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  1. #1
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    How do you work out a seat from a kilt?

    Hope some kind soul can help me here:

    I have to get someone's kilt measurements without actually measuring them. This is for a gift.

    I'm going to be given their existing kilt so I can take length and waist but I would like to be able to get the seat measurement correct too, rather than guessing.

    Can anyone tell me the best way to do this?

  2. #2
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    7th February 11
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    I take it this is a surprise gift?

    Maybe from trousers, since they fit more exactly there - jeans in particular?
    Rev'd Father Bill White: Retired Parish Priest & Elementary Headmaster, lover of God, dogs, most people, joy, humour & clarity. Legion Padre, theologian, teacher, philosopher, linguist, traditionalist, bon-vivant, encourager of hearts & souls & a firm believer in dignity, decency, & duty. A proud Canadian Sinclair.

  3. #3
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    That would be fine if it is just as accurate. How do I do that?

  4. #4
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    You can fold the kilt in half at the bottom of the fell so that it curves smoothly and the bottom of the fell is stretched out and then measure along a tartan line at the bottom of the fell from the fringe edge, across the apron, and across the pleats stopping at the pleat edge of the underapron. That will give you a number of inches.

    But, you don't know how that # of inches actually relates to the hip measurement that the kiltmaker took. In the kilts that I make, that would be at least an inch bigger than the actual measurement I would get if I measured the person around the hips. I always add an inch to the fringe edge of the apron to make sure that the apron covers the underapron, and I commonly add several inches to the hips if someone has a big belly so that the front of the kilt hangs straighter (avoiding the tilted barrel look).

    If you're gifting a kilt that is an "off the rack" inexpensive kilt, you'll be fine with an approximation, because they'll likely only ask for a waist measurement. If this is for an expensive custom-made kilt, I would strongly urge you to surprise the person with a picture and a gift certificate, and then do the proper measurements the way the kiltmaker wants them.
    Last edited by Barb T; 7th December 15 at 05:23 PM.
    Kiltmaker, piper, and geologist (one of the few, the proud, with brains for rocks....
    Member, Scottish Tartans Authority
    Geology stuff (mostly) at http://people.hamilton.edu/btewksbu
    The Art of Kiltmaking at http://theartofkiltmaking.com

  5. The Following 4 Users say 'Aye' to Barb T For This Useful Post:


  6. #5
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    We talked about presenting him with the cloth but there is an elaborate joke to be fulfilled which will only work with the kilt as made. It is for a made to measure kilt but that shouldn't cause too much panic: I've been working in highlandwear retail for a while now so I am reasonably confident I can get this right. I routinely measure customers for machine and hand sewn options of various styles and yardage.

    I'm just curious what a craft kiltmaker would do if tasked with making a replica of an existing kilt. How would you determine its dimensions? It's not a situation I have encountered before. There is a reason I don't want to approach anyone at my employer for advice however.

    For seat measurement I normally take a loose measurement while someone is wearing trousers across the widest point. This kilt is going to be made for growth anyway so there will be more than the usual range of movement for the aprons.
    Last edited by KiltFitz; 7th December 15 at 12:07 PM.

  7. #6
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    Not sure why I would want to replicate an existing kilt when I could measure the person it was meant to fit, but, if I had to do it, I would measure the kilt at the waist and at the bottom of the fell and go from there.
    Kiltmaker, piper, and geologist (one of the few, the proud, with brains for rocks....
    Member, Scottish Tartans Authority
    Geology stuff (mostly) at http://people.hamilton.edu/btewksbu
    The Art of Kiltmaking at http://theartofkiltmaking.com

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  9. #7
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    Thanks Barb. Been reading your book BTW which I bought for my beloved as a present. I have no manual skill whatsoever to attempt it but it's really helped me in lots of other ways.

  10. #8
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    I'm not a kiltmaker, but there's also a very rough technique we use when desperate in costuming. Get the individual in question to pose for two photos, one straight on and one full profile. Shoot them with a normal lens (about 50mm for 35mm cameras and the DSLRs that imitate them; otherwise the zoom setting where the field of view in the photo most closely matches what you see with your eye without looking up, down, or to the side -- neither wide angle nor telephoto). Then calculate the ratio of the measurement you know to the measurement you want in both photos. Average the two ratios, and then run the math with the known measurement.

    So, for example, in the front view the waist might look like it's the same as the seat for a ratio of 1:1. In the side view, the seat might be larger for a ratio of 1:1.2. So the average is 1:1.2. If the known waist measurement is 40, the seat measurement will be around 44.

    Again, I can't emphasize strongly enough that this is very, very rough. I've never been on a show where we've had to use it and didn't have to do alterations when we actually got the actor -- though, to be fair, we tend to build large and alter on set when we're not certain. I'd use this only as a sanity check since you have a garment to measure.

    Of course, the logical followup question is are you expecting the individual in question to wear this new kilt and look good in it? If it's a gag kilt, a rough idea of the seat will probably be close enough.

  11. #9
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    Thanks for all the input.

    It's not a gag kilt. But there is a gag involved. As a present, it will really work only if presented as a surprise since there will be several expectant contributors here. Basically, he will be given a tartan tie with the message we all pitched in to buy it. Then his kilt will come out as we watch him try to put a smile on it. As will several people he is not expecting. We're Glaswegians, we have that kind of humour.

    There will be no gift certificate since, as a holder of trade accounts with all the major mills and with my own access to kiltmakers, I will be supplying it at cost price. I have had kilts made before to good effect. Two for a member of this forum in fact. For this reason, no-one else will be involved in taking measurements but me. I measure approximately 100 - 150 people a week for kilts and I know him very, very well so I have a very good idea of what it will be, I basically need confirmation of what I suspect.

    I could present him with the cloth only. It was agreed that would be a nice present but given the crowd that are going to be there and the nature of the event, the gag kind of relies in sending him off to put it on. We would also like great photos of him in the kilt to keep as a memento. If I took measurements for a kilt off him without a very, very good excuse, he would smell a rat and guess pretty quickly that a couple of dozen people are actually, unbeknownst to him, travelling several hundred miles for his birthday party while he is on holiday.

    Help so far has been excellent as I expected here. Thanks again everyone.

  12. #10
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    Just saying, would have been helpful to know all this up front.
    Kiltmaker, piper, and geologist (one of the few, the proud, with brains for rocks....
    Member, Scottish Tartans Authority
    Geology stuff (mostly) at http://people.hamilton.edu/btewksbu
    The Art of Kiltmaking at http://theartofkiltmaking.com

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