Taking a big step...

[way2fractious]

...I have decided to undertake hand making a kilt... Wish me luck!

Congratulations on taking the plunge. BTW, you don't need (or want) luck when making a kilt - more like a whole boatload of patience, instead. "The Book" by Barb and Elsie is wonderful; the only thing you have to remember is to read ahead a few steps each time, because they get rather wordy (bless them!) setting the scene. In fact, before putting thread in the needle, just read the whole book first and visualize each step. THEN get started.

Do take pictures, but whether you post them right away is unimportant. The pictures are really for you to remember what you did, and help to minimize any mistakes the next time you decide to make another kilt (unless the first handmade kilt is classified as a mistake in its totality . But I'm sure that won't be the case!)

[Southern Breeze]

Congrats on taking the first step. Be patient and take your time, making your own kilt is well worth it. I've made one traditional and two canvas kilts and everytime I finished one I swore I wouldn't do it again. But I did.

Above all else, Don't hesitate in asking questions!!!

[BLAZN]

Blazn,

Good luck. You have more patience than I, although if I had that much time in a barely furnished apartment, I might be forced to try because of boredom. Of course, you still have access to XMarks, so you might not have the time after all...

LOL... I can't spend as much time camped in front of my laptop as I can spend in front of my big PC. Going from a 21" monitor to a 15" monitor is a HUGE fall!
I can't go long without posting here though.

Sign up on Photobucket.com. Free photo hosting, no spam, and completely automated photo uploading. You just go to their site, browse to find the picture on your laptop, then click submit. Then it creates the IMG URL you can cut and paste into here to show the picture.

I might end up breaking down and getting a photobucket account.

Congrats on taking the first step. Be patient and take your time, making your own kilt is well worth it. I've made one traditional and two canvas kilts and everytime I finished one I swore I wouldn't do it again. But I did.

This won't be my first kilt, just the first one made by hand. This will be my 3rd true kilt. The other two are both made from a duck material, and were stitched up on a machine.

Above all else, Don't hesitate in asking questions!!!

Not a chance. When I need help, I go get it!

[BLAZN]

No photos yet, but I just finished the front apron. I'm about 4 hours into the project, and I have an apron. WOOOOOO!

I really miss my machine!

[Pleater]

At least with the pattern being plaid like it has its own built in ruler.

I find that with the plain fabrics I spend far more time measuring than with a tartain, plaid or even a pinstripe.

[BLAZN]

Nothing major here.

I know that threads like this are useless without photos, but our digital camera just gave up the ghost.

Anyway... I've not had a lot of time to work on the kilt. Total time spent at this point is only about 8 hours. That 8 hours has gotten me the front apron, with fringe, and two pleats. I wish I could get a good photo, because it's actually starting to look nice. If I can get my wife's PDA to capture some good shots tonight, I'll post 'em.

[Kilted KT]

ooo...all that work and no digital camera...that would drive most people mad!

sounds like the project is going well so far, hope you can find a camera soon!

[BLAZN]

ooo...all that work and no digital camera...that would drive most people mad!

Tell me about it... I was giving it the critical eye after I finished the second pleat. I thought to myself "lookin' smooth!" I SOOOO wanted to take a picture, but no cam!

sounds like the project is going well so far, hope you can find a camera soon!

I think I can getr the wife's PDA to work. Wish me luck!

[michael steinrok]

Good luck with the project. I'm going to start a PC jacket with the help of a fellow X'er

[BLAZN]

Good luck with the project. I'm going to start a PC jacket with the help of a fellow X'er

If someone had a PC pattern to share, or a tutorial on making one from scratch... I'd love that.


Oh... I've got an update on the handmade kilt I've been working on. I've been working on it off and on for the longest time. With things ramping up to transit a submarine from Hawaii to Maine via the North Pole, I've pretty much only had the wherewithall to do about a pleat per night or so.
Anyway... new pics are up on my photobucket site:
http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...20Sewn%20Kilt/

The first three on there are the newest. The kilt is about half-done, but I wanted to "try it on" to see how it looks. What do you guys think?