Self-made kilts so far...

[Dollander]

Now that I posted my refurbished sporran, I suppose it's high time for some pics of the actual kilts I made.

I made this denim one a couple of months ago, mostly by examining and copying the construction of my existing utility kilts (though the pleat taper formula from the X-kilt instructions did come in handy). However, I decided to go with a single side strap, along with the buckle from a trouser belt that'd fallen apart, as well as including a fringe. I also added a slight slope so it'd be less likely to ride up in the back, since I wear it closer to my trouser waist. It did have attached pockets originally, but one disintegrated in the wash so I removed them and just use the detachable pockets shown here (at least in situations where a sporran would get in the way, e.g. at work):
denim.jpg

My original plan was to go with polyviscose next, and even ordered a whole bunch of swatches from Scotweb to help me decide. But an early cold spell inspired me to instead skip the PV and go straight to 16oz wool. My mother and sister gave me money for fabric for my birthday, and it was enough to buy two meters each of Murray of Atholl Ancient and Murray of Tullibardine Modern:
murrayofatholl.jpg murrayoftullibardine.jpg
As you can see, they're the same style as the denim one. I'm not really sure what to call them; I refer to them as "American-style" in my profile, since they've that same shallow, RevK pleating, narrow apron, and wide waistband that's the norm for utility kilts while lacking the actual utility part (i.e. attached pockets). I would say contemporary kilt, but that's what Steve Ashton calls his that still have the traditional deeper, single-direction knife pleats. And while I do know of one company that refers to their tartan utility kilts as hybrid kilts, I've seen that most often referring to box pleat kilts that are primarily a solid color with tartan for the inside pleats. Hmm...maybe I'm overthinking it and should simply call them "kilts".

I finished these much more quickly than the denim one, not only because I'd done it before but because the selvedge and the lack of a need to stitch the pleats meant there was a lot less sewing. On the other hand, there was the issue of sewing on the straps (and in the case of the Atholl kilt, the leather buckle tabs, as the non-tabbed buckles had yet to arrive from Kilts Wi Hae). I wound up marking the points for the holes with a pin, then putting the denim needle in my sewing machine and using it like a mini drill press to manually punch the holes in the leather so I could sew them on.

Note that I made no effort to match the pattern with the belt loops and tabs, but rather just chose a portion of the tartan that formed an aesthetically pleasing pattern. I likewise had to get creative with the pleating, since there was no overlap so pleating to the sett or stripe was out of the question. The Murray of Atholl has a 13 inch sett, while the Tullibardine's is 9 inches, so dividing them by 6 and 4 respectively gave me 2 1/4 inch pleats. So the Atholl is pleated to the semi-stripe, while the Tullibardine is what I've come to call the pseudo-sett:
semistripe.jpg pseudosett.jpg
I know that this'll make the purists wince, but when I pinned the pleats, I didn't measure but rather simply eyeballed it. Sorry.

And of course, I made matching flashes. Yes, I suppose the fringed denim flashes are a bit much; I guess there's a tiny part of my brain that will forever reside in the late 80s...
flashes.jpg
In case you were wondering, the tartan behind them is MacCallum Modern (my surname is Murray, but my great-great-grandmother was McCallum), from which I'll be making my next kilt soon...

[eviltig]

Those look awesome, you did a incredible job on them.
I have been looking at threads on making a kilt and feel like its something I am going to have to try.
I was looking at my wife's sewing machine and the bobbin thread area looks like a weapon from Guardians of the Galaxy.... I built motorcycle frames from scratch for ten years machining, bending tube, notching and welding but that little bobbin gizmo made no sense to me lol

Keep up the great work!

[neo71665]

Those look awesome, you did a incredible job on them.
I have been looking at threads on making a kilt and feel like its something I am going to have to try.
I was looking at my wife's sewing machine and the bobbin thread area looks like a weapon from Guardians of the Galaxy.... I built motorcycle frames from scratch for ten years machining, bending tube, notching and welding but that little bobbin gizmo made no sense to me lol

Keep up the great work!

Sewing machines are actually pretty simple as long as you don't go head first into one of the modern needs wifi to operate ones. I've actually done my truck interior, a few 4 wheeler seats, and dad's motorcycle seat on my 1953 singer model 66. The only fancy part of it is it's a later one with reverse. Old cast iron and will just about sew a truck hood if you take your time. I have some older ones too, one that is a treadle and the other a hand crank. All 3 I restored in my shop just like I do cars, lol.

[The Wizard of BC]

Just so you know how I use the word "Contemporary".

It denotes a kilt that has the internal stabilizers and floating interfacings of a traditional kilt but is modified to incorporate four differences.

Durability - This refers to some simple improvements like moving the left strap inside the kilt to eliminate the weak strap hole and extending the stabilizer the full width of the kilt including behind the aprons. Durability may also refer to stronger machine stitching in areas that do not show or need reinforcement.

Fit - A Contemporary may be constructed to fit at full rise but may also be constructed to be worn lower. This usually means incorporating slope into the design.

Fabric - A Contemporary may be made from the exact same 16oz wool that a Traditional is but may also be made from almost any fabric including Poly/Rayon blend Tartans, solid colors, Poly/Cotton blends and even canvas. The kilt is made the same, just the fabric is taken into account. For example fabrics which do not mold with heat must be made with all straight lines.

Pockets - Pockets in a kilt are one of the hallmarks of the Contemporary style. But not just sticking pockets on but incorporating them into the design so they do not detract from the traditional look feel, fit or swish.

By your description what you have constructed would best be called a MUG. This type of construction is similar to how blue jeans are made where the strength of the garment comes from the strength of the fabric and the stitching. In other words - Jeans Made vs Kilt Made.

[eviltig]

Sewing machines are actually pretty simple as long as you don't go head first into one of the modern needs wifi to operate ones. I've actually done my truck interior, a few 4 wheeler seats, and dad's motorcycle seat on my 1953 singer model 66. The only fancy part of it is it's a later one with reverse. Old cast iron and will just about sew a truck hood if you take your time. I have some older ones too, one that is a treadle and the other a hand crank. All 3 I restored in my shop just like I do cars, lol.

Yeah it wasn't so bad after she showed me where I went wrong. Apparently I took it to far apart as I didn't notice the spool holder cage pops out lol.
In my defense I did put it back together correctly
I messed around with it for a bit and feel like it is totally doable- me thinks, me might be thinking wrongly though

[neo71665]

Yeah it wasn't so bad after she showed me where I went wrong. Apparently I took it to far apart as I didn't notice the spool holder cage pops out lol.
In my defense I did put it back together correctly
I messed around with it for a bit and feel like it is totally doable- me thinks, me might be thinking wrongly though

They look far worse than they are. Just like anything else.

You dive into a carb not knowing anything you can get in over your head with all the tiny parts, levers, and rods. Rebuild a few and you can do it in your sleep.