Womens kilt

**Aspiringloser** · 27th November 11, 12:34 PM

Jareth, not Jared.

**Barb T** · 27th November 11, 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by Alan H

Honestly Barb...why would those things feel odd to a woman, but not feel odd to a man?

I suspect that the reason is because "men are used to it, and women aren't"... which is logical in some aspects, but not in others. In other words, for a woman who'd worn a lot of kilt skirts before, a mans kilt might feel a bit odd...certainly different.

For someone who'd never worn a kilt or a kilt skirt before, all of those things would probably be irrelevant.

Lots of guys need to get used to wearing a kilt. Lots of guys don't like the feel of the high rise, the short length, or the weight of the tartan in the back when they first wear a kilt. Sure a woman can get used to it just like a guy can. But Tobus's mother would doubtless expect it to feel like a skirt and it won't. Just offering some advice on how he might make something that was kilt-like but that she might like the feel of better.

**Barb T** · 27th November 11, 02:26 PM

Originally Posted by EagleJCS

Some of the ladies in the Louisville Pipe Band have also said that the men's kilt doesn't "hang" right from/over their hips (not sure what that means - ladies?). My piping instructor has had a couple of kilts custom-made with "a little extra hip room" (I don't know the details), and they do look better on her than her band-issued kilt. .

Any custom-made kilt can be made to the measurements of the person in question, and that includes women. If a woman comes in to a pipe band, and she has to choose from a band's existing kilts that were made for guys in the band, of course it won't fit very well. But if she has a custom made kilt done for her own measurements by a competent kiltmaker, the kilt will fit her waist and hips like a dream. The picture below shows an example of exactly this - the kilt on the left was made for the woman in question. If she had inherited the kilt on the right, it might have fit in the hips, but she would never have been able to move the waist buckles to make the waist fit properly:

Here's another example. This photo below shows the kilt that I made for myself when I started piping. My waist is 26 and my hips are 41, definitely not typical for a man's kilt. Despite that, the kilt fits fine without having any darts in the apron of the kilt (which is a real no-no, because the kilt will never sit properly if it has darts in the apron). All of the shaping is accomplished in the flare of the apron edge and in the taper of the pleats:

Having said that, there are kiltmakers out there who don't know how to build a kilt for a large waist-hip differential, which is typical of a woman's measurements. If you are a woman and want a well-fitting kilt made, you might ask to see pictures of kilts that the maker has done previously for women's measurements.

**Mike_Oettle** · 30th November 11, 01:33 PM

Thank you so much for posting these pictures, Barb.
The rear view illustrates your point about women’s waists, but it also shows that your daughter has a very feminine figure, while the next picture emphasises the same about yourself.
I feel sorry for the women in my family who don’t feel the way I do about tartan!
Regards,
Mike

**Sheep In Wolf's Clothing** · 30th November 11, 07:32 PM

I made my kilt using Barb's wonderful book "The Art of Kiltmaking". It's made to my measurements, using 16oz material and is very comfortable for me to wear. (it's one of the only pieces of clothing that I don't have to wear my back support with...Yeah!)

My advice would be to glasgow32 would be:talk with your Mum and ask her what she would like. It might be a fun project for you both to do together.

Good luck and have fun making whatever you decide,
Sara

**Squeaky McMurdo** · 9th December 11, 07:15 PM

Mine is made of 5 yards of 16 oz wool like a casual kilt, but with thinner straps, smaller rise, sits lower on, and it closes on the left. The pleats still go the same direction as a man's. Mine does have darts at the waist...

As far as I can tell it sits fine when I'm not pregnant. lol.

**Barb T** · 9th December 11, 08:07 PM

Originally Posted by Squeaky McMurdo

Mine...sits lower. Mine does have darts at the waist...

Darts are fine if a kilt has no rise. But if a kilt has a rise, you can't put darts in the apron. No matter what your body shape, your kilt should have the smallest circumference at your wasit. If you put darts in the apron of a kilt, the top of the kilt will have the smallest circumference of any part of the kilt. That means that the top of the kilt will sag to your waist. In order for a kilt to buckle tightly and comfortably at the waist and have a rise, the kilt has to _flare_ above the waist, with a circumference at the top of kilt being _more_ than at the waist. That way, the kilt will fit well and stay put with the buckle line at the waist and the top edge comfortably above it, without digging into the rib cage. With darts in the apron, that's impossible.

**Dixiecat** · 9th December 11, 09:23 PM

Originally Posted by Barb T.

Darts are fine if a kilt has no rise. But if a kilt has a rise, you can't put darts in the apron. No matter what your body shape, your kilt should have the smallest circumference at your wasit. If you put darts in the apron of a kilt, the top of the kilt will have the smallest circumference of any part of the kilt. That means that the top of the kilt will sag to your waist. In order for a kilt to buckle tightly and comfortably at the waist and have a rise, the kilt has to _flare_ above the waist, with a circumference at the top of kilt being _more_ than at the waist. That way, the kilt will fit well and stay put with the buckle line at the waist and the top edge comfortably above it, without digging into the rib cage. With darts in the apron, that's impossible.

Actually you can stil put darts in a kilt with a rise. The angle of the dart must end at the waistline and then be a constant width perpindicular to the waistline

**Barb T** · 15th December 11, 05:05 AM

Originally Posted by Dixiecat

Actually you can still put darts in a kilt with a rise. The angle of the dart must end at the waistline and then be a constant width perpendicular to the waistline

Huh - you're right! I wasn't thinking - must be because all the darts I've seen in kilts do not do that - they continue to taper to the top of the kilt.

The other issue is that darts are glaringly obvious because the tartan is interrupted by the dart. For a kilt that will be worn only with a belt, this wouldn't be acceptable. It _might_ be acceptable if a dancer's vest were long enough, but most vests are pretty short.

**Dixiecat** · 16th December 11, 06:15 AM

Originally Posted by Barb T.

Huh - you're right! I wasn't thinking - must be because all the darts I've seen in kilts do not do that - they continue to taper to the top of the kilt.

The other issue is that darts are glaringly obvious because the tartan is interrupted by the dart. For a kilt that will be worn only with a belt, this wouldn't be acceptable. It _might_ be acceptable if a dancer's vest were long enough, but most vests are pretty short.

It's actually pretty rare to see darts even in a dancer's kilt just for the very reason you've given. If you do see them, they're usually near the edges of the aprons.