Preparing your Kilt Fabric

Once you have all of your measurements and calculations on your record sheet you are ready to begin putting together the kilt. You must be accurate in marking your fabric and lining up your pleats for a superb looking kilt.

Marking the fabric

Determine the right side of your fabric and mark the wrong side. If you are using double-width fabric, make sure you mark the wrong side of both thicknesses of fabric. Lay your fabric out with the selvedge facing away from you. Working from the right hand end from the selvedge, measure out the length of the kilt. Mark this length with tailor's chalk. The total length of the kilt is the length of the measurement from the waist to the top of the kneecap place 2″ for the rise. Clip the edge of the fabric two threads above the chalk line. This allows for fraying. Measure again, and double check that you have added the rise. Rip the length of the cloth to produce an absolutely straight edge. If you are using double-width cloth, lay out the first piece on top of the remaining one, match the selvedge and stripes and mark in the same place in the tartan as the first one. Clip at the chalk line and rip.Top

Marking the top apron

Lay out your fabric with the right side up on a table with the selvedge facing away from you. If you are using a double width fabric and one width is longer than the other, start with the wider piece. If you started with a single width of fabric, locate the middle of the fabric and mark it both at the selvedge and the raw edge.

Choose the most prominent stripe in the tartan to be the center front of the apron. Using the hip measurement, divide that in half and select a stripe that is located at least that distance, plus 7-9″ from the fabric edge.

The fell, or the stitched portion of the pleats is calculated by taking the total finished length of the kilt and dividing it by 3. Mark the length of the fell along the center front stripe.

Mark the apron edges.

Measure down 2″ from the top of the kilt to mark the waistline.Top

Marking the pleats

There are two different ways to mark the pleats. I pleat to the stripe, which is military pleating. Because you use the same stripe for each pleat, you only need to decide which prominent stripe to use. Different choices for the same tartan have entirely different looks, so experiment with various pleatings in several possible combinations to determine which look you like best. Look at your pleats from a distance as colors merge and stripes disappear.

Once you have chosen a stripe to feature, mark three parallel chalk lines about 2″ long from the top edge of the kilt. Once will be the center of the pleat directly down the stripe, the other lines will measure either side of the center line about 3/8″ to 1/2″ out.

Starting at the center back pleat, go one full repeat of the tartan to the right. Mark the dominant line and again mark out from it 3/8″ to 1/2″ as you did on the center back pleat. Continue to work across the fabric until you are about 9″ from the bottom left edge of the apron. You will allow for an extra deep pleat to help the kilt hang well.

If you started with double-width fabric, you will have two pieces that need to be joined. Making sure the selvedge is away from you, lay out the second piece of fabric so that the ripped edge and selvedge matches with the first piece. Begin at the center back strip on the first piece of fabric and mark out the pleats to the left of the center on the second piece. Make sure that you begin the first pleat on this piece of fabric at least one full repeat to the left of the raw edge in order to have a full size pleat and enough fabric to sew the join. Continue marking your way across the fabric until you have marked the correct number of pleats.Top

Marking the underapron

Chose and mark a center front stripe for the underapron. Using your record sheet, divide the hip measurement in half and measure out that distance plus 15-17″ from the lower edge of the last pleat.This will allow you to have enough fabric to make the right-hand pleat at the edge of the underapron plus extra for alterations.

Make a chalk mark at the underapron center front along the raw edge. Mark the bottom of the fell and waistline with chalk as you did on the apron. Lay your tape measure along the waistline and measure half the waist measurement to the left of the center front line and half the waist measurement plus 1' to the right of the center line.

Starting at the top of the kilt, draw a chalk line parallel to the tartan stripe as far as the waistline then a curving line from the waistline to the bottom of the fell (hip marks) Continue to the bottom of the kilt in a subtle flare. Repeat for the left edge of the underapron.Top

Determine the size of the pleats

Write down the back hip measurement in inches and the number of pleats in the kilt. Compare the number of pleats to the hip measurements. Take your tape measure and count over 1/2″ for each pleat starting at the zero end of the tape measure. Note the number of inches on the tape which will be the same as half of the number of pleats. If the number of inches equals or is close to the back hip measurement. You may need to adjust your measurements in 1/2″ to 1/4″ increments until you have counted as close as you can to the back hip measurement.

Folding the tartan

Once you have marked the kilt, fold the tartan accordion style starting at the right hand edge of the underapron and ending with the left hand apron on the top of the stack. Keep this stack neatly folded, unfolding only the working area, to prevent the chalk marks from rubbing off.

Basting the fabric

Using a single thickness of basting thread, thread your needle. Fold the right apron edge along the chalk line and baste from the back side in a line about 1/4″ from the edge. If your kilt will have a hem, begin your basting 6-7″ from the bottom. Make sure to keep the stripes parallel in both the front and the back. Stitch until you reach the start of the bottom of the fell. Open up the apron edge and do a running stitch along the chalk line to preserve the shaping line but allowing the area above the bottom of the fell to have a canvas interfacing.

Repeat the basting on the left apron edge. At the shaping you will need to use smaller stitches and work a few inches at a time to keep the stripes straight and parallel in both the front and the back. End with a few double stitches at the top of the kilt so that the basting can be easily removed later.Top