Bear, reading the machine manual is cheating. No self-respecting man would read the instructions.

Seriously, the only thing you have to remember about sewing is that it is like every other profession, it has it's own language. You don't have to know the language unless you are talking to another sewing person.

In my shop we use the truly technical terms like "in-pleats" and "out pleats" "round pocket things" and "square pocket things" "The big ruler" and "the little ruler".
Everything else is pretty basic.

Forget the terms in the begining. Try to understand the concept behind what is happening. The best suggestion I could make to someone trying to understand how a kilt is made is to get some cheap plaid fabric and some thick upolstery thread. find a big needle and start sewing. To start, make the stitches big, make the pleats big, then wrap the thing around yourself and look in the mirror. Then rip it all out and start again. Make the stitches smaller this time. Try to make your stitch lines straighter.

Don't get fancy, this whole exercise is to get used to pushing a needle thru fabric and see what it does.
Each attempt should take only a couple of hours in an evening.

After two or three practice runs you should be ready to move on to your tartan fabric. But even on the real stuff don't be afraid to rip out a line of stitches. Put them in - rip them out.

No one ever does it perfect the first time.