I will say is this, however. Set a goal for project status. Even if you resort to posting a message here that just says "two pleats done", "five pleats done", etc., it will serve as a reminder that you've accomplished much, and that there is only this much to be done. Breaking it down into manageable chunks will certainly aid in getting through what you have set yourself as a goal. I find this helps me stay focused. Don't be unrealistic, and say "Pleating done in a week, kilt done in two", but break it down to however many you can realistically do in a night, then times that by the number of total pleats, then add two days. If you decide not to take those two days, all the better because you've finished ahead of the schedule and can pat yourself on the back.
Me, I love projects and I love sewing, but I find my attention wanders if I don't have an ending date in mind.