I am working on a kilt made of PV (Polyester Viscose or Polyester Rayon). I usually use hair canvas as the interfacing but hair canvas is not machine washable. Hair canvas is preferred because it molds to the wearer's shape. Should I use only hair canvas? If not what should be used if you want to keep the machine washability of the material?

Hair canvas is pretty thin compared to the interfacing you can buy at Joann's. What should the weight of the interfacing be?

Wallace

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Originally Posted by ChattanCat

I am working on a kilt made of PV (Polyester Viscose or Polyester Rayon). I usually use hair canvas as the interfacing but hair canvas is not machine washable. So, what should be used if you want to keep the machine washability of the material?

Hair canvas is pretty thin compared to the interfacing you can buy at Joann's. What should the weight of the interfacing be?

Wallace

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My PV CCK's aren't interfaced. Do you need interfacing? Could you not use the same material for that?

For PV I would say the interfacing is not needed, as they can be washed in a machine. None of my PV kilts has it.

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Originally Posted by McMurdo

For PV I would say the interfacing is not needed, as they can be washed in a machine. None of my PV kilts has it.

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Interesting. So why do wool kilts need the interfacing? I assumed with the lighter weight PV, you would need more.

I think that the interfacing is to keep sweat from the wool itself, I may be wrong but that was my understanding of it.

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Originally Posted by McMurdo

I think that the interfacing is to keep sweat from the wool itself, I may be wrong but that was my understanding of it.

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This may be right. I just checked my kilts. Wool = interfacing. man-made = none.

Might I suggest a PM to Barb?

Mmmm, no, the canvas interfacing isn't there to keep sweat away from the wool. I can think of many a hot day of piping when my kilt has been soaked right through to the kilt belt. The canvas interfacing in a trad kilt is there to stiffen the kilt and help it keep its shape. The way the interfacing is fan-folded parallel to the pleats gives the kilt rigidity up and down the body (to keep the kilt from buckling) but allows the kilt to flex easily around the body.

I haven't any idea why PV kilt don't have interfacing. Cost issues, maybe?? Adding interfacing would add to the construction time. But, if I were making one, I'd probably include it for the same reason that a trad kilt has it - stabilization and rigidity (although it wouldn't make any sense unless the pleats were stitched down). What to use? Sew-in Pellon doesn't have the flex of woven hair canvas, but it should work and would be washable. I'd do the same kind of fan-folding with Pellon that I would do with woven interfacing. You could also probably buy a heavy cotton canvas, pre-wash it to shrink it, and use that.

Barb

I stand, well sit corrected, thanks Barb.

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Originally Posted by Barb T.

Mmmm, no, the canvas interfacing isn't there to keep sweat away from the wool. I can think of many a hot day of piping when my kilt has been soaked right through to the kilt belt. The canvas interfacing in a trad kilt is there to stiffen the kilt and help it keep its shape. The way the interfacing is fan-folded parallel to the pleats gives the kilt rigidity up and down the body (to keep the kilt from buckling) but allows the kilt to flex easily around the body.

I haven't any idea why PV kilt don't have interfacing. Cost issues, maybe?? Adding interfacing would add to the construction time. But, if I were making one, I'd probably include it for the same reason that a trad kilt has it - stabilization and rigidity (although it wouldn't make any sense unless the pleats were stitched down). What to use? Sew-in Pellon doesn't have the flex of woven hair canvas, but it should work and would be washable. I'd do the same kind of fan-folding with Pellon that I would do with woven interfacing. You could also probably buy a heavy cotton canvas, pre-wash it to shrink it, and use that.

Barb

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I just don't think that a kilt should be without some interfacing above the fell to replace the material and rigidity that will be removed by cutting the pleats. I plan on triming the pleats above the fell and adding some stabilization.

Does Pellon come in different weights?

I used hair canvas on my PV St Davids. I didn't cut the pleats out because it is a 5 plus yarder and the thinner PV didn't have much bulk with one inch pleats. I guess I didn't need the canvas but I did it anyway. I'll just dip it in the tub with some woolite when it needs it and hang it to dry. I did consider only using the hair canvas on the aprons but decided that it needs to be anchored to something of substance on the pleats.

I would recommend it. My Clark 8 yard mostly handsewn kilt has hair canvas and a my Hunting Stewart 5 yard does not. I've noticed I can strap my PV kilts with interfacing a little snugger without distorting the tartan or getting that fold in the aprons.