IT'S BACK!

The rebuilt kilt arrived in today's mail. It's as beautiful as ever, and Bonnie did a really fantastic job of making this secondhand kilt truly mine. The fit is perfect, and the craftswomanship is superb.

It originally had three straps and buckles, but now has two, just as I prefer. Bonnie put the left side strap and buckle under the apron, the strap does not pass through a button hole in the usual fashion, which means when it comes time to adjust the fit as I loose wight all I need do is move the two buckles, and not fiddle with the straps. I also think it's easier to put on made this way.

The kilt was originally machine sewn, with the fell stitching being done underneath the pleats where it could not be seen. With the kilt being shortened from the top, from 26 inches to 23.5, the fell had to be extended to get a proper fit at the converted length. Bonnie hand stitched the additional inches. Darn, she's good. Even under bright light and magnification it's hard to see the change from machine to hand stitching.

I wanted this kilt to be a tight fit, with the buckles set to fasten in the holes in the strap nearest the tip, or the first hole, as we usually count them. That's exactly where everything hooks up. Buckled in the first hole, the kilt is tight enough it won't fall down -- and given the way I'm built it's easy for kilts to slide down -- which means as I loose wight I can continue to buckle the kilt tighter for quite a while before I'll ever have to think about moving the buckles. However, it also means I can't gain any weight. That's motivation.

The Woman, being much younger than me, is at work today (I'm retired) so I'll have to wait until she gets home to help with the camera. Then I'll post pictures. It's dreary today, but I think we may have good outdoor lighting soon, so I'll try to get pics focusing on the colors of the sett, just to give everyone a better idea of things.