Shawn L. Bird

Original poetry, commentary, and fiction. All copyrights reserved.

kilting continuance November 23, 2011

Filed under: projects — Shawn L. Bird @ 6:22 pm
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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

Filed under: projects — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:05 pm
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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.

 

ironing hell November 20, 2011

Filed under: Commentary — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:50 pm
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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,