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[MDR-V300]

Greetings, kilted... persons?

I've been lurking here for a few weeks, and I've been wanting a kilt for a few years. I had [and have] my eye on a Bear Kilt, but even at the reasonable prices, I couldn't afford it just yet.

And then - providence; somebody posted some instructions. I had a couple of free days and a 10 dollar bill in my pocket, so I went out to see if it could be done.
[Now, the subject line sort of kills any suspense I might have had going for me, but I'm going to say it anyway as though it were a revelation.]
It worked! I didn't bleed too much on it, and I sewed much straighter than I imagined I could. I had a whole dollar in change, hypothetically; in reality I bought a donut before I made it to the fabric store.

I tapered! I topstitched! I learned what tapering and topstitching meant! And the sense of satisfaction! Incredible!

Normally, I'd shoot myself if I used this many exclamation marks, but tonight I'll throw in three more for no reason.

!!!


Truly,
A man who is far too fond of tailor's chalk

[Graham]

Well done, and welcome to the board, glad you now have a kilt and the satisfaction of know you made it yourself. What material did you use?

[Freelander Sporrano]

Welcome to the Forum.

Tell us a little more about yourself.Also did you use Tartan or plain material?What instructions did you follow?

[GMan]

Glad that your fingers survived! But more than that WELCOME Happy that you posted, I raise a donut to you

Cannot wait for more posts to find out what you think of being kilted and the reactions of others.

Again Welcome!

[MDR-V300]

Thanks for the welcome, everybody.

For those that asked, I used plain black fabric of indeterminate composition. It was the finest, cheapest fabric in the remnant bin at Wal-Mart. It turned out to look pretty good, and it's strong, too.
I used these directions:
http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/chegc/kiltsite/page2.htm
but I changed them a bit where I had other ideas. I went with the 'hill walker' option, also known as the 'less pleats to deal with' option.

I added in:
- a change pocket [on the inside, just next to the right hip buckle]
- an under-apron pocket with a seperate credit card sized pocket
- some bits of velcro between the tops of the aprons to help things line up better
- 5 belt loops, which were embarrassingly difficult to do for some reason
- I changed the leather buckles to a black... strap thing [like you find on school bags]. I found black belt buckles designed to fit them.

As for myself, I'm a student of linguistics and entomology, although currently I'm just drifting. For the past year I've been wandering across north america, mostly penniless. I never would have guessed it before, but people everywhere are really nice and generous. As long as one is friendly, it seems there are always folks willing to help out.

Yours with a proper name,
Derek

[RockyR]

Great to have you here!

We are all such a happy group. I own a plain black Amerikilt and love it.

Happy Kilting and stick around, There is pleanty of coffe on and the converations will warm you if the coffe don't.

We need more Icons 8)

[David Woodington]

Nice to meet you!I am glad you filled us in on your kilt.It sounds like it turned out great and the additions sound cool and really practical.Like they all have said stay and talk for a while.

Later
Dave

[TheFly]

Derek,

Sounds like quite a cool, contemporary design. Nylon belts and all that. Can't wait to see pics of it, should you post some.

I was contemplating making a kilt myself. However, I had a bad experience trying to sew a smoking jacket about a year ago and blew about $90 in fabric on it. I'm just not a very accomplished seamstress, I guess.

Welcome, from one newbie to another.

[bubba]

I was contemplating making a kilt myself. However, I had a bad experience trying to sew a smoking jacket about a year ago and blew about $90 in fabric on it. I'm just not a very accomplished seamstress, I guess.

Sewing takes some practice. Start out with relatively simple projects and use the cheapest fabric you can find. A good basic muslin is ok.

[MDR-V300]

You're absolutely right about sewing taking practise. This was the first thing I've ever sewn, and it has taught me an awful lot, mainly through making mistakes and fixing them.
About the $90 wasted on the jacket, if you want a project that involves very little cutting then try a kilt. [almost] All of your mistakes can be corrected by tediously ripping out stitches, which is why I thought I should try this. If you have some patience you should be able to avoid setting fire to the fabric and throwing the sewing machine through a window.
My most important lesson learned, and the slowest one to work its way through my skull, is that if the sewing machine stops going forward then there is probably a good reason. Forcing it will only compound your problems. Stop right away, take a deep breath, and set things straight before trying again.

I'll post some pictures if I can find a digital camera to borrow.

So far I've had only one comment, and it was from an old Croatian lady. "What you wear? You wearink skirt? Ha! Ees nice. Make you look like... how you say? Make you look like Ireland."

I'll take it as a compliment.