I've been meaning to make a kilt for ages, and finally found a site with a pattern: GI MacJoe. (Thanks, Jonathan, for showing me where it is nowadays!) I used this pattern to make the basic "sport" kilt, shown here in the red tartan.
You can find instructions for how to wrap and wear a great kilt at TartanWeb. However, if you don't want to work through the directions just to dress your Joe, I made this 1:6 scale great kilt, shown here in the green tartan, to simplify matters. It's based off the pattern at GI MacJoe. I made the following alterations to turn it into a great kilt. First, I tripled the "height" of the original pattern. I made the pleats following the original instructions. However, instead of sewing on a waistband, I sewed through the pleats about 4 inches up from the bottom edge of the kilt, to hold them in place.
Instead of having to tuck the loose ends into the figure's belt every time I put the kilt on him, I cheated a bit. I took the loose material above the line where I sewed the pleats into place and folded it over so it formed a triangle. In other words, the top right and left corners of the original "square" of fabric meet in the middle of the fabric (about 4.5 inches from either side), right at the top of the row of pleats. I sewed those two corners into place along the same line of stitches that secured the pleats. Now the material in the back naturally falls to a point, as in this picture of the prototype I made.
After securing the belt on your figure with a belt, pull the point of fabric over the figure's left shoulder. You can tuck it into his belt, or pin it to a shirt, or pull it over his shoulders as shelter from the rain, or any of several other configurations. The "brooch" on my figure is an earring. Just poke the post through the fabric.
If you want a rougher and more primitive look, don't hem the edges. I highly recommend using Fray Check on any raw edges so although they still look "unfinished," they won't unravel completely. You can find Fray Check liquid in any craft store.
I made the shirt from a pattern I created myself. It's based on the shirts I see at every Rennasiance Faire I attend! I'm still trying to find a way to add ruffles to this basic design. For now, laces or no laces are about as fancy as it gets.
The laces are elastic cord. I don't have grommets that small, so I pulled the cord through the shirt fabric with a needle, crisscrossing the thread like I was lacing my shoes, then cutting. I strung a white bead on each end of the cord before I knotted the ends to add a little detail.
The model is a Power Team action figure. His belt came from a U-Boat commander figure. I'll eventually round up some socks and shoes for him. I also plan to make him a sporran, once I have some time to figure out a pattern for it.
I've been meaning to make a kilt for ages, and finally found a site with a pattern: GI MacJoe. (Thanks, Jonathan, for showing me where it is nowadays!) I used this pattern to make the basic "sport" kilt, shown here in the red tartan.
You can find instructions for how to wrap and wear a great kilt at TartanWeb. However, if you don't want to work through the directions just to dress your Joe, I made this 1:6 scale great kilt, shown here in the green tartan, to simplify matters. It's based off the pattern at GI MacJoe. I made the following alterations to turn it into a great kilt. First, I tripled the "height" of the original pattern. I made the pleats following the original instructions. However, instead of sewing on a waistband, I sewed through the pleats about 4 inches up from the bottom edge of the kilt, to hold them in place.
Instead of having to tuck the loose ends into the figure's belt every time I put the kilt on him, I cheated a bit. I took the loose material above the line where I sewed the pleats into place and folded it over so it formed a triangle. In other words, the top right and left corners of the original "square" of fabric meet in the middle of the fabric (about 4.5 inches from either side), right at the top of the row of pleats. I sewed those two corners into place along the same line of stitches that secured the pleats. Now the material in the back naturally falls to a point, as in this picture of the prototype I made.
After securing the belt on your figure with a belt, pull the point of fabric over the figure's left shoulder. You can tuck it into his belt, or pin it to a shirt, or pull it over his shoulders as shelter from the rain, or any of several other configurations. The "brooch" on my figure is an earring. Just poke the post through the fabric.
If you want a rougher and more primitive look, don't hem the edges. I highly recommend using Fray Check on any raw edges so although they still look "unfinished," they won't unravel completely. You can find Fray Check liquid in any craft store.
I made the shirt from a pattern I created myself. It's based on the shirts I see at every Rennasiance Faire I attend! I'm still trying to find a way to add ruffles to this basic design. For now, laces or no laces are about as fancy as it gets.
The laces are elastic cord. I don't have grommets that small, so I pulled the cord through the shirt fabric with a needle, crisscrossing the thread like I was lacing my shoes, then cutting. I strung a white bead on each end of the cord before I knotted the ends to add a little detail.
The model is a Power Team action figure. His belt came from a U-Boat commander figure. I'll eventually round up some socks and shoes for him. I also plan to make him a sporran, once I have some time to figure out a pattern for it.
You can find instructions for how to wrap and wear a great kilt at TartanWeb. However, if you don't want to work through the directions just to dress your Joe, I made this 1:6 scale great kilt, shown here in the green tartan, to simplify matters. It's based off the pattern at GI MacJoe. I made the following alterations to turn it into a great kilt. First, I tripled the "height" of the original pattern. I made the pleats following the original instructions. However, instead of sewing on a waistband, I sewed through the pleats about 4 inches up from the bottom edge of the kilt, to hold them in place.
Instead of having to tuck the loose ends into the figure's belt every time I put the kilt on him, I cheated a bit. I took the loose material above the line where I sewed the pleats into place and folded it over so it formed a triangle. In other words, the top right and left corners of the original "square" of fabric meet in the middle of the fabric (about 4.5 inches from either side), right at the top of the row of pleats. I sewed those two corners into place along the same line of stitches that secured the pleats. Now the material in the back naturally falls to a point, as in this picture of the prototype I made.
After securing the belt on your figure with a belt, pull the point of fabric over the figure's left shoulder. You can tuck it into his belt, or pin it to a shirt, or pull it over his shoulders as shelter from the rain, or any of several other configurations. The "brooch" on my figure is an earring. Just poke the post through the fabric.
If you want a rougher and more primitive look, don't hem the edges. I highly recommend using Fray Check on any raw edges so although they still look "unfinished," they won't unravel completely. You can find Fray Check liquid in any craft store.
I made the shirt from a pattern I created myself. It's based on the shirts I see at every Rennasiance Faire I attend! I'm still trying to find a way to add ruffles to this basic design. For now, laces or no laces are about as fancy as it gets.
The laces are elastic cord. I don't have grommets that small, so I pulled the cord through the shirt fabric with a needle, crisscrossing the thread like I was lacing my shoes, then cutting. I strung a white bead on each end of the cord before I knotted the ends to add a little detail.
The model is a Power Team action figure. His belt came from a U-Boat commander figure. I'll eventually round up some socks and shoes for him. I also plan to make him a sporran, once I have some time to figure out a pattern for it.
Instead of having to tuck the loose ends into the figure's belt every time I put the kilt on him, I cheated a bit. I took the loose material above the line where I sewed the pleats into place and folded it over so it formed a triangle. In other words, the top right and left corners of the original "square" of fabric meet in the middle of the fabric (about 4.5 inches from either side), right at the top of the row of pleats. I sewed those two corners into place along the same line of stitches that secured the pleats. Now the material in the back naturally falls to a point, as in this picture of the prototype I made.
After securing the belt on your figure with a belt, pull the point of fabric over the figure's left shoulder. You can tuck it into his belt, or pin it to a shirt, or pull it over his shoulders as shelter from the rain, or any of several other configurations. The "brooch" on my figure is an earring. Just poke the post through the fabric.
If you want a rougher and more primitive look, don't hem the edges. I highly recommend using Fray Check on any raw edges so although they still look "unfinished," they won't unravel completely. You can find Fray Check liquid in any craft store.
I made the shirt from a pattern I created myself. It's based on the shirts I see at every Rennasiance Faire I attend! I'm still trying to find a way to add ruffles to this basic design. For now, laces or no laces are about as fancy as it gets.
The laces are elastic cord. I don't have grommets that small, so I pulled the cord through the shirt fabric with a needle, crisscrossing the thread like I was lacing my shoes, then cutting. I strung a white bead on each end of the cord before I knotted the ends to add a little detail.
The model is a Power Team action figure. His belt came from a U-Boat commander figure. I'll eventually round up some socks and shoes for him. I also plan to make him a sporran, once I have some time to figure out a pattern for it.