Kilt how to make

The kilt is a part of the national costume of Scotland. It is a pleated knee-length wrap skirt worn mostly by men and the most recognizable symbol, when we think of Scottish highland men and their cultural heritage.

The kilt is said to have originated in Scotland as early as the 16th century. It was earlier known as belted plaid or great kilt and this referred to a tartan cloth worn around the body and belted in place. Since then it has evolved into this highly customized wrap skirt with several sharp pleats, fastened with leather straps and cast metal buckles and adorned with many many pleat styles and made in many tartan options.

In Scotland, Kilt is more than just a skirt worn by men. It represents their national pride, heritage, and cultural identity. In all the historical novels I have read so far, the kilts are always worn with pride and represented honor for the clan of the wearer (the color of the plaid fabric varied across clans – particular colors belonged solely to particular clans or regions.)

I remember reading this about kilts in the my favourite Scottish novel of all times (no, make it all time favourite novel) Outlander; I dug it out and here it is

“ It had occurred to me briefly to wonder why he had worn his kilt this morning, instead of changing to breeks; the crimson tartan might be quite literally a red flag to a bull, flaunted thus before an English soldier. Now I knew.

They’d taken it from him once before, thinking to take with it pride and manhood “.

These lines say something about what kilt meant to Scottish men.

The structure of a kilt

Do you know that once upon a time the kilt was pleated on the body of the wearer and then belted in place? Now it is pre-pleated and stitched with heavy-duty double-layered lining and strapped with metal buckles and then belted in place.

The pleats in the back are usually sharp knife pleats – about 25- 30 in numbers in traditional kilts. The pleat is made of special pleating which follows the repeating pattern of the tartan referred to as a sett in kilt jargon (sett is basically the distance between adjacent squares in the plaid fabric). In the pleating of the kilt, the tartan pattern is repeated across the pleats. This gives uniformity and beauty to the pleating.

Other features of kilts are belt loops (optional) metal buckles, double layered or waistband lining, leather straps

How much Fabric is needed to sew a Kilt

You can make a knee-length kilt in about 4 meters of 54-inch fabric for an average man of hip round 45 inches ( with every 5-inch increase in hip measure add 1/2 meter to the fabric) and 2-2.5 meters is needed for making a kilt for a small child. You may want to use the same fabric as the lining in which case this calculation would be different.

What kind of fabric is used to make kilts

Kilt used to be made in only authentic Scottish wool. The weight and warmth of the wool was the most attractive characteristic of kilts. In modern kilt-making, all kinds of fabrics are used ( synthetic, cotton blends, light wools) much to the chagrin of traditional kilt admirers. Whatever material you use, remember that you need a fabric that can hold on its own, pleat like a dream, and remain pleated after it is ironed in place and worn and do not ride up the leg. A thread count of 60 count and above is desirable in kilt fabric.

Light wool in a plaid pattern is ideal. Solid-colored fabric is best for a first-time kilt maker as you do not want to bother much about the pleats matching. Wool blend plaids are less expensive.

Measurements needed for making kilts

How to sew a kilt

References for the kilt pattern

High quality traditional kilts were all handmade, handstitched. It is not so difficult to hand sew a kilt if you have the mind. But making a kilt is very easy with the sewing machine

You would have to cut the kilt pieces – the two apron pieces and the pleat fabric for the middle panel.

Attach the apron pieces to the centerpieces. Hem the bottom edge now. This hemming has to be done now as after pleating it is difficult to hem.

Now you have to pleat the centerpiece. Start pleating from under the apron. The first pleat is folded over the seam edge of the under the apron. Each pleat overlaps the other by about 3/4th. Try to pleat so that a bright stripe is centered on each pleat or at least so that the tartan pattern remains intact. The last pleat is made as a reverse pleat, pleated facing the last pleat. You will have to make sure that the lines of the checks are straight as you pleat.

Pleat and pin knife pleats so that each pleat is pinned to the pleat just on top of it. This will make all the pleats hang free. Use small sharp pins to pin the pleats. You need several of those. Now press the pleats.

Stitch each pleat vertically from the top edge to the hip line. This will make a sort of tucks which will be released from the hip line. Kiltmakers always cut off the fabric of the pleats from the back till the hipline, after the stitching is done. Otherwise, the waistline will look bulky because of all the pleats.

Make a facing for this area after the cutting is done.You can attach thick interfacing to this area for added strength.

For fastening the kilt you can opt for buckles and buttonholes or settle for the easier velcro fastening and hooks. For fastening the inner apron, velcro is used and for the outer apron you can attach hooks and eyes (the kind we use on pants). If you are using buckles and buttonholes, remember to interface the area where you will sew the buttonhole.

Bring the lining of the back piece down on the pleats and hand sew along the hipline using small hand stitches.

Bind the top edge of the kilt. If you would like to belt the kilt, you would have to add belt loops.

How to wear the kilt

Keep the pleated part behind you, bring the right side under the apron to the left side and fasten the velcro strips on the left-hand side and then fold the front overlapping apron across the front and fasten the front hooks.

Ava Baytree

Costumes and Passion

How to make a Kilt | Outlander costume – Part 1: Arisaid / Great Kilt

An Outlander tutorial! An Outlander great kilt tutorial or Outlander Arisaid skirt tutorial that I crafted just for you. Click here to go to part 2.

“Well, well, well, Ava Baytree.. This article seems even longer than your other ginormous tutorials!”

Wearing and pleating a great kilt or an Arisaid is easy, it is warm and comfortable! The only thing that holds the tartan together is a belt. So no hardcore sewing required whatsoever! I’ll try to break down every bit that is key to these ancient garments.

Quick explanation

What is a great kilt? “the whole 9 yards” is a typical saying in English. Guess where it comes from? The traditional great kilt was a multifunctional type of clothing that the Scots are known for. If you have ever been to Scotland or know something about it, you probably know Scotland sometimes means four seasons a day. Because of that, the Scots needed something practical for travelling through the harsh Highlands. A great kilt could not only be used as a warm type of garment, but also as an overthrow, a uniform, a sleeping bag or a garment to share and to keep your companions or yer lass warm in.

The 9 yards of fabric are not literally 9 yards in length for the great kilt, because in the Outlander 18 th century they could only spin 30 inches wide fabric. They spun 9 yards of tartan in total from the wool of their own sheep in which the process of shearing and spinning enough wool could take up to one year for one great kilt. Then they cut the 9 yards in half to 4 ½ yards. These two pieces were then sewn together to extend the width. That gives 4 ½ yards to pleat and fold into a great kilt.

What is an Arisaid? As I will show you later, once you pleat a great kilt and girdle it, when you stand up it will first fall into a large skirt. This skirt is what shaped the skirt for my Outlander inspired costume. When you fold the front flaps open and tuck them in at the back, you have revealed the kilt below the layers. An Arisaid is kind of like an untucked and unfolded great kilt. A feminine kilt. But there are different ways to put them on as I will show you later.

Necessities

Now, how does this all come together? “Making” an Arisaid or great kilt is not that difficult at all.

Traditional for the Arisaid: You start off with 4 ½ yards (≈ 4 meters) and 30 inches wide fabric if you want to remain traditional. Please note: if you do the 30 inches in width, note that you won’t be able to get and the Arisaid and the great kilt in one. You will only be able to get the long Arisaid skirt.

Traditional for the great kilt: 4 ½ yards long and 60 inches wide tartan is traditional for a Highland great kilt. A great kilt is automatically a great kilt and an (¾ long) Arisaid in one.

What I did: Now, I used 3 ½ meter (= 3,8 yards) long and 150 cm (≈ 60 inches) wide fabric since there was no more left where I got mine from. Now I worried there, a lot. I was afraid it wouldn’t look the same after pleating because it was not the whole 4 ½ yards. It turns out it doesn’t really matter how long the fabric is, you’ll just have less pleats on the back.

If you don’t care about a lot of pleats, 3 to 3 ½ yards would be my absolute minimum. If you want to go full pleat just remember that that is not only pretty, but it does also increase visual bottom mass the most in the traditional 18 th century way ;). Of course all of this also depends on your size! For size recommendations, check out this handy site.

So from here on, I can only tutorial (is that a verb?) my way of the great kilt and Arisaid in one.
If you are interested in that, please tag along!

The fabric

I tried getting the pattern of my fabric as close to the Outlander Mackenzie pattern as possible. Besides the colour, it worked out really well! Remember traditional cloth is always modest in colour since they (especially the less wealthier Scottish clans) coloured their fabric threads with natural dull colour products.

For the fabric types, I got a very flexible non-stretch polyester fabric. It is quite thin, but it is not shiny like bed sheet fabric can be. I know this sounds non-kilt fabric-y, and yes: it is not a fabric for a true kilt, but it was the pattern that made me get it.

Traditional fabric is wool, but I thought that that would not only be more expensive, also too hot to wear in hot and steamy conventions (yes yes) and perhaps too heavy as well. I think you can use a lot of woollen and cotton blends, but polyester can work fine as well if it is not shiny and if it pleats nicely.

Tutorial – Pleating and Folding the great kilt and the Arisaid in one

“To make” does not really apply. Now that you have your fabric, you can start the process immediately without any sewing or tailoring. It would be wise to zigzag the edges to prevent fraying, but that is all you need to do with the sewing machine. I can break down the pleating and folding technique in words, but it is much more informative to watch it unfold (see what I did there) yourself. I really suggest you watch this video clip! It is so inspiring.

If you want to see more, I also used this, this and this video for my research. These youtube videos were the ones that brought me the most information in a humorous and playful way.

To sum up the dressing process:

Check this handy page out for more pleating inspiration.

Note: you only have to gently pleat the bottom half of your fabric since you’ll lie on the bottom half. Don’t mind the fabric pleats of the top laying off.

Now that you know how to pleat and fold your Arisaid and by that your great kilt, you might have gotten an idea of how many different styles you can transform your cloth into. I’ll take you through a few of my favourites which we’ve also seen in Outlander. And yes, this is my 3,8 yard kilt. Let’s see my Outlander Mackenzie inspired kilt in action!

Warning: these are all personal interpretations and they are not based on precisely true and the exact traditional ways to wear the kilt nor are they truly historical. They used to wear it all types of ways. These just seemed logic as well as funny to me. Oh and before I forget: I used my Semi-Corset just to wear something “traditional” with my Arisaid and a blue shirt for my male kilt.

A Man’s Great Kilt
–beware of Outlander jokes–

Dress code: formal. This is how you would wear your kilt when you get an invitation from your Leird to come see him at the castle. You are pending on whether to break a vow or not.. It will decide your destiny.

Dress code: casual. Your brother asked you to help him in the stables. He then also persuades you to meet up with some càirdean in the village. Let me just get my kilt on!

Dress code: travel ready. You’ve been asked to join a mission lead by a rather two sided guy. Anyway, the weather has been a bit off lately so you’ve decided to spend a bit more time on your kilt’s functionality.

Dress code: Low slung and Dusty. This one is reserved for Jamie Fraser. That is all that needs to be said.

Dress code: Dougal. Sharp – ornamental – fierce. No further remarks.

A Woman’s Arisaid
–beware of Outlander jokes–

Dress code: Female formal. This is how you would properly wear your Arisaid around the higher folks and in great hall meetings with the Leird in presence.

Dress code: Formal chique. Drapery is what it is all about. Scottish.. with a French twist. Je suis prest!

Arisaid with pockets!

Dress code: Grocery casual. “Let’s do our groceries at Inverness market. For the fresh air. No need to fuss with yer Arisaid lass, yer wit is all ye need! Ye ken?” Said she.

The back of the casual Arisaid type really reminds me of a little hobbit!

Dress code: Warm and cosy. A days ride to craigh na dun from Cocknammon Rock. A lass should be kept warm for such a long journey. Protection from the weather is key. The cloth should be immediately available to the lass as a blanket for when it starts to rain.

Dress code: Laoghaire. Nothing too outrageous, nothing too special. Just your go-to-outfit for the classical Castle Leoch girl. Isn’t she a duine farranach?

Dress code: Voyager. The cold Highland weather has set in and your group is preparing for a late night mission. Or, you are running away in the middle of the night with yer Scottish lad!

Dress code: The wrapper. Reserved for Claire. See how she rocks the 9 yards of tartan in this photo.

Please leave a like if you were inspired! Subscribe if you want to follow my Outlander project. Comment down below if you have made an Outlander costume or are going to make one, I would love to know! ❤

How to Make a Kilt – Simple Instructions Guide

A kilt is a traditional piece of clothing of Gaelic men originated in the Scottish Highlands. While we relate it to Scottish and a little bit less to Irish people, it became a brand and inspiration worldwide. You can find kilt fans among fashion designers, hipsters, and people who want to feel different or just to draw attention. Most of the nations have some traditional garments, but none of them could match the popularity of the kilt. I can’t really explain the lure of the kilt. Maybe it’s the ambiguity of it. Is it a uniform, a heritage dress, or a garment? It resembles the woman’s skirt yet it conveys a message of manly honor. Whatever the reason, the kilt is here to stay. So, let’s see how to make an entry model.

How to Make a kilt

Step 1. Choose Your Tartan and Take Your Measurements

Step 2. Making the Pleats

There are two traditional styles of pleats. You can pleat a kilt ‘to the sett’ or ‘to the stripe’. There are several differences between these styles, but basically pleating to the sett mimics the pattern of the tartan and it looks pretty much the same on the front and on the back of the kilt. When pleating to the stripe, the pattern on the back of the kilt is different from the pattern on the front. Pleating to the sett is a safe option, because every tartan looks good pleated to the sett, while some tartans aren’t suitable to be pleated to the stripe.

The first section of your fabric will go from your left to your right hip, so you leave this part unpleated. The width of this part should be half of your waist. Then, you start pleating. Fold approximately 6 inches of your fabric underneath itself to the right side. Different tartan patterns or ‘setts’ have different widths so you don’t fold exactly 6 inches. Instead, you follow your pattern so that each pleat looks the same. When you fold the next 6 inches or so, you fold it so that 1.5 inch of the previous pleat is free and visible. Repeat the process, until you have about 20 inches of pleats or the same length as the apron( the first section of your kilt).

Step 3. Ironing and Pinning

Step 4. Sewing the Pleats

Now, it’s time to use your sewing machine. Sew a straight stitch across the entire width of the pleats following your pin rows.

So, it means that you sew one inch from the top while removing one pin at a time. Follow the same procedure on your second row of pins. Now, it almost looks Scottish.

Step 5. Trimming and Fastening the Kilt

Your kilt is almost done. Check out the measures once again and cut off excess fabric if there’s any. Trim the fabric from the back of the pleats to avoid bulky waistline. Skip the first and the last pleat and cut off the fabric from the waist to the hipline on remaining pleats.

As for fastening, you can add straps and buckles or hooks and eyes, but the simplest way is to use velcro. It is not traditional, but it is practical, cheap, and easy to do.

There you go! Get a sporran and a bagpipe and you are ready to go to a Renaissance Fair or any Scottish celebration.

Final Words

Truth be told kilt-making is a form of art. There’s so much tradition behind it as well. Each tartan pattern tells a story. Traditionally, each kilt should be hand-made. There are almost countless rules that define the ‘true’ kilt. However, it can all be overwhelming for beginners, especially for those who don’t have Scottish origins.

This guide is meant to help inexperienced sewists or people who need to make a kilt on short notice. I know that true kilt maker would never make this simplified version of the kilt. Still, I believe that we don’t need to stick to the tradition rigidly. After all, making any kind of kilts celebrates the Scottish culture. And once you get acquainted with the kilt and kilt-making process, chances are you will be making more elaborate kilts in the future. Anyway, welcome to the world of Gaelic heritage and enjoy it!

Grand Chain

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Making a kilt

Some hints on making your own kilt. These suggestions have been collated from the highland-dance mailing list.

Why does a kilt need so much material?

A single pleat is made up of a full sett (pattern) width, with an average one-inch exposed pleat. The pleating can be done “to the sett”, duplicating the pattern, or regimental “to the stripe”. If the size of the sett were 8 inches, one pleat would use 9 inches. 42-inch hip measurement requires 4 yards of double-width tartan.

Less material is needed if the sett is smaller. A 6-inch sett would equal 3.15 yards. A larger man with 56-inch hip or waist measurement would require just over 5 yards of 8-inch sett tartan.

A child or dancer’s kilt would look best if made with a 6-inch or smaller sett, keeping the pattern in proportion to the size of the wearer. A kilt for a child with a waist measurement of 26 inches, using tartan with a 6-inch sett could be made with 2 to 2 Ѕ yards of tartan.

Measurements Needed: Hip, Waist, and Kilt Length

Hip and waist meaurements determine the pleating needed. The length of the kilt is measured from waist to mid-knee, adding 2 inches for a higher rise (waist) if a wide kilt belt is to be worn.

Fitting hint: Pre-make the lining by cutting 1 yard of heavy duck fabric into 10-inch widths. Wrap one section around the back of the person being fit, stopping at the side seams of the person’s apparel. Attach a section at this side seam on both the left and right side, wrapping around the front until each piece meets the opposite seam. Safety pin these pieces together, pinning back the ends of the apron sections. You have now custom fitted the lining to be used later. You can fit the pleats and the aprons to this lining as you are making the kilt. Any increases or decreases in waist compared to hip can be easily determined by how the back piece is fastened to the apron sections.

Preparing the Material

True tartan material has a finished selvage edge, which would be used as the bottom (hem) of the kilt. If the material doesn’t have a finished edge you should start by hemming the material at both top and bottom edge making sure you hem at the same place on both sides so that when you sew them together (end to end) the pattern and depth of the hems match. Cut material into two strips wide enough to measure from waist to bottom of the hem. This will leave a long center strip that will be partially used for the waistband. Sew the two wide hemmed pieces together, matching the pattern of the sett. Finish the top edge of the material by serging, running a zigzag stitch, or using an anti-fraying liquid like Fray Stop or Fray Check.

Marking the Outside Apron

The outside kilt apron will buckle on the right side. The pattern of the tartan needs to be centered properly. Fold under at least 6 inches at the beginning, and then make a deep, double-width pleat on the left. Fasten with a safety pin at the hip measurement.

Continue pleating with single-width pleats, (see Pleating the Kilt below), continuing to safety pin at the hip. Pin in a wide, double sett width box pleat at the opposite end of the pleating. Next measure the inside apron to match the outside apron, and pin back the end.

Pleating the Kilt

Think of a deck of cards, which have been fanned out. Many cards overlap with only a narrow part of each card exposed. Each hidden part of the card represents 8 inches of fabric doubled for the pleat. The exposed part would be aprox. 5/8 to 1 inch. Mark one sett width on a piece of cardboard. Divide the pattern of the sett into equal parts. A section of two wide strips of color with a narrow stripe in the middle looks best divided in 3 sections, centering the strip in the middle section. An 8-inch sett may be divided in 8 or more sections. This piece of cardboard can be your measuring tool as you pleat.

To duplicate the pattern of the tartan you overlay the edge of the pleat over the matching pattern in the next sett. Fasten each pleat at hip level with a safety pin. Continue pleating until the desired width is pleated.

Hip to Waist Adjustments

Darts can be pinched in at each side of the apron pieces, keeping the first and last pleats straight on grain. This will adjust the apron for one of the half waist/hip difference. The remaining half of the difference should be spread equally between the pleats, using safety pins. You may want to mark the angles of the pleat adjustment, with a temporary fabric marker, where needed to ensure a straight stitch.

Basting In the Pleats

Do 2 rows of basting, approximately ј and Ѕ of the way up from the bottom edge of the fabric. You can use a running stitch, catching the edge of each pleat. This will make the material more compact and easy to work with during sewing, as well as making steam pressing easier.

Stitching the Pleats

Use a blind (felling) stitch, starting at the bottom (hip point) of the pleat. Fasten the thread Ѕ inch from the reverse edge of the pleat, start with 2 stitches to fasten the bottom, and then run the needle under 3 threads of the bottom material, and then straight up to the top material of the pleat. You then run the needle through the top material aprox. 3 threads, back down to the bottom. This produces aprox. 10 stitches per inch.

Trimming the Back of the Pleats

On the inside of the kilt trim excess material at top of each pleat, from waist to 1 inch above the hipline. This strip would be 1 Ѕ to 2 inches deep, removing the bulk of the material from the inside.

Adding Fringe

Cut a 3 inch wide piece of material the length of the kilt. Fold this piece in half to give a double thickness to the fringe. This will be sewn into a doubled (Z – shaped) edge folded in the right side of the apron. Once this is sewn in place you can fringe it by removing the vertical threads.

Adding the Waistband

Cut a 5 inch wide strip for the waistband. Starting on the beginning edge of the outside apron matching the pattern of the material. Turn the bottom edge of the waistband strip under. Ѕ inch and stitch 1 to 1 Ѕ inches from the top edge of the apron using the blind (felling) stitch. Overlap the remaining width over the top of the kilt. The lining will cover up this side so it doesn’t need to be finished.

Adding the Lining

Stitch in the lining of duck material at the top of the inside waistband by doing an overlap stitch along the top and inside apron side, tacking bottom edge of the middle section to the back of the pleats. The lining should be the depth of the sewn down pleat. The bottoms of the apron lining should be left loose, just hemming the turned under edge of the lining to itself.

Adding Buckles and Leather Straps

Punch a series of holes in the squared end of the leather straps. Sew the straps to the inside of the next to the fringe, positioning the top strap just below the waistband, and the second just above the bottom of the sewn down pleat. Tack the lining over the sewn-in straps. Sew the buckles on the pleated area, 2 inches to the right of the fringed side of the apron.

The buckles can be attached by either sewing on a turned strip of material as a casing, or by sewing the buckle directly on the material using button thread.

Add Velcro to the Inside Waistband

Instead of adding a third buckle / strap to the left side I use Velcro across the apron. This holds the material securely with or without a belt.

Finishing

Press the pleats using a wet pressing cloth. Hold the iron over a section of pleating to steam in the pleat. Move the hot iron to the next section and lay a cold iron or heavy object on the previous area. This holds in the steam while it cools, giving you a crisp pleat that has real staying power.

Additional Hints

You can purchase the buckles and straps in 3 sizes from Highland XPress in Kansas City, Mo. (816) 746-6750 or reach them at the website http://members.tripod.com/

highxpress/. For in-depth kiltmaking instructions Highland XPress carries the book “Kiltmaking”.

There is also an outstanding kilt-making article originally published in Threads Magazine. It has been reprinted in the book “Techniques for Casual Clothes from Threads”, by The Taunton Press, copyright 1994.

There is now also a book that teaches the traditional kiltmaking methods that the author learned 50 years ago as an apprentice and kiltmaker with the renowned firm Thomas Gordon’s of Glasgow: The Art of Kiltmaking.

* Editor’s note: the origin of the phrase «The Whole Nine Yards» is actually unknown. There are many theories, including the length of tartan used to make a kilt, but none have been verified. See for example The Phrase Finder World Wide Words, The English Usage FAQ or The Straight Dope.

Extracted from postings to highland-dance, the highland and scottish step dance mailing list. See http://www.scottishdance.net/highland/. Return to the Grand Chain Scottish Dance Resource pages.

Except where otherwise indicated, all content on this site (including text, images, dance descriptions and any other original work) is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

How to Make a Kilt?

If you are also the Do-it-yourself kind of guy and wanted to learn that how to make a kilt then this article is going to help you at some extent. Since, these tips and tricks for making a kilt is coming directly from our most experienced maker who has made more than 20000+ kilts by himself. The guy sharing these tips with is master in both traditional kilts and modern utility kilts.

A kilt is basically pleated wrapped skirt (duh… its not a skirt); however, there is also contemporary extension to the traditional kilts which is called Utility kilt or modern kilts. I will be discussing the making of a traditional kilt and also a modern utility kilt.

Table of Contents

How to Make a Kilt?

Here I will be sharing some basic and tricks about making a kilt so let’s get to the work.

How to make a great Kilt or a traditional Tartan kilt?

Making a great kilt or traditional tartan kilt is kind of same as there nothing much to do as far the stitching is concerned. Although it requires lots of patience and precision while making a great kilt or a traditional tartan kilt.

Step 1 – You need to get the measurements first!

This is the prime and initial step of making a kilt that goes for both traditional kilt or a traditional kilt.

Primarily you require three measurements for making a basic kilt and that are as follows;

In order to measure your model correctly, you need to follow our Kilt measurement guide here.

Step 2 – Preparing the Kilt Material – Tartan in this case!

The true tartan material has finished salvage edge which will be used as the bottom of the kilt (hem). In case, the material does not have a finish edge then you should start hemming the material at top and bottom edge and make sure that hem on both top and bottom hedge should match the pattern while sewing. Then you need to cut the material into two strips and it should be wide enough to measure from waist to bottom of the hem. It will leave a long center strip that will partially be used for waist-band. Then you need to sew the two wide hemmed pieces together and do ensure that it matches the patter of sett.

Then you need to finish the top edge of the material by serging, running a zigzag stitch or you may also use an anti-fraying spray for that.

Step 3 – Making an Apron

An apron is the front of the kilt that will be buckled up on the right size. However, you need to make sure that tartan needs to be centered properly. You are supposed to fold under at least 6 inches while starting and after that make a deep, double width pleat on the left.

Then continue pleating with single-width pleat – keep doing that till the safety pin at the hip. After that, pin in a wide double sett width box pleat at the opposite end of pleating. Now you need to measure the inside apron so that it matches the outside apron, and then pin back the end.

Step 4 – Pleating the Kilt!

This is one of the crucial and most critical marking of making a tartan kilt. So you need to do it right!

Each part of the material doubled for pleat should be of 8 inches (strict) and the exposed part will be 5/8 to 1 inch. You can mark the one sett on piece of a cardboard for precision. Then you need to divide the pattern of setts into equal parts.

It is like a section of two wide strips of color with a narrow stripe in the middle looks best divided into three sections where you need to center the strips in middle section. Furthermore, a sett of 8 inches can further be divided into 8 or more sections. You can use the piece of cardboard as measuring tool.

To duplicate the process, you need to overlay the pleat over the matching pattern in next sett.

Step 5 – Hip to Waist Adjustment

You need to keep the first and last pleat straight and dart can be used for keeping that straight. It will adjust the apron for one of the half waist/hip difference and other half should spread equally between the pleats with the help of pins.

You may also mark the angles of the pleat adjustment using a temporary marker in order to ensure the straight stitching.

Step 6 – Basting in Pleats

You need do 2 rows of basting approximately ¼ and ½ of the way up from bottom edge of the fabric. A running stitch can be used for catching the edge of pleat as it will make the material more compact and easy to work with while sewing also making steam pressing much easier.

Step 7 – Stitching the Pleats

You need to use a blind stitch starting at the bottom of the pleat. Then you need to fasten the thread ½ inch from reverse edge of the pleat; you need start 2 stitches in order to fasten the bottom and then you need to run the needle under 3 threads of the bottom material and then you need to straight up to the top material of the pleat. After that you need to run the needle from the top material approximately 3 threads back down to the bottom. It approximately produces 10 stitches per inch.

Step 8 – Trimming the Back of the Pleats

You need to trim the excess of material from the top of each pleat, from waist to 1 inch above the hip line. This strip would be 1 ½ to 2 inches deep removing the bulk of material from inside.

Step 9 – Adding Fringes

You need to cut the wide piece of material from length of the kilt. Then you need to fold this piece in half so that it can give double thickness to the fringes. Now it needed to be sewn into double edge folded in the right side of apron.

Step 10 – Adding the waistband

Now you need to cut the 5 inches stripe for waistband. You need to make sure that pattern for apron and beginning of the waistband should match. Now you need to turn bottom edge of the waistband stripe under ½ inch and stitch 1 to 1 ½ inches from the top edge of the apron of kilt using the blind stitching. After that you need to overlap the remaining width over the top of the kilt. The lining will cover up this side so it won’t need any finishing.

Step 11 – Adding lining

Now you are supposed to stitch in the lining of duck material at the top of inside waistband by doing apron an overlap stitching along top and inside the apron by taking bottom edge of middle section to the back of pleats. You need to make sure that dept of the pleat should be sewn down pleat. One more thing to remember that bottom of the apron lining should be left loose by hemming turned under edge of the lining to itself.

Step 12 – Adding Buckles and Leather Straps

You need to punch few holes at the sqareend of the leather straps. After that you need to sew the straps to the inside of the next to the fringe where you need to position the top straps just below the waistband and the other just above the bottom of sewn down pleat. Afterwards, you need to tack the lining over the sewn-in straps. Now you are supposed to sew the buckles on pleated area which is 2 inches to the right of the fringed size of apron.

Step 13 – Adding Velcro Inside the Waistband

Instead of adding a third strap, it is recomended to use Velcro inside the waistband which will help you to hold the kilt with or without a belt.

Step 14 – Finalization

You need to take a wet cloth and press the pleats using that. Now you need to hold the iron on each pleat to steam in pleats and keep moving to each pleat one by one. Make sure you put any heavy object on each ironed pleat for settling it down.

How to make a Utility kilt?

Making a Modern utility kilt require stitching expertise and could not be done at home as it requires lots of technical stuffs that needs to be learned. In order to master that you need to learn stitching altogether.

Sum Up

This was a complete guide that must have helped you to understand that how to make a kilt and I am sure you guys must have understood the process.