Machine Made Kilt Problems...

[richardljohnson]

I agree on the hand stitching. I have 2 kilts made about 25 years ago and the work is amazing.

I will try the 'tighten up' more plus I have lengthened the stitch about 1/2 more on the dial and this has helped greatly. Thanks for all the suggestions. I guess I'm down to the'just need experience' part of it.

Richard-

[The Wizard of BC]

Another trick you can try is a small zig-zag stitch.

On average a single yarn of your fabric will be approx. 1/32". Set your stitch length to catch about every third yarn. And set your stitch width to just catch one or two yarns of the fold of the top pleat.

Use Barb's method of stitching only one pleat at a time. Use lots of pins. In both horizontal and vertical directions.

Then guide your fabric thru the machine so that the zig-zag on the right stitches just off the top pleat, ("stitch in the ditch") and on the left just catches the top pleat.

If you are using a thread color slightly darker than the color of the fabric, your stitches will almost dissapear. And the small stitches, through just four layers of fabric, allow the whole pleat to still move and adjust itself.

This produces the closest thing to hand stitching you can hope for.