Building a kilt from two regimental kilts?

[fhpdo]

I see some of the military regimental kilts come up on ebay from time to time,but they are all very small sizes. I am very far from small.....my question to those much more knowledgable than I is this...... is it possible to use two of the smaller kilts to make one larger kilt? I love the idea of the 18oz to 22oz kilt as well as the history factor behind using a real military kilt. If this could be done then perhaps with 2 kilts I would have enough to have an 8yd (ok more than 8 I'm a BIG guy) tank made and perhaps a 4 (or more ) yard box pleat made as well. Thanks in advance for the advice.
John

[Moosehead]

Thatt would be no problem at all. Just remember the length factor. Another option would be to get one from What Price Glory, as they have them in bigger sizes. Also consider that a large size mil kilt is still quite a bit smaller than your average Joe.

[Barb T]

Ahhh, hmmmm. I respectfully beg to differ about this being no problem.

Remember that the tartan will be cut out behind each of the pleats from the bottom of the fell to the top of the kilt. If you were to take a kilt completely apart, you wouldn't have a nice continuous piece of fabric. So, if you want to merge the kilts, you don't want to undo the pleats.

To merge two kilts, you'd need to basically cut two pleated sections out of one of the kilts, slit the other kilt in the right two places for the way the kilt is pleated (simpler if it's pleated to the stripe), and add the two pleated sections. Then you'd have to figure out a way to add more width to both the apron and the underapron without the piecing showing. Given that, here are the issues:

-Are you sure that the tartan in the two kilts actually matches thread for thread? Even two batches of the same tartan woven by the same mill might not match.
-Do the two kilts have fells the same length (or nearly the same length) _and_ are the fells at the same place in the tartan? If not, nothing will match.
-Is there enough in the facings and deep pleat to allow you to enlarge the apron enough, and can you piece in extra fabric from the second kilt in such a way that the seams are hidden either in the facing or the deep pleat? If you would need a seam that will show in the apron, it won't look good. You can piece the underapron, though, because no one will ever see it.

If you can answer "yes" to all of the above, you'll need to take the buckles, straps, and top band off both kilts, undo the apron and underapron edges, remove all of the lining and canvas, and unstitch both the deep pleat and the inverted pleat. From there, you'll remake the entire kilt.

Whew - if you're going to do this yourself, and if the kilts didn't cost you much to begin with, then maybe it would be worth it. If you have to pay someone else to do it, it's likely to cost more in labor than making a kilt from scratch. Frankly, I'd just buy some military weight tartan and have someone make me a kilt!!

Barb

[fhpdo]

I was thinking that with the longer rise in the military models I would have a little lenth to work with...is this true?
John

[Moosehead]

DOH! And thats why I'm an amateur, and Barb isn't. Listen to her, not me.

[fhpdo]

Thanks Barb that was what I was looking for. I am a history buff and liked the idea of using the originals, but it sounds pretty difficult to pull off.
John

[Barb T]

I was thinking that with the longer rise in the military models I would have a little lenth to work with...is this true?

The longer rise doesn't actually help, because you can't match up the tapered part of a pleat with the part in the rise, which isn't tapered. Each pleat tapers from hip to waist, which is at the center of the buckles, but from the center of the buckle to the top of the kilt, the pleat _doesn't_ taper any more. In fact, in a really well-made kilt, it should even flare a little between the center of the buckle and the top of the kilt so that the smallest dimension of the kilt is at the center buckle line. That way, when the kilt is buckled snuggly, the top of the kilt is a bit looser to accommodate flare of the body above the waist.

Barb

[fhpdo]

Thanks again Barb.....I just sent you a PM about another kilt I want to have made.
John

[angerli]

Hi, Barb!

I've seen a few of your posts and replies. Here's my situation: I bought a nice "antique" outfit on eBay.co.uk back in November. This was supposedly from the 1930s. What I received was a really nice tan tweed Argyle jacket and matching waistcoat, and a mainly-blue 8-yard kilt. Given the husky tweed (stouter than any Harris Tweed I own or have ever seen heretofore), I had a new lining put in the jacket and waistcoat so they're all set. I bought about five metres of curtain lining in a goldish tan and that matches the jacket very well.

Now, the kilt. It is probably a 32" waist and I'm a 33.5. So, it's too small for me. I figured that I should probably have new belts made for it. But, more I think about it, what could I have done to make the waist a bit larger? Lose a pleat in the back? And, there are several tiny moth holes to deal with. One is where the old feller must have worn his kilt pin. I really like it, but I sure would like to know what tartan it is. No maker's marks anywhere.

So, besides my Hunting MacNicol tank, I have this "unknown" kilt to think about fixing up. Would it be worth doing? I need some advice before I get going on this! :confused:

Sandy

[Barb T]

Hi Sandy

You can always start by moving the apron edge buckle(s) and the underapron strap over, although this may cause the underapron edge to show on the right hand side.

If you want to make the kilt bigger, you wouldn't take out a pleat in the back. You'd make the apron and underapron wider. That involves removing the lining, taking off the top band, removing enough of the canvas to get at the edges of the apron and underapron, taking out the stitching on the apron and underapron edges, and unstitching the deep pleat and inverted pleat. Then you extend the apron and underapron the same amount on both sides to keep the center stripe centered and rebuild the kilt. If you have someone else do it, it's not cheap.

If the kilt is a bit "iffy" to start with, you never know what you'll find when you undo everything. Some kiltmakers who either don't know what they're doing or who are scrimping won't leave enough fabric to make this possible or will cut out the deep pleat, making it impossible to do this.

Honestly, I don't like taking stuff apart that I haven't made myself, because I don't know what I'll find, so I don't very often take a job of altering an unknown kilt. You could try it yourself, though - you could just get my book and follow the alteration instructions.

cheers!

Barb