:) How to Make a Kilt Using a Kilt-Making Kit

While a kilt is similar in design to a wrap-around skirt, making one can be a challenge due to the pleats and back yoke. Purchasing a kilt-making kit reduces the time it takes to make a kilt because the pieces are cut out and the pleats are basted down along the top edge before you even start. 

Kilt and Sporran image courtesy of Jongleur100 and Wikimedia Commons

Choosing and Using a Kilt-Making Kit 

If you are looking for a specific tartan, it can take some extra searching to find the right kit; but if you are not choosy - in looking for a specific tartan - you quickly can pick up a kit from an online kilt supplier.

The Items You Will Need for Making a Kilt Using a Kit

• Kilt-making kit
• Hand-sewing thread
• Hand-sewing needle
• Over-lock sewing machine with sharp needle

The Steps to Follow When Making a Kilt Using a Kit

1. Unpack the tartan wool pieces from the kilt-making kit. Make sure everything listed on the supplies list is included. If anything is missing, contact the kilt-making kit company before you start or pick the item up from a local fabric store.
2. Check the top edge of the pleats to make sure nothing is sticking up. If anything is sticking up, baste across the top edge using the hand-sewing thread and needle.
3. Serge around the raw edges of each piece, using the over-lock sewing machine, to prevent fraying. Serge over the basted top edges of the pleated section, too.
4. Attach the pleated section to the back yoke using the over-locker. Then join the side seams. Pin the waistband onto the kilt according to the pattern directions; then join the seams on the over-locker. Remove the pins as you serge.
5. Attach the trim, using the hand-sewing thread and needle; make a tight, 1/8 inch long back-stitch to create the strongest seam possible.

Note About More Traditional Kilt Making Steps

If you want your kilt to be traditional, hand sew all of the seams using the back-stitch rather than using the over-lock machine for some. Hand sewing will take longer though, so you probably will not be done in a short amount of time.

By Laure Justice

Updated August 12, 2018

References

http://www.scottishdance.net/highland/MakingKilt.html
http://www.leviathanstudios.com/figures/macjoe/patterns.html

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