Thanks Alan and Steve! I do plan to get my hands on a more traditional kilt and may very likely invest in the book that Bob recommended. I am not opposed to hand stitching anything and would love the challenge/learning experience. That is what I will shoot for but for now I have started with my first X-Kilt based design. Even with the improvements I have already made I continue to see things with it that I want to try and improve upon. It it not too big a deal to have to tear out a few stitches here or a row of stitches there if it helps make the next one better. Because of all this dialogue I can see how the fabric is miss-behaving in places as a result of my inexperience and what I might be able to do to correct it. It is a win all around but mainly because I also get to interact with and learn from those more "expert" in the art of kilt making like yourselves.

Steve