X-Kilt & Waistcoat Advice

[ratspike]

I find revK and knife pleats to be pretty equal, and much easier and faster to do than box pleats. And I agree, revK pleats look great. Just remember when you're crunching your numbers that you need to have an even number of pleats.

[Pleater]

I have settled on RevK for all my kilts. If you make a narrow apron you should consider deep pleats beneath it, one each side - it is useful when sitting or stepping over obstacles, and perhaps making the underkilt a couple of inches wider at the left hand side of the waist and perhaps with a shaped edge so it is even wider at the bottom edge.

Stiffer fabrics than wool and wool blends don't flow and fall as easily as might be necessary or desirable, if you get my drift.

Anne the Pleater

[huntley]

Thank you all so much for your tips and advice. I ended up going with the box pleat, 15" apron, and 10x 3" pleats.

I'm now running into issues with the tapering. I see in the manual it says that if you were to join each of the inner pleat folds, they would each be 1/2" of taper. My issue is that my measurements are 42" waist with a 45" rump, equating to only 3" of taper. Is there a way I can taper them by 1/4" instead of 1/2"? That way pleats 2, 5, 6, & 9 could have 1/2" taper (center of back and hips), while pleats 3, 4, 7, and 8 could have 1/4" of taper.

It almost reads like 1/2" is the minimum amount of taper (with the exception of pleats 1 & 10).
Maybe I'm just a bit too much of an amorphous blob

[ratspike]

Figure the math for the taper however you need to to make it work. Generally speaking, there isn't a minimum amount of tapering that should or must be done, only what the numbers say. I've made kilts with a lot less than 3 inches of difference between waist and hips. I've always tapered each pleat more or less the same amount and my kilts fit my hips and bum nicely.

[auteurusa]

Hello, and good luck with your Xkilt.

Personally, with regard to apron width, I prefer a narrower apron on my Xkilts. In my specific case I have a pretty equal waist to rump measurement at 44'' and require little to no tapering, I believe the narrower apron to give more shape visually and really helps the hang of the fabric.

I think poly/cotton twill to be a great alternate to wool for price and wear-ability in warmer climes. Given the weight you are working you might look in Goodwill and other second hand shops, as I did, for an inexpensive all metal sewing machine. I found a Singer for fifteen dollars that is a good solid machine.

Be sure and load completely empty bobbins before beginning any visible stitching. And avoid, ever, loading thread onto a partially loaded bobbin as this partial load will cause tension problems and make a mess of loops on the underside of the fabric causing the machine to jam. The temptation to load a partially loaded bobbin to full, or even with a different color thread can be great, but avoid this mistake (trust me). You didn't ask about this, but if you're new to sewing (I am largely self taught) a jammed machine and a rug of loops can make one think there's something wrong with the machine.

Using a denim needle can be helpful on poly/cotton, but keep a variety size pack of needles handy. Some weights of fabric that are said to benefit from denim needles can make holes in the fabric that can be visible especially if one needs to restitch a correction. Try using your different needles on a sample piece of the fabric and decide for yourself as it isn't always a matter of shank and needle size to fabric weight that necessarily does the best job.

Have fun, and hope to see the pictures.

[Alan H]

You do not have to have 1/2 inch tapering on all the pleats. You put in what you need!

One trick is to do more tapering on the pleats that will be on the sides of your hips and a little less on the ones in the middle of your backside. Having a bit more taper 'round the sides helps the kilt fit the curve around your sides a bit more easily.

[Alan H]

You do not have to have 1/2 inch tapering on all the pleats. You put in what you need!

One trick is to do more tapering on the pleats that will be on the sides of your hips and a little less on the ones in the middle of your backside. Having a bit more taper 'round the sides helps the kilt fit the curve around your sides a bit more easily. However, you don't HAVE to do this.