Heavy Kilt

[Jerry]

The army blanket concept came up on another thread recently...it'll be interesting to see a kilt made out of an army blanket. Certainly, the X-Kilt design would be a great starting place for this material because it wouldn't leave the maker having to deal with the incredible bulk in the waistband that they'd end up with if they went with knife pleats. The surplus store near me has some grey woolen blankets...not sure if they're US or foreign issue; they have a shipload of stuff from Euro-land...I think that my son was wearing a cap from the old East German Army there for a while.

As to the scratchiness...not that I want to impinge on your freedom here but, honestly, if you have to wear underwear of some kind to keep from getting your wulley sanded off, is that so bad? Think about it...you can always find a discreet way to take some shorts off if you have to but once you have some...irritation, shall we say...it may take a day or two to get things back to normal. Someone will undoubtedly recommend Body Glide and I understand that that's a perfect solution though I haven't tried it myself. Don't worry about "keepin' it real" if it's going to be uncomfortable...

Best

AA

AA, the wool blankets we had in the navy were grey like the ones you are describing, so they could be USN issue. Some had USN stenciled on them, but I also saw some that did not have the stencil.

[Pleater]

You could just make a kilt liner, or several, so you could have - maybe one of Goretex, and a couple of a polycotton, so you could change it easily.

All you need to do is take a length of fabric slightly shorter than the kilt and put in shaping at the back using darts, have the smooth side inside - so the hems are all turned outwards, and to fasten it put two short lengths of strong elastic, or shock cord at the edges of the waist and sew on two buttons. They will not be uncomfortable if they are above the level of the belt.

To make a permanent lining you would probably sew a piece of fabric to the inside of the under apron and its pleat - something lightweight.

You could use the same material to line the fell, even if you did not cut it out and reinforce it, down to whatever length you like, either long enough to sit on or just enough to protect the rump when standing/walking.

Hmm - somewhere I have two ancient and threadbare kahki blankets I was thinking of making into a coat at one time - when the 'in' colours were kahki and cream.