Towel Method

[jhockin]

Susanblue: yes, that IS the natural waist.

[Pleater]

When making the kilt you need to make the upper edge at the front level with the back, or cut it out to curve beneath the bulge, but that can be rather unflattering.
If you try to make the top of the aprons along the red line then the kilt will most likely be tilted, pushed out at the back and pressing on the thighs at the front. The aprons should not be close to the body at hip level but fall from the 'bay window' - which might make the hip measurement of the kilt rather more than the actual size.
The structure of the lining should keep the kilt supported and level - and should fit into the back of the waist quite accurately. There is a lot more shaping than the two measurements might imply because they are not a simple shape stacked one over the other, they are offset.

[Barb T]

Yup - that's why the "towel method" works. Here's an example. The kilt on the left was made using direct hip and waist measurements. It winds up being a tilted cylinder, with the apron edge and first pleat flopping open because they don't hang straight down. It's also almost impossible to wear the kilt at the proper height in the front. The kilt on the right is worn by the same guy, but several inches were added to the direct hip measurement, and the hip measurement was evenly split between the pleats and the apron, which allow the kilt to hang straight down from the true waist. This also allows the kiltmaker to add more shaping to the pleats, which snugs the kilt in to the small of the back.

You'll see that he also looks much slimmer in the right hand kilt! It also helps if kilt on the right is worn with sporran hangers rather than a sporran strap or chain, which tends to pull the kilt in under the belly.