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Thread: making a kilt

  1. #1
    Join Date
    5th June 08
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    Boise, idaho
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    making a kilt

    I plan to one day make my own kilt as well. I will have help from my mom who knows how to sew. I have one question. I have a thrifty type kilt now that fits me well and I like the shape. Should I take that kilt with me, lay it out flat and study it carefully then just try to make a carbon copy with new material. I thought this would help tell me how many pleats I would need and how they are constructed. Of course I will study the Ebook as well. I think I will start with a blue denim unless it's very hard to work with.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    27th October 07
    Location
    Fairbanks, AK
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    If you like the way the simple kilt you already have works for you, then copy it, by all means. Nothing wrong with that. You learn a lot that way and it is a fairly simple way to figure out some of the variables.

    Regarding denim, it has a tendency to wrinkle and bunch up. My favorite self-made kilt is a poly-cotton twill. I'm wearing it now. I sewed the edges of the pleats to keep them there without ironing and I sewed the top 6" of each pleat down. It is all external stitching, but it looks pretty good, in a utilitarian way.

    If you really want denim, I suggest finding some thread the same color yellow as what is used to sew up jeans. I really think would look great. But maybe that's just me.

    I suggest that you make your first attempt with fairly cheap fabric that you would still like to wear. Expensive fabric would make it an expensive education. Check out some basic twills at Wal Mart or a bargain rack at a fabric store. Get about 4 yards and make two kilts, with the second incorporating whatever improvements you figure out from the first one. When you are confident that you won't make a kilt you'd never wear outside the house, spring for some better cloth. It shows off good workmanship better than cheap junk.

    Don't use flannel, no matter how pretty the tartan is. I've seen some really nice flannels lately and wished they were not cheesy fabric that would lump and pill and look too skirty. I like the wash & wear quality of the twill quite a bit. And it is a medium khaki color that goes with anything. Black is also good.

    My first effort is hidden from the world. It is comfy, but I had several bright ideas that didn't work out too well. Also, a bad choice of fabric. Look for something that feels good to touch, drapes well (just hold a yard up and swish it back and forth in the air - some fabrics are so stiff they'd look comical in a kilt), and is fairly affordable.

    Read the X-Kilt manual and try to understand it. That's where I started, too, but I put knife pleats in mine instead of box pleats. Also, I made a normal-width apron, not the narrow kind found in UKs and AKs.

    That really should be enough to get started. Have fun!

    -Patrick

  3. #3
    Join Date
    10th July 08
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    I say if the current kilt fits well and you like the design and style, I see no harm in copying the design.

    As for fabric, yea I agree it would be a good idea to start with something cheap but wearable. Today I got enough fabric for one kilt for about $4.50 from Walmart. They had $2 a yard fabric and I seen a nice 100% cotton in a color I could live with and got it.

    I myself am making my own kilt but I have no current kilt to go by so the results may be interesting. If I screw up too bad, I'll be out less than $20 total and maybe some time.

    On a side note, let us see pictures throughout the process and when completed if possible.

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