Amount of tartan?

[bertwert]

So I'm looking at making my first kilt, and will be ordering TAOKM and tartan soon. Before I do I am trying to gather how much I'd need.
The repeat of the set is 4.5", and making for a 40" hip measurement. I plan on pleating to the stripe and having about 1" exposed pleats.
For the apron and underapron - 40"
For the pleats 20" x 4.5" - 90"
Total - 130"
Adding 20% for oversights, etc... - 26"
Total - 156" or 4 1/3 yards.
So 5 yards should be plenty? Probably could even manage with 4, but I want to play it safe.
Is my thinking logical here?
Thanks.

[The Wizard of BC]

Can you tell us please the Tartan you have chosen and the weaver and weight of the fabric. A 4.5" Sett is on the small size. The average Sett is in the 6" range.

Then as to your measurements. You say your hip is 40". Again, that seems pretty small. Was this taken with a tape measure around the largest part of the hips and butt? The average adult male will be around 42" - 46". Can you give us your height and weight please.

For a kilt made in accordance with TAoK you will use approx. 4 yards of double-width fabric for hips up to 45" in circumference. That is a total of 8 yards after being cut or ripped along its
length. For hips over 45 you will need 4.5 yards of double-width fabric or more.

We usually call a traditionally built kilt - an 8 yard kilt knife pleated kilt or a 4 yard box pleated kilt.

[The Wizard of BC]

In your calculations you have not included the apron facings, the apron taper, or the deep and reverse pleats.
The width of the aprons is usually slightly more than 1/2 of the waist circumference and the pleated area is usually slight more than 1/2 of the hip circumference.

[bertwert]

The tartan I plan on using is 12oz Royal Stewart. As I have limited funds for my adventures, I found the most inexpensive quality tartan and decided I could work with it: http://wooltartan.com/discount-tartans/ I was also making a 5 yard mid-weight kilt rather than a 8 yard heavy-weight kilt so it would be slightly lighter for hiking, casual sport wear, etc..
Hip 40", (Natural) Waist 30", Height 70", Weight 160lbs
Thanks.

[The Wizard of BC]

OK, first off you may be confusing some terms. A 5 yard kilt and an 8 yard kilt refer to the amount of yardage and not to the weight. Light weight and heavy weight refer to the fabric used.

You could make a 5 yard light weight kilt or a 5 yard heavy weight kilt You could make an 8 yard light weight kilt or an 8 yard heavy weight kilt.

In general the difference in a 5 yard kilt and an 8 yard kilt will be the width of the visible portion of the pleats. (The pleat reveal) Each will have about the same aprons, facings etc. but the pleats will be wider in the 5 yard kilt. Wider pleats = fewer pleats = less fabric.

If your Sett is 4.5 inches and you have 1 inch reveal then you pleats are 1.75 inches deep. If you increase the reveal to 1.5 inches then you decrease the depth of the pleats to 1.5 inches.
Compare this to a Sett of 6.75 inches which is pretty common, and a 1 inch reveal = 2.875 pleat depth.

The usual weights of fabric for a kilt is 13oz or 16oz. There is 10oz but it is usually used for vests and ties. Most think the fabric is too light weight and fly-away for a kilt although many of the imported kilts are as light as 6oz.

There is some wisdom in the advice to buy the very best fabric that you can afford. Better and heavier fabrics are actually easier to sew and in the end you have something you can be proud of and proud to say "I made this".
Some think that they will do a 'practice kilt' first. Well, in the end you have a practice kilt and now have to spend more money to buy the fabric for your 'real kilt'. Why not just make the real kilt first?

When buying fabric remember that most fabrics come 54-60 inches wide. For an 8 yard kilt you only need to buy 4 yards of double-width fabric.

[derosa]

I've got, and have used some of that fabric, personally I don't find it too light and think it makes a comfortable kilt. But from experience it is true it is easier to sew and follow the lines on a real 16oz tartan.

[Pleater]

For a kilt you intend to wear doing active things then you do need to have good deep pleats at the edges of the aprons so they are not pulled apart when stepping over things or when crouching or sitting. Double the width of the small pleats is advisable

Anne the Pleater

[bertwert]

For a kilt you intend to wear doing active things then you do need to have good deep pleats at the edges of the aprons so they are not pulled apart when stepping over things or when crouching or sitting. Double the width of the small pleats is advisable

Anne the Pleater

Good idea, hadn't thought of that...