DIY advice/ideas?

[Daibhidh O'Baoighill]

Hey all you do DIY's! Here is my latest win on ebay. It is 2 1/2 yards by 60" of 20 oz wool. It will need to be joined/seamed to give me 5 yards of material to work with for a kilt. I was originally thinking of a box pleat. Would a knife pleat be better?

[george7]

Unless you're skinny, a 5 yard knife pleat kilt will probably have shallow pleats. Box pleats, on the other hand, take about half as much material.

[Daibhidh O'Baoighill]

I am definately not skinny (39" waist/ 44 1/2" rump) and I found out with my last kilt that 5 1/2 yards was not enough for a military rolled box pleat.

[hospitaller]

nah, SWK economy and thrifties use about 4-5 depending on size.

pleats are about 2.5"-3" deep with a 1"-1.25" reveal.

5 yards should be enough for a 'casual' knife pleat.

[ChattanCat]

I'd go with a box pleat with 5 yards. You should have plenty for the kilt.

[Carolina Kiltman]

Nice material! I would go for the box pleat also. Just be sure to send us a pic when finished. Here's to successful sewing!

[pdcorlis]

Will these stripes run vertically or horizontally?

[Daibhidh O'Baoighill]

Will these stripes run vertically or horizontally?

I haven't received the material yet, but judging from the picture they will run horizontally.

[pdcorlis]

In that case pleats can be any depth you want. So you know (perhaps you already do) usually pleat depth is a function of sett size - or if the stripes run vertically - on the repeat of the pattern. Pleating to the stripe takes slightly less fabric than pleating to the sett. Changing the size of the reveal will change the total fabric length needed to cover a given circumference. Of course each pleat style (box, knife, rolled) uses more or less fabric to cover a given waist size.

My apologies if you knew that already and good luck with your project.

[george7]

Ya'll keep in mind that it's 20oz wool. You won't need as thick of pleats to keep yourself warm.