Am I on the Right Track for Kiltmaking?

**Mark's Mom** · 28th December 10, 01:55 PM

I was studying The Art of Kiltmaking last night in preparation to start my first kilt. I am not sure I fully understand what I am reading, so could anyone comment on my understanding or lack thereof for the kilt I plan to make:

My kilt subject is a 6'3" 19-year-old. His waist is 35" and his hip is 41" at the widest curve of the buttocks. The fell is 8" and the total length is 27" The fabric is 100% worsted wool--11 oz-- in a Black Stewart design. It seems that the sett of the tartan will determine what choices of the amount of fabric I will be using. The sett is small, only a sliver over 3 inches. I figure I will need to either double or triple the sett to make a kilt.

For a double sett, the resultant sett width would be 6.125 inches. I calculated an apron width of 19" at the waist and 20" at the hip. The pleat area would be 16" at the waist and 21" at the hip. If I am doing this correctly, I think the waist could be pleated 3/4 inch using 5.1" of fabric. I believe the kilt would have 21 pleats, with the hip pleat being one inch. This would mean the pleated area would use 109" which is 3 yards. I would add one yard for the apron and facing and another yard for the underapron and facing, so a total of 5 yards.

Making a huge assumption that this is correct,--and if my plan is at all close to being right, please suggest any corrections--should I consider making a triple sett instead, so more fabric will be used, giving the kilt more weight in the rear.

The fabric I have purchased is not perfect for a kilt, I know, but it was affordable and it has a nice selvage. I have 5+ yards, and it is 60" wide, so I think I have enough to make either a double or triple set, whichever would be recommended. The pattern is symmetrical.

According to the book, this kilt must be very exact in construction, but it seems like there are a few minor fractions of inches that must be overlooked so as not to have to use a micrometer in making it. Does extra fabric get folded under that last pleat and should I calculate differently so I have a little extra to tuck in there?

If anyone knows of a California kiltmaking class coming up, please let me know.

Thanks for any suggestions or corrections to my plan.

**HeathBar** · 28th December 10, 02:57 PM

First off, you have plenty of material for a kilt. Yes, 11oz is on the light side, so the more material you can use the better. For some reason I am thinking that you will use more than 3 yds in the pleats. If the pleats at the hip will be 21in and you have .75in pleat facing(at the hip), then you will have more than 21 pleats. I'm thinking more like 28. And that would use around 4.75 yds. And are you adding in the reverse pleats. Those will add to the yardage. But again, you have more than enough fabric.

**tulloch** · 28th December 10, 03:45 PM

I am not an authority at all but I have a little knowledge. First I wonder if your fabric is a proper tartan. It might be one of the many unofficial tartans. I am, for example, sitting with a pillow at my back from one of the great American wool houses. The tartan seems to be a correct rendition of one of the Black Stewart tartans but the size of the pattern may not be correct. The size of the sett from one of the authorized weavers may be different. Just a thought. I admire your dedication and generosity. Keep it up. I saw some interesting fabric pleated to the pattern in various photos and at Loon Mountain this year. It is an art in itself.

**Mark's Mom** · 28th December 10, 05:43 PM

Originally Posted by HeathBar

First off, you have plenty of material for a kilt. Yes, 11oz is on the light side, so the more material you can use the better. For some reason I am thinking that you will use more than 3 yds in the pleats. If the pleats at the hip will be 21in and you have .75in pleat facing(at the hip), then you will have more than 21 pleats. I'm thinking more like 28. And that would use around 4.75 yds. And are you adding in the reverse pleats. Those will add to the yardage. But again, you have more than enough fabric.

Hi HeathBar,
I think I planned the pleating one inch at the hip and .75" at the waist. I stated that part incorrectly. I did not include extra fabric for reverse pleats, but that sounds like a good idea. I have never even seen a kilt in person to inspect how it is constructed, which might be helpful. I will try again using the triple set idea and see what I come up with.

**Mark's Mom** · 28th December 10, 05:51 PM

Originally Posted by tulloch

I am not an authority at all but I have a little knowledge. First I wonder if your fabric is a proper tartan. It might be one of the many unofficial tartans. I am, for example, sitting with a pillow at my back from one of the great American wool houses. The tartan seems to be a correct rendition of one of the Black Stewart tartans but the size of the pattern may not be correct. The size of the sett from one of the authorized weavers may be different. Just a thought. I admire your dedication and generosity. Keep it up. I saw some interesting fabric pleated to the pattern in various photos and at Loon Mountain this year. It is an art in itself.

Hi Tulloch,
I am pretty sure my fabric is not a true tartan because it would have been much more expensive if it were. My thought was that I could learn to construct a kilt with this less expensive fabric so that if I fail, I will not have spent so much. If I succeed, then I would like to do another kilt in a true tartan. That would really be great, because I am sure Mark will want to wear the first kilt out and about before the prom.

**Elf** · 28th December 10, 09:57 PM

Originally Posted by Mark's Mom

Hi Tulloch,
I am pretty sure my fabric is not a true tartan because it would have been much more expensive if it were. My thought was that I could learn to construct a kilt with this less expensive fabric so that if I fail, I will not have spent so much. If I succeed, then I would like to do another kilt in a true tartan. That would really be great, because I am sure Mark will want to wear the first kilt out and about before the prom.

Yes, I believe this is a very good attitude. My first kilt was prefaced by a plain fabric test run. Although pleat size didn't matter, I pleated it to the same dimensions that I calculated for the tartan fabric waiting in the wings. It helped a lot to confirm I was reading the book correctly. When I did pick up the tartan, I only did two pleats an evening. Matching up the sett was so nerve-wracking that I couldn't stand to do more. The rest of the sewing was less stressful and went faster. Every project involves learning so my overall advise is just dive in and get to learning, since learning is fun.

**fixornot** · 29th December 10, 03:59 AM

I suggest you dont over think it or you will take the fun out of it, which, dare I say it, The Art of Kiltmaking does, the level of perfection required to complete a kilt by the "Book" is extremely difficult at best and not nessessarly atainable to all. Sorry Barb its a great book, I've read it twice but what you expect just takes the fun out of it.
I am on my 14th kilt, their all different none of them are perfect but I am the only one that knows it and to date no one has come up to me and said "that's not right" almost always they are simply in awe that I make these things at all, and by the way when I made my first kilt and put it on I have not worn a pair of pants from that day forward, I am a 24/7 rain or shine kilt wearer and proud of it, perfect or not have fun.
If one day Barb should find her way to the west coast and offer up a class, I will be the first one in line in the hope that some of that perfection will rub of on me because it is after all an art and a precise garment you will find no where else except maybe NASA.

**ChattanCat** · 29th December 10, 08:23 AM

Hi Mark's Mom,

You have the right book for making a kilt. The book does not cover everything as Barb assumes a certain level of sewing experience.

The splits you have chosen are good and I would go with them. I also use 27" lengths for my own kilts as I am 6'5".

I would recommend the double sett for pleating as 6" is quite adequate. Since you don't have 8 yards, I would recommend a reveal for the pleats that would work with the amount of fabric that you have. You can use any pleat reveal that you want and can choose the reveal and number of pleats depending on how much material you have.

You should follow the instructions in Barb's book for laying out the kilt. If you have 5 yards of fabric, lay out the underapron per the instructions. I would lay out the overapron and mark where the last can be per Barb's book and mark the minimum distance from the center of the aprons to the first and last pleat, leaving the room for the inverted and reverse pleats. Then you can mark the pleats (I use pins at this point) till I figure out where the back center pleat is and all the other pleats.

Final step is to mark each pleat with chalk and remove the pins because they tend to stick into your hands, fingers, and legs as you pleat.

Cheers and good luck,

**Paul Henry** · 29th December 10, 08:31 AM

Originally Posted by ChattanCat

snip
Since you don't have 8 yards, I would recommend a reveal for the pleats that would work with the amount of fabric that you have. ,

shesays she has 5+ yards 60" wide,
so the normal idea would be to split and join somewhere in the middle of the pleats...

**Mark's Mom** · 29th December 10, 01:28 PM

Thanks for the advice. It sounds like I should start by lining up the apron and under apron area at each end and then center the back of the pleats on the remaining fabric. If I am close to having the right amount, the leftover can get tucked into the inverted/reverse pleat. I am listening to all advice and hope to soon jump into the project. Also, I was given info on a class in February, which would be in time to make a final kilt for the prom!