Royal Stewart 5-yard kilt for cousin, a blow-by-blow

**Alan H** · 22nd December 08, 11:14 AM

9th morning, sewing the first 6 pleats 2.5 hours TOTAL: 12 hours

Man o man am I out of practice hand-sewing pleats! Still and all, they're coming out pretty well so far. I've decided to hand-sew the pleats after all, since part of the whole point of doing this kilt was to practice for the Ancient MacNaughton tank that's coming up.

I think this is going to be New Years present!

**Alan H** · 26th December 08, 05:27 PM

10th and 11th sessions, grabbed between this and that on Christmas day, and at 1:00 AM in the morning when my sinus's were so congested I couldn't sleep..TMI, I know... about 3 hours TOTAL: 15 hours

Bunch more pleats done, I've now finished 11 of the 19 I have to sew. I'm getting better. I might go back and re-sew the first one as it's looking kinda sketchy compared to the last few.

**Alan H** · 31st December 08, 07:45 PM

A marathon and oft-interrupted four-hours session today, plus some bits and bobs of time...a pleat here, a pleat there over the last few days and I'm done with the pleats. Call if five hours, total over the last four days. TOTAL: 20 hours

I've finished all the pleats (19), tore out one pleat and re-did it, tore out the machine-stitched right hand, fringed edge of the over apron and re-did that by hand so that the fringe colors line up with the colors/stripes in the over-apron.. I ironed the pleats and flattened the fell with the iron. I fitted the innerfacing (which I'm using instead of hair canvas, 'cause I'm out of hair canvas and innerfacing is just fine) inside the over-apron and hand-stitched it in place, except along the top/waistband edge.. I also made the adjustment in the hem of the under-apron pleat so that the back-fold doesn't show.

What's left?

Putting in innerfacing inside the pleats to take the stretch load

installing a 2 inch wide strip of heavy, pre-shrunk twill to function as a load-bearing waistband

Machine stitching in the liner, which for this kilt I will do rather non-traditionally.

The waistband....out of tartan

Straps and buckles

sporran straps

....and I'll make my cousin some flashes.

Since my cousin and I are pretty close to the same size, I belted this thing on today after I pressed the pleats, and DANG, but it looks pretty good. If he decides he's just way too shy to wear it, then I WANT IT BACK! This is going to be a very nice 5-yard kilt. I estimate 25-28 hours to finish the whole project.

**Carolina Kiltman** · 1st January 09, 07:23 PM

Just remember that Christmas runs for 12 days, and New Year's Day is only day 8

**Downix** · 1st January 09, 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by Carolina Kiltman

Just remember that Christmas runs for 12 days, and New Year's Day is only day 8

I was always told that new years day is day 12 and that Yule, the 12 day festival referred to as the "12 days of christmas" begins on Dec 21st...

but what do I know?

**Kid Cossack** · 2nd January 09, 08:36 AM

Or you could pretend to be Russian, and use the whole Julian/Gregorian calendar distinction, what with "old Christmas" being celebrated on what we today know as 7 January . . . or go all out and push for "old New Year's" on 14 January!

**Downix** · 2nd January 09, 08:45 AM

Originally Posted by Kid Cossack

Or you could pretend to be Russian, and use the whole Julian/Gregorian calendar distinction, what with "old Christmas" being celebrated on what we today know as 7 January . . . or go all out and push for "old New Year's" on 14 January!

Oooo, I like it! Viva la Julian!

**Alan H** · 2nd January 09, 04:34 PM

Four more hours today, and I'm not done, yet!!! All the hand sewing is done, the innerfacing that reinforces the pleats is in. This is going to be one NICE kilt. TOTAL: 24 hours

Everything else will go fast, it's machine-sewing from here on out.

**Alan H** · 12th January 09, 11:43 AM

Another 3-4 hours...I forgot to keep exact count... in about three sessions and the thing is done except for the straps. Today I made the sporran/belt loops and attached them, that took about an hour. Anyway, call it 27-28 hours total. Over the past few days I machine-stitched in a doubled-over black twill waistband strap to take the load of the straps/buckles, hand stitched in a eight-inch wide strip of interfacing (thanks for the spelling correction sydnie7) to take stretching loads off of the pleat stitching...machine sewed in the outside of the tartan waistband, and hand sewed the inside of the tartan waistband. Somewhere in there I put in a one-piece liner a-la Stillwater kilts.

I'll have the straps done in another 90 minutes work and that will be FINIS.

In other words, how long does it take Alan H, whose made around 30 kilts, to make a combination hand-machine sewn 5 yard kilt, including blind-stitch hemming the material because the stuff didn't have a good selvedge? Answer, roughly 30 hours. Subtract 6 hours from that if I don't have to hem the thing by hand.

I belted this kilt on this morning even without the straps and if fits me

*PERFECTLY*

My cousin is almost exactly the same size as I am, plus an inch at the waist, minus an inch at the rumpus so it should fit him well. However, this this is so nice that I am tempted to keep it....I don't have a Royal Stewart kilt, and machine-sew him another one!

It'll be a while before I can get it to him, so I'll strap it on myself after I finish the straps, and take a few pics, since as everyone knows..."pics or it didn't happen!"