Help with beginner kilt

[Brian F]

Ok...please don't flame me for my questions...

I'm wanting to get a kilt, but before I spend major money on it, my fiance' wants me to get a "cheap" version - easier said than done. I found some decent looking fabric at Wal-Mart, and picked up 2.25 yds of it (all they had left). I know it's not tartan, but it's something for me to wear around the apartment while she gets used to it. (I've just been wearing it like a great kilt)

Anyway, I have a RenFaire coming up in a couple of weeks. Just wondering if 1) y'all thought this'd work for it, and 2) do tartan's have "wrong" sides? I've just been doubling this up when I wear it, because I don't want to fold it out and make myself look like and idiot.

Thanks in advance.

~Yeti

PS - Sorry the pictures are crappy, they're from my phone. Also, in general, how does it look?

[Brian F]

Just realized I forgot to post the pictures...

[Mr. MacDougall]

Twill, which most tartan is woven in, is a double-sided fabric, meaning that it does not have a 'right' and 'wrong' side.

[Brian F]

Thanks.

Does it look ok? I know it's not 100% legit, but I just want it to look like what I'm gonna' be buying, so my fiance' can be happy with it too.

~Yeti

[ChattanCat]

Thanks.

Does it look ok? I know it's not 100% legit, but I just want it to look like what I'm gonna' be buying, so my fiance' can be happy with it too.

~Yeti

I think it looks great! Did you lay the belt on the floor and then pleat on top of the belt? Great kilts are pleated that way, then the aprons are wrapped around you while you lay on the pleated section.

What a great idea!

Twills are on the front and back, but to be correct the twill needs to be from upper left to lower right. The wrong side will slant from the upper right to the lower left.

CC

[Brian F]

Twills are on the front and back, but to be correct the twill needs to be from upper left to lower right. The wrong side will slant from the upper right to the lower left.

Umm...explain that statement please? It confuses me.

But yes, I pleated it like a Great Kilt. Do the pleats go in a specific way? And I put seven pleats in the kilt...how many is "normal"?

Thank you all for your help/encouragement. It makes me feel good, and gives me good ammo for the misses.

~Yeti

[ChattanCat]

Keep in mind that Steve is a kilt maker, so he notices things most people would miss.

Who's Steve? My name is Wallace...

Umm...explain that statement please? It confuses me.

But yes, I pleated it like a Great Kilt. Do the pleats go in a specific way? And I put seven pleats in the kilt...how many is "normal"?

Thank you all for your help/encouragement. It makes me feel good, and gives me good ammo for the misses.

~Yeti

I shall try to explain. Most fabric is made with the thread going over one thread and under the next... this is the standard weave. Tartans are made with the thread going over two threads and then going under the next two threads. This gives the tartan a distinctive angled look to the weave, or twill.

Most fabric you find, cotton included, is weaved under then over so all the threads weave the same and you get a more consistant look, like a shirt weave, very close and over/under.

Hope this helps.

Wallace

[Mr. MacDougall]

It's a reasonable aproximation.

The real thing will have more pleats, and more 'swish' to it, even if you buy an inexpensive, small-yardage kilt. I'd recommend looking at our sponsors, including Frugal Corner and SportKilt, for your first manufactured kilt, as the price is right, and it'll give you / her a better idea of what a kilt will look like on you.

[Mr. MacDougall]

Keep in mind that Steve is a kilt maker, so he notices things most people would miss.

What he means is that, if you look at the surface of a twill fabric, it has a sort of diagonal texture, and that this diagonal texture should run as he's indicated.

And, while the great kilt may have been pleated in that fashion, some of us doubt it. You may find it easier to sew in belt loops on the inside of the fabric, run a cord through it, and tighten the cord up each time you put on the kilt. You can find more details at http://albanach.org/drawstring.htm

[fluter]

You're doing well! Number of pleats mostly depends on amount of fabric, I believe.

If you don't have photos/drawings, look at the ones on Celtic Croft's site:
http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/Kilts/index.html

If your cloth is double width, see what you can do as a great kilt!