“a man in a kilt will always be more appealing than anyone in lederhosen.”
~Diana Gabaldon
The appeal is likely the easier peeling?
poem-appealing February 6, 2016
poem- swing February 17, 2015
So why does a kilt catch all the girls’ eyes?
The risk that men run and what she might spy,
Should breeze catch a pleat and lift to the sky?
No, what catches the eye and makes hearts sing,
what makes her desire her own highland fling
is the lad’s stance and the way that kilt swings!
A man in a kilt breathes confidence, aye?
So don that kilt, laddie, make the girls sigh
when you swing those pleats as you saunter by!
.
.
A little rhyming for you today. 😉
“It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing, doo wah doo wah, doo wah doo wah!”
Poem-another sign of love- a kilt story July 17, 2013
She gets these notions, ken?
Strange notions.
That because my great,
great,
great,
great,
great,
grandfather was a Scot
I need a kilt.
.
I won’t wear a kilt,
I said.
I am not connected to
my Scot’s heritage
I said.
That’s all right,
she said,
unloading
eight meters of fabric
and starting to pleat.
.
I won’t wear a kilt
I said.
What kind of belt buckle?
she asked.
So I picked the clan buckle
of my great
great etc
grandfather.
.
I won’t wear a kilt
I said.
Which pleat design?
she asked.
So I picked the pleat to the sett
(or so she tells me)
and she ironed
and ironed
and ironed
late into the night
and then she sewed
and sewed
and sewed
each stitch by hand
for night
after night.
.
I don’t want a kilt
I said.
She sewed
a linen shirt
and knit a lace jabot
and created sock flashes
and sock garters.
I ordered the socks and
the sporran from
Scotland
she said.
.
I really don’t want…
I said
Try this
she said
arranging a leather pocket
dangling from chains
around my waist.
No!
I squawked
It can’t go like that!
That’s like saying
X marks the spot!
She laughed
at my dismay.
.
Just try it all
she said,
arranging
ecoutrements.
I sighed
but did.
Walk up and down so I can see the swing,
she said.
Ooooooh,
she said
and led me back up the hall.
.
For our anniversary
she said
will you wear your kilt?
Yes,
I said
and did.
.
.
True story.
Outlander inspiration is clear.
Diana has a lot to answer for.
But most of it is good.
Verra good.
.
Here’s the proof:
and the more modern interpretation:
We should have taken some pictures from behind to show off…
(cough) the pleat to the sett.
It’s verra lovely.
<g>
Always remember “Happy Wife, Happy Life” or as Diana wrote him in the book plate for his copy of The Scottish Prisoner, “No one looks better than a man in a kilt.”
.
FYI- Here are a few of the posts written back while I was making the kilt with photos of the process:
https://shawnbird.com/2011/11/16/the-latest-obsessive-project/
https://shawnbird.com/2011/11/19/kilt-progress/
https://shawnbird.com/2011/12/06/all-done/
Note the dates- It’s been nearly 18 months since I finished. He’s worn it ONCE before today, back for that final drooling fitting. Plainly I caught him in a moment of weakness today. Or else he’s been reading Outlander again on his own. Good lad.
6 years later, here’s a lovely shot of the swing from behind! 🙂
Modern pict, in miniature June 11, 2012
NB. Beaufort is pronounced Byoo-furt in this one.
Just a snap shot in words.
.
“Beaufort T. Scott! Is that your mama’s blue eye shadow all over your face?” Sadie looked again and rammed her hands onto her hips, elbows jutting out menacingly. “And why on Earth are you wearing your sister’s skirt?
“It’s not a skirt! It’s a kilt. Kilts are for men. Mama says so!” He thrust his tongue out to emphasize the point.
“It’s a gingham skirt with a calico ruffle, Beaufort.”
His lower lip quivered. “It’s a kilt!”
Joline’s kitten pounced by, narrowly missing a lucky grasshopper. Beaufort bent over to examine it, demonstrating that he was wearing his ‘kilt’ in the traditional manner.
Sadie raised an eyebrow. “Careful that cat doesn’t reach up and slice off your privates.”
In alarm, the little boy swooped up the cat and dangled it protectively over the privates in question.
Sadie bit back a laugh. The poor little cat looked for all the world like a pipe major’s badger sporran hanging there, tail twitching between the little boy’s knees.
“Ah, Beaufort,” she sighed. “You’ll be the death of me.”
and it was good December 10, 2011
I have seen The Kilt worn. It is good.
- The way the pleats fit smoothly from waist to hips, accenting the slight curve.
- The way the pleats swing with the stride.
- The way it accents the positive.
>>sigh<<
We had to adjust the length of the sporran chain, though. Hubby stared aghast at the initial placement and exclaimed, “No! That’s like saying ‘X marks the spot!'”
After I stopped laughing, I moved up the chain, and then investigated proper sporran placement at X marks the Scot and the Tartan Authority. 2-3″ below the belt buckle is correct for the top of the sporran, apparently. We’re still waiting for the arrival of the belt and buckle, but I think we’ve got it close.
Photos? you suggest.
Umm. Well. The Husband is a trifle shy. He is nervous of appearing on the internet in a kilt. I’ll work on him. When all the accoutrements have arrived, I will take a photo. If I have to remove his head, I will. I keep getting requests for the final product. Patience! ;-P
I have seen. It is good.
Trust me.
.
.
1. hem the approximately 8 yards of fabric
2. set the lining
3. pin the pleats according to hubby’s preference
4. press the pleats
5. manipulate the pleats from the fit at the hip to the narrower waist
6. hand stitch the 7-8 yards of hip pleats into position
7. baste pleats onto the lining
8. hand stitch the waist pleats
9. add apron fringe fabric
10. add waistband
11. pull threads to make fringe
12. add buckle closures (2)
13. figure out inner closure…
14. add hanging loops (sporran loops- rather than hanging loops, actually)
15. sigh dramatically as spouse models completed kilt!
All done! December 6, 2011
Today, the straps and buckles arrived from Scotland at last, and so I was able to finish off the kilt.
I started by sewing down the waistband. You’re supposed to match the plaid across the front apron. If you look closely, you’ll see that the very centre matches, but the print on the band is smaller than the apron. This is because while it turns out the the Saskatchewan tartan is balanced left to right, it isn’t up and down (though it looks like it is!). I needed the full width (divided in half) of the fabric for my tall husband, and so I was forced to cut the waist band from the end.
I made the under closure with a strap of velcro on the apron that connect through a loop on the inside of the kilt.
The leather straps from Scotland needed stitch holes, so I used my Dremel drill to make them. The buckles are attached using fabric straps, that are matched to the plaid. The hole for the buckle prong is a half inch button hole. The fabric straps are hand stitched down, and well camouflaged.
And that’s it! My first kilt is complete! After some 30 hours of ironing and stitching by hand and machine later, the project in Saskatchewan tartan is complete. The sporran has arrived from Scotland via eBay, as has a pair of “Lovat green kilt hose.” The garters and a set of flashes are done. Now, we have to wait for my November 22nd Scotsweb order. Apparently the kilt belt is still not in, and the order won’t be shipped until Friday (December 9). A clan crest buckle, ecru hose, and a kilt pin will arrive with it. An additional purchase was a kilt hanger. A regular skirt hanger can’t take 3 lbs of kilt, but a kilt hanger is wider and has 4 clamps. With luck, we should be able to completely outfit the husband of the house in his finery by Christmas. Stay tuned!
Would I do it again?
Well. Yesterday I picked up 4 metres of green and blue Alberta tartan…
.
.
1. hem the approximately 8 yards of fabric
2. set the lining
3. pin the pleats according to hubby’s preference
4. press the pleats
5. manipulate the pleats from the fit at the hip to the narrower waist
6. hand stitch the 7-8 yards of hip pleats into position
7. baste pleats onto the lining
8. hand stitch the waist pleats
9. add apron fringe fabric
10. add waistband
11. pull threads to make fringe
12. add buckle closures (2)
13. figure out inner closure…
14. add hanging loops (sporran loops- rather than hanging loops, actually)
15. sigh dramatically as spouse models completed kilt!
and there we are September 2017…
ha November 30, 2011
An observation by the man of my house:
“You know, instead of you going to all this work to make me a kilt, I could just wear a towel around my waist…”
.
.
If I’d known about this handy little product from the Galician Shop, I might have considered it!
.
kilting continuance November 23, 2011
The latest report on the kilt making!
1. hem the approximately 8 yards of fabric
2. set the lining
3. pin the pleats according to hubby’s preference
4. press the pleats
5. manipulate the pleats from the fit at the hip to the narrower waist
6. hand stitch the 7-8 yards of hip pleats into position
7. baste pleats onto the lining
8. hand stitch the waist pleats
9. add apron fringe fabric
10. add waistband
11. pull threads to make fringe
12. add buckle closures (2)
13. figure out inner closure…
14. add hanging loops
15. sigh dramatically as spouse models completed kilt!
At last report, I was anticipating having to re-do the stitching. After subsequent measuring, I decided that I was just going to leave it. The measurements are close enough (1/2″ off). I am not sure whether I am actually going to put in a lining, but if so, I’ll be able to tighten the top two inches of the kilt with the one inch waistband, I think.
I would be finished, except I determined that the 3 lbs of fabric requires MUCH sturdier buckles and straps that the wimpy pair I’d picked up at the fabric store when I bought my fabric. I have therefore ordered a sturdier set from a kiltmaker in Scotland. I will be inserting the straps into the waist band when they arrive, so I’m at a stop.
I am also waiting for a package from http://www.scotweb.co.uk/ that includes a clan buckle, kilt belt, and kilt hose (aka socks). I have made garters and flashes. I had very good luck on eBay this week and managed to obtain a lovely sporran with a gorgeous engraved silver cantle.
So! Things are progressing quite nicely. Finishing will depend on the mail arriving from the UK, but in my experience, that should mean within the next couple of weeks. I tend to have UK parcels arrive much sooner than parcels from Eastern Canada or the US for some reason.
While I wait, I’ll be stitching up a linen tunic. I had to go through several collections before I found the perfect one: Simplicity 3519. I like that this one is uni-sex. It can be used for a variety of costuming purposes. I will be making B, the one they show in green on the top right of the photo.
kilt complications November 21, 2011
I set out to make a kilt using instructions from the internet. I wish I’d had photos of every tiny step in the procedure because after hand pleating and ironing and pinning for 7 hours, then hand stitching (using the prescribed tiny felling stitch, even though it looks wrong to me) 31 shaped pleats from hip to waist for 8 hours.
Because today, while trying to figure out exactly how to attach the waistband, I discovered that there should be a couple inches of the waist measurement, (in other words, the narrowest point of all 31 pleats should have been 1.5 inches lower than I have sewn them.
8 hours it took to put in those 31 pleats.
8.
Yeah.
Now I have to study the finished kilt and see if there is a sneaky way of fixing this without having to re-do all of the pleats. I wish I’d found this out yesterday. >>sigh<<
It fits absolutely perfectly as it is, which makes it even more irritating to have to raise the waist. No point whining.
I have stitches to pick out.
Shawn L. Bird 
ironing hell November 20, 2011
Tags: ironing, kilt, making, postaday2011, sewing
I hate ironing. When I first got married, I told my husband that. I buy no-iron clothing. If he wants his clothes ironed, then he has to iron them. Luckily, one of his jobs as a kid was earning cash for ironing his father’s shirts. University professors wore ironed shirts back then. He irons his shirts in front of the TV.
I don’t iron. My clothes either are the kind that don’t wrinkle or they look slightly rumpled.
So what was I thinking when I took on a kilt for a sewing project? 31 pleats (in the final version. There were several more I’d put in that I had to iron out…)
iron, iron,iron, iron,iron, iron, steam, iron, iron,iron, iron,iron, iron, steam, iron, iron,iron, iron,iron, iron, steam, iron, iron,iron, iron,iron, iron, steam, iron, iron,iron, iron,iron, iron, steam, iron, iron,iron, iron,iron, iron, steam, iron, iron,iron, iron,iron, iron, steam, iron, iron,iron, iron,iron, iron, steam,
Share this:
Like this: