Most forgiving fabric for 1st build?

**Rkillip** · 21st February 12, 05:49 PM

I know there has been some discussion about kilt fabrics but I am wondering which fabric would be easiest to learn on for a first-time kilt build? I am not counting on wearing my first, but I do want to experience the mistakes and difficulties involved. Do these change with heavier vs. lighter fabric, or should I just go for the cheapest on my 1st attempt? Thanks!

**O'Searcaigh** · 22nd February 12, 08:59 AM

Hi -- I see no one has responded to your query so I'll give you my tuppence worth -- which isn't even legal tender where I am. I haven't made a whole lot of kilts but of the six I have made I found the one I made in blue denim the easiest and best for "learning the craft." It was my second attempt (you don't want to know about the first) and it turned out well enough that it is one of my favorite knockabout everyday comfy kilts -- and you don't have to match set lines etc. in pleating. My first attempt at pleating a tartan was with some denim weight cotton upholstery material. After that I moved on to middle weight wool. Make your mistakes (but learn from them) with materials that are not too expensive (and where they won't be so obvious) before taking on something in quality wool and you will have a lot more confidence when and if you finally try it with expensive cloth.

**NeightRG** · 22nd February 12, 09:19 AM

After making a couple of kilts in wool, I'm going to do my best to avoid working with other materials. Maybe it's just that I'm getting better, but my last couple of kilts were heavy weight wool, and it was as if the fabric "wanted" to become a kilt - it behaved some much better than the poly-viscose and other blends I'd used before. Granted - I haven't tried denim yet.

**Paul Henry** · 22nd February 12, 09:50 AM

Working on good quality wool is a lovely introduction to the world of kilt making, so my advice is to get a reasonable weight of good wool. You don't say what type of kilt you are thinking of, but wool is actually quite forgiving, and until you cut it, all the sewing can come out without injury to the cloth, the same can't be said for cheaper fabrics, and cottons or denims. Using a good fabric actually makes it easier to sew, and the pleats are more likely to hold a sharper crease and sit better.
If you are making a modern kilt then you are most likely going to be machine sewing, not hand sewing,then go for whatever reasonable weight fabric you like, whether upholstery or denim or cotton.

**Rkillip** · 22nd February 12, 10:14 AM

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I feel like a pessimist because I'm not intending to wear the first, but I don't want to be wearing junk my first time out. I'm going to try an x kilt first, and I like the idea of denim. The matching aspect feels like the most daunting.

Cheers,
Ryan

**Tartan Hiker** · 22nd February 12, 11:23 AM

Well, if an X-Kilt is what you are aiming for, then you need to use a good quality poly-cotton blend. There are both twill and plain-weaves out there, and it really doesn't matter which you use. Just make sure it is as heavy as you can find. Most military camos, for example, are poly-cotton blends and a good weight to make a machine-sewn kilt. Poly-cotton holds a press really well, too, just be cautious about how hot you set the iron...practice on some scrap or you'll end up with "shiny-butt".

I hate to do it, but I have to disagree with my hero Paul Henry. Denim might seem like a good choice, but like all 100% cottons it wrinkles just by looking sideways at it. the other problem is that it is made of two different types of thread, so after washing it begins to change shape due to the differential shrinkage of the different threads. These problems are not apparent in a pair of jeans where you are stretching the fabric over your body, but a free-hanging kilt in denim almost always looks a mess.

**Paul Henry** · 22nd February 12, 12:03 PM

It's ok Bill! I'm all for discussion!
I should have said that I always wash denim/cotton fabrics whenever I am doing a modern style kilt, while this doesn't completely remove the thread issues it lessens them a little. I also edge stitch each pleat edge, both on the outside and the inside which does help to reduce the wrinkled mess look, but I do agree that creases don't fall out as easily as they do on a 16oz wool kilt.
One other thing, with my contemporary kilts, they are built in much the same way as a traditional ones with a high rise and a sewn fell with wide aprons. I think becauseof this type of construction they fare a little better with use and sitting! It also means that they usually have a bit more swish, which after all is a good thing to see with a kilt!

black denim with dark red stitching

heavy blue denim with yellow stitching

**Rkillip** · 23rd February 12, 10:11 AM

Denim is made from 2 different types of thread? Thanks for the education--I just assumed they were same thread, different color. Headed this weekend to get some fabric (maybe denim, maybe camo). Wish me luck and thanks for your responses!

**vorpallemur** · 24th February 12, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by Rkillip

Denim is made from 2 different types of thread? Thanks for the education--I just assumed they were same thread, different color. Headed this weekend to get some fabric (maybe denim, maybe camo). Wish me luck and thanks for your responses!

Depends on the denim. Some good denims use the same thread for warp and weft, with the warp thread being dyed blue. Others use a different thread for the weft. The skew in denim isn't from that, though. It's a side effect of being a high tension warp faced twill. Good quality denim, used for making reasonably priced jeans, is usually finished in ways that reduce the tendency to skew. (Lots of fancy jeans are made with defective fabric, and the people who buy them think skew is a sign of quality. )

The denim that ends up in the retail fabric store is of wildly varying quality. Some of it is trash that shouldn't be used for anything but rags, some of it is first rate. Price isn't a reliable guide, either.