Black bottom-weight cotton "Utiity" kilt - Finished!

[Lockwood]

Put the finishing touches on this kilt this morning and will be wearing it out in public shortly. I'm not all together happy with the way it turned out but I'm still learning and don't have the Art of Kiltmaking yet so it's all done from what I have picked up here and there on the interweb. The intent is to build skills for when I have the real thing, wool tartan, to work with. Comments? Suggestions?

BTW, one of the things I'm not sure about is the pleats; One pleat per inch of waistline covered by the pleated section was used on this kilt. Too many? Not enough?

[The Wizard of BC]

As a hint when figuring out your pleats.

Don't think about your waist size. Use your hip size.

You first determine the apron width. What is left over from your hip circumference measurement is how much is taken up with pleats. The pleats then taper down to fit the waist.

If you are making a kilt with a traditional style apron.
The apron width - at the waist - is slightly larger than 1/2 your waist circumference.
The apron width - at the hips - is slightly smaller than 1/2 your hip circumference.

[Lockwood]

As a hint when figuring out your pleats.

Don't think about your waist size. Use your hip size.

You first determine the apron width. What is left over from your hip circumference measurement is how much is taken up with pleats. The pleats then taper down to fit the waist.

If you are making a kilt with a traditional style apron.
The apron width - at the waist - is slightly larger than 1/2 your waist circumference.
The apron width - at the hips - is slightly smaller than 1/2 your hip circumference.

That was the first mistake I found; I made the pleats to match the waist, not the hip. I had to add two more pleats with tapers after first fitting to fix this problem but it still didn't work quite right. Won't make that one again!

[knotty]

I like it. WELL DONE. I think the width of the pleats depends on the look youre lookin for. To me, narrow pleats have a more classic look.
Wish I could make something that looked that good.

[flyrod6057]

Well done! From the looks of things, you've stitched it a tad small at the bottom of the fell, but that might be the photo. Still, looks pretty good.

[llyd]

You did an excellent job for not having The Book...Getcha a copy of The Art of Kiltmaking, and download the box pleat addennum. When figuring for your pleat fell, take full hip measurement, halve it will give you the width of hte pleats at the hips, take the waist measurement at the narrowest point..usually an inch above the navel but not always..halve that, roughly gives you the width at the waist...basically you want the pleats to run from the point of your hips around to the other point...measure from your navel straight down to a horizontal line that runs the level of your hips will give you the length of your fell..good luck measuring that..it take two friendly people..usually comes out to within a half inch of eight inches..this is the length down that you sew the pleats down....to figure the taper of the pleats, divide the half waist measurement by the number of pleats expected and that will give you the width of each pleat at the top of the fell...usually an inch down from the top of hte kilt panel...I like to add an inch of rise to my kilts..basically it makes the waistband sit right at my waist with a little room for adjustment...once you get the book...it will show you how to make a kilt data sheet that formalizes the above data and quite a bit more...makes it easy to see and lay out in a logical order...it looks like you are nearly there. Next one, go find you a nice cotton twill, for these casual kilts it is the easiest to work with and heangs and wears better than the bottomweights I am familiar with..I have a kilt of bottomweight, and I don't wear it much...but still..Good Job!

[James Hood]

Good on you for developing your skills and being brave enough to share with the Rabble.

Welcome from metro Chicago!

[Lockwood]

You did an excellent job for not having The Book...Getcha a copy of The Art of Kiltmaking, and download the box pleat addennum. When figuring for your pleat fell, take full hip measurement, halve it will give you the width of hte pleats at the hips, take the waist measurement at the narrowest point..usually an inch above the navel but not always..halve that, roughly gives you the width at the waist...basically you want the pleats to run from the point of your hips around to the other point...measure from your navel straight down to a horizontal line that runs the level of your hips will give you the length of your fell..good luck measuring that..it take two friendly people..usually comes out to within a half inch of eight inches..this is the length down that you sew the pleats down....to figure the taper of the pleats, divide the half waist measurement by the number of pleats expected and that will give you the width of each pleat at the top of the fell...usually an inch down from the top of hte kilt panel...I like to add an inch of rise to my kilts..basically it makes the waistband sit right at my waist with a little room for adjustment...once you get the book...it will show you how to make a kilt data sheet that formalizes the above data and quite a bit more...makes it easy to see and lay out in a logical order...it looks like you are nearly there. Next one, go find you a nice cotton twill, for these casual kilts it is the easiest to work with and heangs and wears better than the bottomweights I am familiar with..I have a kilt of bottomweight, and I don't wear it much...but still..Good Job!

Thank you for this great advice! The AOKM is on my birthday list and I remind my daughter weekly that it is still all I am asking for this year!

Everything you said makes perfect sense having completed this first one and wearing it out all day while shopping and visiting friends. I can see where all of these improvements will make a kilt more comfortable to wear and how much nicer it will look when properly worn.

Thanks to everyone who commented and offered advice. Yes, Flyrod6057, the fell does seem to be stitched a little short. Not intentionally, though. I fear fixing this one will cause unwanted pucker. I am about to make the second for my 17 YO son using all the advice from you gentlemen and will post photos when done!

[TheOfficialBren]

I think that you did a great job in your first kilt. I would suggest making your next one with a higher rise rather the low rise but that's a personal preference. Good job!

[Pleater]

For a first attempt, that is a good one.

Like most kilt makers I also work from the hip level, usually calculating the pleats to be an inch wide at that level and then narrowing down to the waist.

I think - from what I know from general fitting. the horizontal creases in the fell indicate that it is too tight, so a little more ease in the hips would relax that part of the kilt and allow it to flow downwards into the pleats, making a smooth line rather than a flare at the lower edge of the stitching.

Ease is the difference between the measurement with the tape and how large the garment needs to be to lie over the body and any layers underneath without strain.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: