X-Kilt 2.0 (Beta)

[Pleater]

It might have been a left hander just thinking outside the box, which is something we do tend to do because (I think) we find that we are thrown problems which others just don't experience.

I have one Kinguisse style kilt with the box pleat centre back, made from a fabric with a jungle print - and although the forward facing pleats can be a nuisance it is just the thing for showing off the pattern.

I also find that if the centre inverted pleat of the reverse kinguisse is large enough I do not sweep the pleats to sit down but spread them and sit on the central pleat opened out. Then when I stand up and the pleat closes any creases are hidden.

I do not sew the fell on my kilts now, not in the conventional way anyway. I find that for most fabrics the pleats laying one over the other and properly pressed will keep them in place.

For lightweight fabrics I sometimes sew the pleat horizontally, across the inside fold to encourage it to stay as three layers of fabric rather than expand into single layers.

It might not do for those of the male persuasion, having hips of a different shape, but having started off with conventional knife pleats and supresssion I then tried various experiments until I found my own preferred method of pleating.

[Kid Cossack]

snip!
It might not do for those of the male persuasion, having hips of a different shape, but having started off with conventional knife pleats and supresssion I then tried various experiments until I found my own preferred method of pleating.

There is much to be said, I think, for starting out from the "generally accepted place" and then doing some cautious experimenting and exploring!

[The F-H.C.A.G.]

Yay, lefties! I am still hesitating to start my traditional kilt (by The Art of Kiltmaking instructions) due to my left handedness, but I will get around to it. And rest assured, you all will be able to follow along with me (ad nauseum) via my usual photo documentation of the process!

Be well,

[Pleater]

I have just realised that the 'plaid' pattern kilt is wrongly assembled - it is made by cutting the material across from selvage to selvage to get the twill to flow the right way - so it is four pieces joined. The pleats are mirror imaged, but I joined the fabric so the three colours of stripe were continuous.

This means that the underside of the pleats on one side is dark and the other it is light.

They should of course have been joined mirror image - half the fabric turned through 180 degrees, so that the underside of the pleating flashes the same colours each side. I have pressed it now, only lightly but it is not going to lose that crease easily.

Ah well - that decides what I am going to be doing with the material I started to pleat to the light stripe and did not like - I will separate it and use the two halves to make the correct orientation for the one that is wrong.

Oh the joys of kiltmaking - always something new to consider - just when you think that you have been clever and got it all worked out you take a photo and then sit for ten minutes thinking - what is wrong with that image.

Then it hits you, that 'Oh noooooo' moment.

New adage for self - measure twice, check twice, make once.

[dwmoffatt]

Happy weekend all. Being the only one home I can't get a good pic of the black kilt but (wearing it right now) but here is the tan kilt made in the X-Kilt 2.0 (Beta).
Box pleats below


Hopefully you can see the aprons and first 2 pleats layed over the pleats before them. The thought was to pull the waist in (42 inches) but leave the hips (50 inches) without shaping the box pleats but by shaping them like a TANK. 1 inch at the waist, 3 inches at the hips.
Thoughts? Advice?

[dwmoffatt]

Yay, lefties! I am still hesitating to start my traditional kilt (by The Art of Kiltmaking instructions) due to my left handedness, but I will get around to it. And rest assured, you all will be able to follow along with me (ad nauseum) via my usual photo documentation of the process!

Be well,

F-H.C.A.G. - When you get there I'd like to ask how you do with lining and matching up the stripes in the tartan. That has been the toughest part for me. I think the way I pull the material while. The only work around I have found is back stitching before and after to keep everything in line. Its a few extra stitches for every stripe, but it gets the job done, right?
Just wanted to share and ask for any tips you find.

[The F-H.C.A.G.]

...Snip...
Hopefully you can see the aprons and first 2 pleats layed over the pleats before them. The thought was to pull the waist in (42 inches) but leave the hips (50 inches) without shaping the box pleats but by shaping them like a TANK. 1 inch at the waist, 3 inches at the hips.
Thoughts? Advice?

My only criticism would be the tapering you have done at the sides of the apron. I would, in general, recommed NOT tapering the sides of the apron OR the first two pleats to either side of the apron. You want the apron to lay flat, not be pulled to the side. But I cannot tell how it looks on you-more pictures needed!

F-H.C.A.G. - When you get there I'd like to ask how you do with lining and matching up the stripes in the tartan. That has been the toughest part for me. I think the way I pull the material while. The only work around I have found is back stitching before and after to keep everything in line. Its a few extra stitches for every stripe, but it gets the job done, right?
Just wanted to share and ask for any tips you find.

I'll let you know! What's back stitching? Please understand, I am NOT a seamstress, nor do I have ANY formal (and very little informal) training in sewing/tailoring, so I am as much in need of assistance (if not more so) as you are!

Be well,

[dwmoffatt]

I’ll see what I can do for a picture of wearing it. I wore it a party but I think we only have video. I may need a second body for the picture wearing it.


I started out hand stitching after reading the “The Art of Kiltmaking” a few times. I saw a post you had and saw another book I’ve come to use often, “Sewing for Dummies” I think it was. I freely admit that the lack of any formal training or instruction (along with the south – paw in me) I may not do anything like anyone else.
Barb’s chapter on stitching the pleats suggests pulling the pleat a few threads off to allow the stripes to line up while stitching (I think this might be a “Reverse Slipstitch”) with a back stitch every often.
I found I just can’t do this correctly every time. My work around or solution was a backstitch before and after each stripe. It’s a little more work but after hours of hand-stitching the last thing you want to see is the stripes to be off set.
I found some nice info on Google.
Search http://www.helloknitty.com/pdfs/Handstitches.pdf on Google and view the PDF.

[The F-H.C.A.G.]

Thanks! I now know what a backstitch is. I still need to read my copy of Sewing for Dummies-mostly I just use it to look up things as I go along. I've been using a backstitch for years without knowing what it was called!

Be well,