Where?

[toadinakilt]

So. Where did you guys learn how to make kilts? Is there a school? A tech college with a kiltmaking program somewhere in Scotland? Did you have private tutelage? Were you self taught?

I would love to hear all of your stories. And if there is a school, maybe with a summer program, that would be such an awesome way to spend a summer, maybe this coming one.

Anywho. I'm mostly interested in those of you who make traditional style kilts, but those of you who make contemporary kilts are also welcome to tell us how you got into kiltmaking.

[bubba]

I'm self taught. I started with instructions on a couple websites then bought Barbs book.

[Southern Breeze]

I'm not a kiltmaker, but I will share my story.My motivation for making kilts is simple.I'm a blacksmith and I'm making a few to wear while smithing.With all the heat and sparks any type of clothing doesn't last long.So, rather than buy a kilt from one of the established kiltmakers and ruining it quickly,I'll make some that I don't mind trashing.I'll probly make a few more traditional ones from tarten I have on hand,but not many.The vast majority of my casual and formal kilts will always be bought from someone else.I'm still on my first one and I have a new respect for those who make kilts for a living.

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

...I'm still on my first one and I have a new respect for those who make kilts for a living.

SB, I will echo your respect for those doing this for a living. A hand sewn kilt, especially when you are hand sewing it for some faceless person who just ordered it up, has to be a labor of love. Based on the economic factors posted elsewhere, it certainly isn't to get rich! Working on my own first one as well, I can foresee making more for myself, using a sewing machine, but can't imagine doing this as a fulltime job. My hats off to all the kilt makers.

Now, who gets my next order??

[Barb T]

When my daughter started Highland dancing when she was 10, and I looked at the cost of a custom-made kilt, I knew I needed to learn how to make kilts. When she went to her first Highland dance camp, there was a companion kiltmaking camp for a week taught by Elsie Stuehmeyer, one of the best-known kiltmakers in North America. She apprenticed for 5 years starting in 1947 with Thomas Gordon's of Glasgow and has made thousands of kilts since then. I made Carolyn's kilt and decided I really liked the precision and complexity of making kilts.

When I started going to Highland games, I realized how many poorly-made kilts there are out there. I also discovered that no detailed instructions were available for someone who wanted to make a kilt. Elsie and I figured that it was time for a book, so I wrote it, illustrated it, and published it, and now a lot of you guys are making your own from it, which pleases me immensely!

Honestly? I couldn't make kilts for a living. I love making kilts, but I know I'd be bored to tears if that's all I did, and it would get really old (for me, anyway) if I had to make several a week just to get by. My hat is off to those of you who make a living at it.

Barb

[philbo]

I learned online, as did my good friend Lance. He showed me this website:

http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/chegc/kiltsite/kilt.htm

He seemed to get the hang of it right away, while I had a bit of trial & error going on with my first few attempts. I always get new tips from Lance, and I've done a few experiments of my own, so the kilts I make now aren't quite the same as the ones on that website. It's a great place to start though.

[richardljohnson]

I'm self taught. I started with instructions on a couple websites then bought Barbs book.

DITTO! Also, did some non-distructive reverse engeneering from a traditional kilt and semi-traditional (see Rocky). PLUS A LOT OF MISTAKES (hint:keep a seam ripper close!).

Richard-

[Hamish]

Now a tale from the other side of the fence! A friend of mine has been making his own kilts for some years, together with outfits for his wife and nieces. Mind you, his father was a tailor and so he knew one end of a pair of pinking shears from the other; he knew all about fabrics and he understands the mysteries of The Sewing Machine!! After much pleading from me, my pal agreed to show me how a kilt was built from scratch and to guide me through the process of making one for myself.

I already had a modern sewing machine (but never mastered getting the tension correct!!) and had produced little more than a couple of pillow cases years previously. I bought the other tools as listed by my friend, and the necessary length, plus a bit, of poly-wool tartan fabric. We set to, he did all the measurements and I shaped the front apron before starting on forming the pleats. At that point, I was left to continue on my own, with pages of handwritten instructions, formulae, diagrams, calculations, etc., etc. After wrestling with all of that for at least two half-days, I ground to a halt. The mathematics skills required were way beyond my capabilities - especially when it came to calculating the tapering of the pleats from the hips to the waistband and, at the same time, keeping everything straight! My pal, who lived some distance away, tried talking me through it over the 'phone. To no avail. He even came over for another day-long session to help, but I got very little further forward. A week or so later when I called him to break the news that I was giving in, he casually dropped the statement into our conversation, "Oh well, of course, you do need to be both a mathematician and an engineer!" Now he tells me! But I believe I had already come to that conclusion, and I never was nor ever would be either. I spent hours on the basting stitches alone, and was told that they were truly professionally executed, but that's as far as it went.

A few months ago, I bought Barb's book thinking I would have another go at the project, but I just cannot bring myself to make a start - although it is a superb guide to The Art, and must be a gift to those with talent.

You will try, I know it, and I wish you all the luck in the world - which you probably will not need as I believe I am the only man on this planet to whom numbers, like computer operating, means absolutely nothing.

[Jimmy Carbomb]

Way too long of a story, but my latest instructors were all retired LONG-TERM makers with B&S, HR and HoE. All told, their combined experience exceeded 140 years. They now make other garments for a company that's near-and-dear to me (not all kilts) and have vowed to expose the frauds in due time. There are some really poorly made kilts out there that are made under the guise of "modern kilts". They are working with their old employers to build-up a case against the pretenders. These are the very folks that I just HAD to learn from.8)

[mudd]

Way too long of a story, but my latest instructors were all retired LONG-TERM makers with B&S, HR and HoE. All told, their combined experience exceeded 140 years. They now make other garments for a company that's near-and-dear to me (not all kilts) and have vowed to expose the frauds in due time. There are some really poorly made kilts out there that are made under the guise of "modern kilts". They are working with their old employers to build-up a case against the pretenders. These are the very folks that I just HAD to learn from.8)

What? Is this some kind of code talking? :confused: