Pleats under the apron?

[Barb T]

This is an interesting question. Because people's buttocks stick out and their waists nip in to the small of the back, a kilt has to cover a longer distance from the bottom to the waist at the back of the kilt than at the front. However, because a kilt is supposed to be buckled tight at the waist, the back doesn't dip when you're actually wearing the kilt. Rather, the kilt will be a little shorter _at the bottom_ in the back than in the front. I've just done a quick calc, and, for a kilt length of 24", and a butt that sticks out 2" to stern farther than the small of the back, the kilt will be 3/8" shorter in the back than in the front. In fact, we have a couple of people in our band who, shall we say, carry their weight behind the counter. Their kilts are noticeably shorter in the back than in the front for this very reason.

But, there's really not much you can do about it. If you just raise the top band in the back, the kilt will still fit with a tartan line at the waist, and all you will have gained is a higher kilt back but the kilt will still be 3/8" too short at the bottom. If you try to make the center of the kilt actually longer in the back, the fell can't be identical on each pleat, which will look odd. And, if you cut the waist _down_ in the back, you will just make the problem worse.

So, moral of this story, stop worrying. A kilt is really a rather primitively-constructed garment in comparison to modern garments that are made from shaped pieces of fabric. Kilts fit best on trim individuals who have straight shapes and no pot bellies. The construction technique doesn't allow for the kind of individual fit that is achieved with modern clothing patterns, even though they are custom made garments. After all, how much can you do with only 3 measurements (waist, hip, and length)??

Barb