The Kilt Chronicles: Latest from the Sofa

So, after a very busy two weeks, I am officially back to my kilt adventure.

Having officially exhausted my fabric supply, it was back to ironing and wrestling with my trusty sheet. After a quick measurement session revealed I was completely out of sheet real estate, I did what any desperate sewist would do: I started chopping up a curtain for the lining, measuring it alongside my remaining scraps like a textile mad scientist.

I would argue this was the second most time-consuming part of my kilt journey so far, the first being ironing a king-sized sheet, cutting, marking, and pinning it.

Day six of my sewing conquest. Back to the linen cupboard I go, this time targeting a king-size sheet. Step one: iron out two weeks' worth of tightly crumpled fabric-box wrinkles. After ironing it for almost an entire episode of what was playing in the background, I had a beautifully ironed sheet.

After a lovely ten days away with Will, first to Stirling, and then down to Cornwall for a holiday with his family. I have done precisely zero actual kilting. However, I consider the trip while on different types of transport a wild success in terms of research and development . In my travels, I picked up a Munro tartan book (since that’s Will’s surname and he's currently top of my "people to clothe" list), figuring a bit of background knowledge couldn’t hurt. Will also contributed to the cause in Stirling by picking up a knitted Highland cow measuring tape. If that doesn't inspire precise tailoring, nothing will.

So, I have officially upgraded from a pillowcase to a curtain. Will had very sweetly washed all the bedding I am going to be chopping up, but I decided it was time for a change of pace. I started by taking my brand-new, incredibly sharp fabric scissors to a massive curtain, chopping off a small section to practice my eight pleats.

Armed with a shiny new stationery folder—which contained a real, non-cardboard ruler, a big notebook, a small notebook, and a stack of sticky notes—morale was at an all-time high. To top off this absolute peak of academic readiness, my long-awaited kiltmaking book finally arrived!

Welcome to day two of the kilt chronicle, where the stakes are low but the confusion is high! Today’s mission: practice pleating. No expensive wool was harmed in the making of this blog post; instead, I liberated an old pillowcase from the linen cupboard, sacrificed it to the sewing gods, and sliced it open. It was in this exact moment I realized the iron is no longer just an appliance—it is now the main character of this entire saga. We are practically trauma-bonded already.

So, I’ve had this idea for about two weeks now. I’ve been talking my partner Wil's ear off about it, so he very kindly offered to buy me a book as a gift to support my new dream. I am now officially on letter box watch , waiting for 'Scottish Kiltmaking for Beginners' to hit the mat so I can read it cover to cover before I even think about touching a needle.