Hand stitched

by Vicki
(USA)

I wanted to make a kilt for my husband who is very proud of his Scottish heritage. At the time, we were a young family and I was budget conscious and a bit crafty, and did a bit of sewing.

I researched his family tartan, which turned out to be Royal Stewart, but was disheartened at the price of the tartan fabric, so I put the idea in the back of my head for later.

Within months, on a trip to the local fabric store, I discovered a bolt of Black Stewart patterned acrylic blend on the clearance table. Fortunately, it was 60" wide and inexpensive.

My sister happened to have a kilt pattern, so with 10 yards of synthetic tartan, I hand sewed my husband's kilt over the course of the next few weeks.

He has worn it proudly and just tonight, nearly 20 years later, our younger son wore his father's kilt to his senior prom. Now he wants his own, so I am looking for my own copy of a kilt pattern so I can make each of my sons his own kilt.

I am not sure my older knees can handle hours of crawling around on the floor in pursuit of precision pleats, but it will be a true labor of love.