[Zardoz]

If you quit hanging them to dry, you'll have an easier job of pressing.
I wash my SWKs on Cold water, Gentle cycle. After the wash, rinse and spin, I run it through an extra spin dry. I used to then take it after the spin and hang it up, with a bunch few clip style hangers. And no matter how much smoothing and plulling of pleats I did, I had a lumpy mess and an hour of ironing the next day.

I figured out that laying the kilts out to dry was the way to go. I put a sheet over our spare bed, and carefully spread the kilt out flat. Take some time to lay it out so it is as flat as possible and straighten and smooth out the pleats and aprons by hand. Spend 10 minutes doing that, and once it dries you should only need minimal ironing.

If you don't have a spare bed, a big table or even the floor will do. I do my pressing over a blanket on our seldom used dining table.

[morrison]

woof Washed my SWK Black Watch on the gentle/lingerie cycle. After spin started I cut short the spin cycle. All I wanted out was the volume of water. The centrifugal force of the spin has a way of causing unwanted wrinkles. I threw it into the dryer until it became fully warmed - about ten minutes. Less for most dryers. Then I warm ironed the pleats & creases, hung it to dry and next day good as new! arf

[Ryan Ross]

Originally Posted by Bugbear

Handwashing a kilt, it's probably a good idea to baste before washing, unless, as I have read, the kilt is very dirty.

I've washed an awful lot of traditional worsted kilts, and I would strongly advise against going through this time consuming, possibly detrimental, and likely unnecessary step, even on a non-wool kilt. When you add water to fabric, it will weigh down, stretch, etc... and dry in whatever shape you leave it.

Basting stitches, believe it or not, can do some very strange things to fabric, as well as preserve it.

I feel like re-basting a kilt to press it is unnecessary, under all but the most jacked-up of pleat circumstances. That's only my oppinion, and I'm not a kilt maker, just one who wears them a lot and hand washes them a lot.