Every Man Looks Good in a Kilt

Okay, so there's no historical evidence that kilts were worn in the middle ages... they're just cool and you can wear one if you want to! I firmly believe that kilts make men look more handsome and dashing than any other garment. (No matter awful his figure or personality is!) Every man should own at least one kilt. And we're not talking about those namby pamby modern kilts, I mean GREAT KILTS, the whole nine yard, fold those pleats by hand sheebang.

What is a Great Kilt

Depending on the wearers height and girth, a Great Kilt is an 8 to 12 foot long piece of wool tartan (i.e. plaid) cloth, pleated, wrapped around the waist, draped over the sholder and down the back and secured with two belts, ties and several kilt pins or brooches. Oh, and did I mention the sporran? If you haven't guessed it already let me enlighten you before you get any farther in your kilt making plans... great kilts are expensive to make. Not only do you need alot of fabric, but wool - especially authentic tartan - is expensive, and you'll be needing alot of specialized accessories to go with it. Here's what you'll need:

• Wool Tartan - To determine how much you'll need measure your waist then multiply that number by 3 (for the pleating), then measure from waist to mid-calf, from mid-calf to shoulder, and from shoulder to mid-calf again, plus two feet. That's how much tartan you'll need.
• Belts - You'll need two. One long, narrow belt of sturdy leather (kilt belt) and one wide belt in a color that goes with your outfit (sword belt).
• Kilt Pins - Large brass safety pins, you can pick them up at any fabric store.
• Sporran - A fancy, u-shaped leather pouch which hangs from the kilt belt at the front of the kilt (covering the crotch).

How to Don a Great Kilt

Before you don your Great Kilt you're going to need to pleat the fabric. Fold the fabric in half lengthwise and lay it on the floor. Pleat the part for the skirt (waist measurement x3). The pleats should be 1 inch deep and slightly staggered.

Slip the kilt belt under the pleats about 8 inches down from the folded edge. Lie face down on the pleats with your natural waist just below the belt. Be sure that the bottom edge of the skirt reaches to just below your knees, adjust where the belt is accordingly. Now use the belt to wrap yourself up like a burrito and be sure ends of the pleats meet and overlap in the middle of your back.

Belt the kilt belt as tight as you can stand it, then fold down the part that sticks up from the belt, making a ruffle. (Don't forget to put the sporan on the kilt belt.) Belt the sword belt over the ruffle. Secure the overlapping edges near the bottom with a kilt pin or large brass safety pin. The main folding of your kilt is now complete.

If you're doing a full Great Kilt you'll now have a tail made out of several yards of unpleated plaid. Fold the tail so that it's about a foot wide then grab it in the middle and pull it over your sholder. Secure it with a cord attached to the sholder of your doublet. You've just created the boodle. The fabric of the boodle should start from your waist and loop down to mid-calf, then go up to your sholder. The rest of the fabric will be the arisade. The arisade may either fold back over your sholder and fall down your back (use a kilt pin to secure it to the upper chest of your doublet) or it may be pulled diagonally across your chest and secured at your belt.

Here's a tip - you may wish to secure the pleats in place by sewing a straight seam along the same path as the kilt belt.

Here's another tip - practice pleating and donning the kilt several times to find the optimum pleat width and overlap for your fabric and figure.