Help!! Tapering the fell on the XKilt...

[Cale's Kilt]

I have spent hours trying to figure out how to taper the fell on the XKilt I am making. I have searched the forums and Google for something I can understand and visualize. But I have wasted the last 3-4 hours (actually more) trying to figure these blasted things out..I am almost in tears! To the point of just giving up. Is there a video or pictures or simple instructions somewhere that I can have before I pull my hair out. I am putting it away for the night.

I truly hope someone has something I can see and understand ..

Thanks from Texas!

[Dixiecat]

Take a look at the Pleat Dimensions diagram AlanH has in the X-kilt manual in the Pleat Structure section.

The bottom of the diagram is the inside of the kilt. See the space between the inside pleats? Pull those together at the waist, leaving them alone at the hip line. The kilt already fits at the hip, you're just making it fit at the waist.

[sydnie7]

Sorry I'm late to this thread, was away on business for a bit.

How much taper are you putting into the kilt, that is, what is the difference between the waist and hip measurements?

Divide that taper number (say, 4 inches) by the number of pleats you have in the kilt (say, 16, to make the math easy) and you are taking in 1/4 inch at each pleat.

Now, it's not really that easy because for the best fit you want to distribute that 4 inches of taper unevenly around the kilt -- more at the hips, less at the center back and next to the aprons. But regardless of where you hide it, you need to tuck an extra 4 inches of material into the pleats at the waist. You are "hiding" that material inside the pleat, in the folds that lie up against the wearer's body (as opposed to the folds that are visible when the kilt is worn).

"Taper" refers to the fact that this is a gradual change in kilt dimension from hip (fell) to waist.

I hope this helps. If you can give us your actual waist and hip dimensions plus number of pleats, we can do the math for your specific kilt which might make it easier to understand.

[Alan H]

Between what Dixiecat and sydnie7 have said here, plus the encyclopedia I left in your msg room, I hope you can figure it out!