charming the lasses: a quick tartan skirt

[Alan H]

Well, I'd a notion to turn the heads of some of the lasses at beer and kilts night, and also a notion to make a couple of tartan skirts. The Luminous Joan has NO interest in a tartan skirt (though she has one) so I measured the F-H.C.A.G., Lora the heartthrob, girlfriend Jamie and Tim C's Damaris at the last Beer and Kilts night. I picked up 6 meters of 10 ounce wool/poly Lindsay tartan from Fraser and Kirkbright and am in the process of making four quick tartan skirts....Two of these will be rather mini (including the one for the F-H.C.A.G, who has long legs, making her 16-inch skirt rather shortish), one will be a waist-high, and the third more "moderate". Two will be hip-huggers, one at the waist and one that will split the diffrerence.

I assumed that the Lindsay tartan was about 4.5 inch sett, since the other two fabrics I've bought from Fraser and Kirkbright had setts around that size, so I figured out about how much I'd need by assuming that sett size. Well, I unfolded it today and HELLO...it's s 7.25 inch sett! Aaack...so instead of 15 pleats, girlfriend Jamie is getting an 11-pleat skirt. The F-H.C.A.G. I think is gonna have a ten-pleat skirt, though maybe I can make it an 11 or 12-pleat and just make the pleats smaller.. I'll do those two first, hopefully in time by the March Beer and Kilts Night.

My intent is not a real killer-deal woo-hoo traditional Kilt Skirt but a flirty, casual skirt, sort of like the SportKilt skirts, but nicer (and no elastic), and banged out quickly. I'll let the lasses give the report next month.

Wow, that Lindsay Tartan is nice. I wish I had enough for a kilt for me, but while the leftover is 6 meters long, it's only 22 inches wide, and no selvedge. That'll make a 18-19-inch-long kilt...or a KILLER pleated skirt out of the remainder.