How to Sew a Kilt

You can sew your own basic kilt.

Kilts are basically one piece of fabric that wraps around the hips and waist and fastens together with buckles. The front of the kilt is called the front apron, which overlaps what is called the under apron. The back of the kilt has the pleats that give this Scottish attire its classic look. True Tartan kilt fabric can be expensive and kilts require many yards of fabric. If you haven't sewn a kilt or a pleated skirt before, make sure to use inexpensive plaid material for your first kilt.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Plaid fabric
• Matching thread
• Scissors
• Safety or quilter's pins
• Iron and ironing board
• Sewing machine
• Seam ripper
• Hand sewing needle
• Two kilt buckles and straps
• One sew-on snap (optional)
• Kilt pin (optional)

Instructions

Measure and Cut the Kilt Fabric

1. Measure your waist and the fullest part of your hips (or take the measurements of the potential kilt wearer).

2. Multiply the hip measurement by three, to estimate how much fabric you'll need for the kilt. For example, if the hip measurement is 40 inches, you'll need 120 inches of fabric.

3. Divide the total inches of fabric by 36 to determine the number of yards (for example, 120 / 36 = 3.333), and round up to the nearest half yard. Add another half yard to this total, to give you extra material for lining up the plaid pattern.

4. Measure the length from your waist to the middle of your kneecap, or the place you want the bottom of the kilt. If the fabric is wide enough, you may be able to cut it in half and buy only half as much fabric as you calculated in Step 3. If the fabric has pre-finished edges, you do not need to hem it. Otherwise, add 1 inch extra to the length to allow for the hem.

5. Cut the fabric to the length determined in Step 4. Set aside any extra fabric to use for the waistband. If you cut a wide fabric in half lengthwise, sew both pieces together to make one long piece, making sure that the plaid pattern is continuous. Hem the lower edge of the fabric if needed.

Pleat the Kilt

1. Make a double pleat in the right edge of the fabric if you're making the kilt for a male; begin at the left edge for a female. To do this, look at the square in the plaid pattern that is closest the right edge. Grasp the left side of the plaid square and bring it over to meet the left edge of the next square, creating a fold. Press the pleat and hold it in place with a safety pin, positioned near the hip area of the kilt.

2. Make the opposite side of the double pleat by looking at the plaid square that is two squares over from the first pleat. Bring the left side to this plaid square over to meet the right edge of the previous square, next to the first pleat. Press and pin this pleat. These pleats will be the edge of the under apron.

3. Hold the kilt up to the body of the person who will be wearing it, lining up the double-pleated edge with the left hipbone (or right hipbone for a female). Carefully place a safety pin in the kilt fabric over the person's other hipbone. This marks the end of the under apron and the beginning of the back of the kilt.

4. Pleat the back of the kilt by folding the material along the plaid pattern lines, pressing it and pinning the pleats in place near the hip area. Stop when you have enough pleats the cover the person's back from hipbone to hipbone.

5. Have the person who will be wearing the kilt carefully wrap it around his or her hips, so that the pleated section is in back and the unpleated area in front overlaps the under apron. Check the width of the front apron at the hip area and trim it if necessary, leaving enough extra material for a hem. Hem the edge of the front apron.

Add the Waistband

1. Cut a strip of extra fabric about 3 inches longer than the person's waist measurement, and about 3 inches wide. If possible, make sure the plaid pattern on the waistband matches up with the pattern on the front apron.

2. Fold the waistband in half lengthwise wrong sides together and press it flat.

3. Lay the waistband along the top edge of the front apron and pleated back of the kilt. Adjust the tops of the pleats to make them narrower until the kilt will fit the waistband. This makes the kilt narrower at the waist and wider at the hips.

4. Set the waistband aside and press the pleats again. Baste each pleat, using the longest stitch length on the machine, from the waist to the hip. Make sure not to catch any extra material in the seam on each pleat. You should have flaps of loose material on the inside of the kilt.

5. Press the pleats again and sew them in place from waist to hip using matching thread. Remove the basting stitches, and cut off the excess fabric along each pleat on the inside the kilt. This helps the kilt lie flat.

6. Unfold the waistband and place it face down along the top edge of the front apron and pleated back of the kilt. Pin it to the kilt, then stitch it in place. Fold the waistband over the top edge of the kilt. Hand stitch the lower edge of the waistband to the inside of the kilt.

7. Hand sew the end of one strap to the waist area of the inside of the front apron, and the other to the hip area. Make sure the stitches do not show through to the outside. Sew the buckles to the corresponding hip and waist area of the kilt, so that the buckles can hold the kilt closed.

8. Add a snap to hold the edge of the under apron to the front apron (optional).

Tips & Warnings

• Use a kilt pin to hold the middle of the front apron and the under apron together.

• Use caution when working with scissors, pins, hot irons and sewing machines.

References

• The BBC: How to Sew a Modern Kilt
• Scottish Dance: Making a Kilt