I started to make my own kilts so I could adjust them as I reduced in circumference - I lost 12 inches from my waist.

I found that the only way to reduce the size of the kilts completely to my satisfaction was to take them apart, wash and iron the fabric and start again almost from scratch.

Some I kept the folds in the same place and reduced the size of the visible portion of the pleats, others I moved the folds to another part of the pattern, particularly where there were signs of wear, a tear or fading - I wear my kilts out of doors quite a bit.

To save time on the construction, rather than sew down the pleats I just pressed the outer folds before I sewed on the waistband, then to keep them straight, as I pinned the top edge for sewing I moved the inner fold edge upwards on any pleats that tended to open out - so making a thin triangle of fabric raised up above the straight edge of the waist. I used safety pins so I could try on the kilt without getting punctured.

Once sewn I baste and press the kilt, so shaping the fell as required, and hand washing, careful hanging and light pressing after that seems to be all that is required.

On a couple of kilts I made the aprons larger in proportion, then when the kilt became loose I undid the waistband and moved the extra fabric into the under apron pleats. This did save a bit of time, but I had to remember to sew the small pleats separately, so they remained intact when I removed the waistband.

On a patterned kilt the apron and waistband are usually lined up so the pattern matches, but it is not lined up for the rest of the waistline, which is something to take into account in the original construction method.

Anne the pleater :ootd: