Fabric on the ground
Measure and pin.
Ah! A helper!
Sit on the fabric
Upset the pins
Give me kisses
Crawl into my lap
Production stops.
Canine cuddles provided,
into isolation you go.
Work resumes.
poem-stitches August 2, 2014
Gossamer strings
weaving between
emptiness,
the lace
slides
beneath needles
as I stitch air
into beauty.
poem-tired August 1, 2014
I need new pyjamas.
The effort of hunting through stores
hurts my head.
I have fabric, thread, pattern
and machines.
It’d only take an hour to make,
But just taking
the serger out of the box
seems too great a challenge.
I think finishing my last novel
was more exhausting than
it seemed.
poem-stitching July 16, 2014
So long ago
sewing tiny pearl beads
around a gauzy net
to form a bridal halo
stitching dreams together.
Drops of crimson
from pricked fingers
drip upon the silk flower crown
white for purity
red for courage
blood for
hope.
.
.
.
Anniversary approaching. You can see the veil in question on an older post here.
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…
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.
kilt progress November 19, 2011
I don’t think I have ever ironed more in my whole life.
I’m making progress on the kilt. Today I re-measured for the length, waist and hips, and made the first cut of the fabric, serged all the edges and then hemmed all 7 metres.
Then began the pleating! The DH wanted it pleated to the sett, and so it is. Because he’s a big guy, I went with 1″ pleats. After all the pleats were done at hip level and below, I shaped the waist edge. The same edges were brought closer, into about 5/8″. They were pinned and basted down.
And then the rest of the basting was done, measuring, ironing, and fiddling. I’ve decided to stop for the night since it’s 2 a.m. The DH will have to try on what I’ve got, and then I’ll actually get sewing down all those pleats, one at a time. At last count there were 32 of them, but I think I may have added a couple.
With only pins and basting holding it together, here is the front apron:
Here is the back view. I’m really quite proud of my pleating to the sett. I think it came out wonderfully. When it’s sewn down, it should be quite impressive, fitting neatly over the hips! It’s hard to tell there are any pleats at all, at first glance- but they’re there! Trust me! (or click on the photo below and ‘control +’ to enlarge it and see for yourself.)
A good evening’s work, I think. I’m looking forward to the first fitting tomorrow!
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: