Tartan mini kilts

[bonnie heather]

Thanks for starting this new forum for Ladies kilts, skirts and tartan accessories.
I love wearing kilt-skirts and dancing kilts and I love making them, too.
Recently I made 7 mini-kilts in the New York City tartan for our dance group, Shot of Scotch-NYC's premier Scottish highland dancers to wear for a performance.


These are the shortest kilts I've ever made, but the ladies wear them in a cute, but classy way.

[ctbuchanan]

As always Bonnie, your work is exceptional. I always look forward to seeing the dancers in the NYC Tartan Day Parade. Well done.

[Lady Grey]

Stunning. I noticed the single buckle, were there any other variations or adaptations you used in the styling and construction to allow for the vast range of movements a ballet dancer uses?

[MacThomas]

Very nice!

[bonnie heather]

Stunning. I noticed the single buckle, were there any other variations or adaptations you used in the styling and construction to allow for the vast range of movements a ballet dancer uses?

These highland dancers usually wear traditional kilts with a length that comes to the top of the knees. The top of the kilt would come to 1.5 or 2" above the natural waistline. About 5 - 8 yards of tartan is used, and the swing of the pleats is fantastic when they dance.

They wanted the mini kilts to be below the waistline. For making them, I used 3 yards of lightweight tartan for each. The pleats had to be wider and fewer. They wear leotards under them for modesty. The short length, and the aprons and pleats allow the legs full movement. I used just one strap/buckle on the outside and a strip of velcro on the inside of the waistband.

[MacThomas]

Just love women in kilts!

[Tarheel]

I'm guessing the ballet kilts are intentionally cut to sit on the hips. I believe that it would be a hindrance for partner to lift, in an adagio move, with the fabric sliding up the female dancer's waist. I also imagine the length (likened to a tutu) for free leg movement during jumps, spins, etc. Did the troop give you this info?

I again jumped to a conclusion by reading the ballet sign behind the three ladies in the photo and did not connect the Highland dance performance, when I wrote my thoughts above here. On another thread (kilted Hall of Strange), the tartan tutu would be the comparison to fit my question.

[Angela Kaye Bodine]

Bonnie, Hi ! I definitely like the shorter kilts you have done for me.. im glad the SHAW you altered for me, you had to do an inch shorter, since then all my other kilts after the shaw have been an inch shorter.. Thank you...Angie

[argyle24]

Bonnie - what did the length measurement on the mini kilts come out to? The next kilt I plan on making will be a shorter mini kilt for a choreography costume, and I'm trying to get a handle on where it might end up hitting. Did you also end up not doing much of a fell on these? It looks from the pictures here and on Shot of Scotch's FB page that with the low waist, the tapering and fell were taken out of play. I actually initially thought that you had done box pleats, not just wide pleats!

[bonnie heather]

There's no rise on these mini-kilts. But the pleats do have some taper.

I measured the "low waist" for each person at the level of 1" below the belly button. Also I took the seat/hip measurement. For the length, I asked each dancer to hold her arms against her side with hands hanging down. Then I measured from the "low waist" at the top ... down the side of her leg to where the bottom of her middle fingertip hits touches her leg. The longest kilt was 14" and the shortest was 12".

I used 2 panels of tartan, seamed at the back...which came out to about 3 yards. There wasn't enough fabric to make an A-line shaped apron, so I made it straight up and down, But since the mini kilts are so short, I think it worked out okay. If I had more yardage, I would have done the traditionally A shaped apron and would have made
more pleats that would be less wide.