[ali8780]

Hey all! Remember me? --you all know that my love and thoughts are with you when I'm not around, right?

I was hoping to get some help with a skirt that I want to make for myself:

It's kilt inspired, so it will wrap around and have knife pleats all the way around (including the front) and two buckle straps on one side. Here are my questions:

--is there a specific side it should buckle on for women?

--where can I get some really nice buckle straps (I think that's what they are called...)?

--Is there a particular process for ironing the pleats in wool? I've never sewn a wool skirt before, much less one with pleats.

Any tips or advice are beyond welcome, especially if there is something that I may have overlooked...

Thanks a million in advance

[Hothir Ethelnor]

First of all,

for a skirt I can't comment on the pleats in the front but it is sometimes recommended that a ladies skirt open on the left.

Buckles can be bought at highland express. http://www.highlandxpress.com/patterns.html

I can't comment on the quality as I have not yet ordered from them. I have used belt buckles from belts bought at goodwill. So far I have been pretty lucky finding nice buckles that match on a semi-regular basis. I have also used nice leather belts cut up for the buckles and straps on kilts for other people.

You don't iron wool. a bare iron on the wool will compress the fibers and create a flattened (burnt) sort of section that is patchy and not so nice (believe me I nicked one of my kilts with the iron and it always bothers me...)

You steam press a kilt using a light cloth (pillow cases or another cotton fabric preferably white so it doesn't bleed dye onto your wool.) you soak the pillow case in cold water and lay it over the wool then press the hot iron down on it hard to generate pressure and steam which will keep the pleats nicely creased.

Basically use steam and avoid touching the iron to the fabric.

[thescot]

What he said.

But on another note: where have you been?

We give you the best . . . weeks of our lives, then you disappear without a word. You don't write, you don't call, we don't even get a stinkin' postcard from you. And then, oh, yeah, when you need help, you expect us to just take you back as if nothing had happened.

And, of course we do. I just hope you've been fine, living life to its fullest, and enjoying yourself.

Did you ever get your husband into a kilt?

P.S. Men's kilts tend to have pretty heavy straps on them. For a girl's skirt, I'm pretty sure you can find something lighter (and cheaper?) at JoAnn's fabrics or somewhere like that.

[ali8780]

ok, thank you so much--disaster averted!

Do I need to baste stitch the pleats down before I steam them?

[Squeaky McMurdo]

Originally Posted by ali8780

ok, thank you so much--disaster averted!

Do I need to baste stitch the pleats down before I steam them?

That would be the best course of action if you want to make sure they're straight.

Welcome back.

--Chelsea McMurdo--

[ali8780]

Originally Posted by thescot

What he said.

But on another note: where have you been?

We give you the best . . . weeks of our lives, then you disappear without a word. You don't write, you don't call, we don't even get a stinkin' postcard from you. And then, oh, yeah, when you need help, you expect us to just take you back as if nothing had happened.

And, of course we do. I just hope you've been fine, living life to its fullest, and enjoying yourself.

Did you ever get your husband into a kilt?

I know, I'm so ashamed! I blame Christmas--I decided to hand make most of my gifts this year and it just ate up all of my time! But I truly did miss all of you terribly.

Life has been great, this year promises to be much better than last

No luck on getting my husband kilted yet, but I'm not giving up. He wants to lose some weight, and when he does, I'm planning on fully indoctrinating him!

[ali8780]

Originally Posted by thescot

P.S. Men's kilts tend to have pretty heavy straps on them. For a girl's skirt, I'm pretty sure you can find something lighter (and cheaper?) at JoAnn's fabrics or somewhere like that.

I just tried JoAnn's today and didn't find anything... Maybe I'm not looking in the right place. I definitely would like something a bit lighter and more feminine though. Thankfully, that step is toward the end of the process, my first hurdle is drafting the pattern...

[Squeaky McMurdo]

Look in the pet section for cat and small dog collars. You can usually get a couple matching leather ones for cheap. Target usually has a pretty good selection of ones with plain buckles (Walmart's usually say "Top Paw")

[ali8780]

Originally Posted by Squeaky McMurdo

Look in the pet section for cat and small dog collars. You can usually get a couple matching leather ones for cheap. Target usually has a pretty good selection of ones with plain buckles (Walmart's usually say "Top Paw")

would I be able to sew them onto the skirt though?

PS thanks for the welcome back

[Squeaky McMurdo]

Oh yah, I do it all the time. They only use one layer of leather for little collars, my sewing machine can typically handle a small job like this given the right needle. Hand sewing also works, use a thimble though!