Quick splits question

[Michael A]

I am doing the numbers for my first ever kilt and am scratching my head at pages 51-52.

Barb, you say "try" different combinations, but all I seem to be doing is adding and subtracting so that they numbers add up to my waist and hips as measured, but how do I know what works?

My waist is 35" and seat is a very loose 40" (Karen Manger of St Kilda Retail in Brisbane who made my last proper kilt said to keep the seat measurement a bit loose - it seems to work on the kilt she made me). I am tall and thin with a drop of 25". Most of my height is in my femurs. I sit on a cushion at the dinner table but I am 6'1" tall.

When I write down the different combinations, I feel like I am just plucking numbers out of thin air. Do I make the difference between split choices 3/4"? 1"? How much should one split option differ from another?

The two options I came up with are (split 1 being .5/.5)

Split 2: Waist Apron 18.25, pleats 16.75
Hips: Apron 19.5, pleats 20.5

Split 3: waist: Apron 18.75, pleats 16.25
Hips: Apron 19, pleats 21

Can anyone make any suggestions on what for a kiltmaker is the work of a minute or two? I would be most grateful.