Is it a kilt - Or a jig saw puzzle?

[The Wizard of BC]

Here is where this kilt started to become a jig saw puzzle. I found that to make this work I would need to cut some of the pleats out and move them to new locations within the kilt.

For example I needed to find one pleat that had a Red stripe going down the middle that I could cut out and move to where it was not originally.



Here I have found a pleat that could be moved. I have cut it out from its original location and moved it to where I needed it. This restored the Red Pleat near the under apron side. Right at the right side buckles in the first photo of this thread.




Each time I would cut out a pleat and move it I laid my layout strip down to insure everything was lining up.



I ended up doing this 11 times before I had all the pieces re-aligned.



Now its time to start putting this kilt back together.

[The Wizard of BC]

Just like making a kilt the normal way I started by laying out the aprons. Of course I had to change them to meet the new pleating.

You can see in this photo the original yellow stripes centered in the outer apron and the new red strip I am going to use.



A final marking with the layout strip.



And then I start sewing the pleats back down.



OK, OK, I cheat and iron the pleat creases in before I stitch. And I pin everything into its relative positions as I go.




Today before closing the shop I completed all the Fell stitching. Then I removed the pins and basted all the pleats for a pressing.

And just as one final check I put a tape measure on everything to insure the kilt is now the right size.

And finally I lay my lay-out strip on top of the finished pleats. The idea here is that the Full Tartan Sett should be replicated in the pleating.


First here is the original photo again to show what this kilt looked like when I got it.



And what it looks like now. The total time to accomplish this so far is four days.



Not too bad if I say so myself.

Tomorrow I begin putting the stabilizer and interfacings back in.
Now, a caution - I'm going to be putting my Contemporary type of interfacing and stabilizer into this kilt. My system differs from Barb's so those of you who make Traditional Kilt may want to stop here.

To be continued.

[GrainReaper]

It looks like a lot of brainpower was used up just to make it all work.

I'm impressed

[Stephan]

OK, looking forward to the 'to be continued' part. This is very interesting information! Because the owner of this kilt was so determined to keep the kilt and was very willing have you attempt to rectify, would you agree that this sort of realignment could be done with just about any other kilt that has had the pleats cut away in the fell? It seems to me that this can be done!

Stephan

[MinusHD]

I believe you are a magician, Steve. Impressive work1

[argyle24]

Whoa. A lot of unbelievable stuff happening here - @grizzledIan I was hoping you'd pull out the "wanders like a cow in India" phrase for the pleats on this one! I can't believe that the original maker handed that kilt over to the client as a finished, wearable item.

Thank you Steve for documenting these rebuilds. As a fledgling kiltmaker, its incredibly educational to see what the errors were in the original and how you address them and work around the additional issues they've created as you go through the reconstruction process.

[Andrew Breecher]

Steve, this is an amazing post.

[The Wizard of BC]

OK, looking forward to the 'to be continued' part. This is very interesting information! Because the owner of this kilt was so determined to keep the kilt and was very willing have you attempt to rectify, would you agree that this sort of realignment could be done with just about any other kilt that has had the pleats cut away in the fell? It seems to me that this can be done!

Stephan

No Stephan, I would not make any assumptions. What you do not see are the two days that I spent just staring at this trying to figure it all out. This was the most complex project I have ever done.

And if it had not been pure luck this would not have worked. In the end I needed to cut-out five pleats and re-locate them. Not a job that I would say "could be done with just about any other kilt".

Yes, if you are just making the waist a couple of inches larger it could be done on almost any kilt. Not all, but the average one. It would all depend on how much the original maker cut away behind the pleats. I have seen some kilts where there is simply not enough fabric left to stitch to.

In the end it is about labor. Is your customer willing to spend the money to accomplish what is in essence two new kilts worth of labor. One to disassemble the original and one to remake the kilt. I came to an agreement with this customer that I would charge him the same labor as I would to make a kilt from scratch. In exchange I got to try this job and got to post it all here.

If the truth be told I should have refused the job. In all honesty I should have told this guy in very strong terms that he should just buy a new kilt.

[MacCathmhaoil]

You do realize that you have just elected yourself de facto saviour of every tartan monstrosity and their owners! God help you trying to get that genie back in the bottle! LOL!

[The Wizard of BC]

Well, with customers in the shop and a new kiltmaker in training I did not have as much time to work on this kilt as I would have liked.

I did get the interfacing pieces cut and in place.







Nothing is sewn yet but this does show how the pieces of interfacing go together. At each apron the lining is installed so it can be folded over the interfacing. This way we I do not have raw interfacing showing on the inside of the kilt.

In the center the interfacing is folded multiple times. This gives some vertical form and shape to the Fell area. I have machine stitched these folds but that is only to hold everything in place. Another reason for the folds is to allow the interfacing to take the curved shape of the Fell.

In a traditional kilt all of this would be done by hand one fold at a time. In a contemporary kilt the overriding consideration is strength.
We want the three individual pieces of interfacing to act as if it was one continuous piece. This continuity continues from one apron edge all the way across the kilt to the opposite apron edge.

Then I add a stabilizer.



This is what the straps and buckles are attached to. This piece of stabilizer will not stretch. In a traditional kilt this is a smaller piece that goes from one buckle tab, across the back, to the other buckle tab. In a Contemporary kilt again, for strength we continue the stabilizer across the entire length of the kilt from apron to apron.
This kilt will have only two straps. One on the right waist and an internal strap on the left.
In a Contemporary kilt the buckles and straps are sewn completely through the outer Tartan fabric, through the interfacing, and anchored to the stabilizer.
As I have shown and mentioned before there are three weak areas of a kilt. The Fell stitching is the first. Hand Stitches are weaker than machine stitches. Hand stitches are worked with a single thread. If that thread breaks anywhere there is a good chance that the entire line of stitching will come undone.
Second is the Tartan fabric itself. Kilt wool is not a very strong or stable fabric. It can easily be distorted with stress.
And finally there is the hole where the left strap passes through the kilt on a traditional. I do not put a hole in my kilts.

So what I have right now is one piece of shaped, strong, fabric that is placed inside the kilt. Everything is tacked together and stable.

Tomorrow I will begin stitching this internal element into the kilt.