A little help box pleating please? :)

[Barb T]

Fell should be the same proportions as a knife-pleated kilt, and the apron edge should be stitched to the bottom of the fell.

When you're laying the kilt out, remember that the first pleat will be a box pleat (i.e, will have both a fold under the apron edge and a fold the other way). Just be sure to leave enough material.

I just posted the following under another thread. To stitch box pleats:
-Hold the kilt with the top edge to your left, and the apron in your lap. Baste the apron edge.
-Locate where the center of the first pleat will be, and measure half the pleat width at the waist and hips toward you (toward the apron edge). Line the basted apron edge up with the marks you've just made, and hand stitch through _one thickness_ of the pleat using a blind stitch (a very closely-spaced hem stitch).
-Locate the center of the first pleat again, and measure half the pleat width at the waist and hips away from you, and fold the edge of the first pleat (this doesn't need to be basted).
-Locate the center of the next pleat, measure half the pleat width toward you, line the folded edge of the first pleat up with the marks, and stitch through one thickness.

If you've made a trad kilt before, it's the same thing that you do for the very last pleat when you stitch it to the underapron. It differs from stitching the other pleats in a trad kilt because, for all of the other pleats, you fold the next pleat and stitch through two thickness of the next pleat.

Anyway, once you've worked your way across the back of the kilt, you just turn the kilt over and make boxes out of each of the loops of fabric instead of folding them all one way. If this is confusing, just let me know, and I'll try to explain again.

Matt puts the buckle for the underapron strap on the inside so that he doesn't need a buttonhole. I've made box pleated kilts both ways. When I've put in a buttonhole, I've put it in after the first pleat. See photo below (ignore the text on the photo - I did that for another post).

And no, you don't cut out the pleats in the back. I just put canvas interfacing over the existing fabric and lining over that.

Gotta run and catch a plane. I'll check your math later!

[keepoffgrass]

Fell should be the same proportions as a knife-pleated kilt, and the apron edge should be stitched to the bottom of the fell.

When you're laying the kilt out, remember that the first pleat will be a box pleat (i.e, will have both a fold under the apron edge and a fold the other way). Just be sure to leave enough material.

I just posted the following under another thread. To stitch box pleats:
-Hold the kilt with the top edge to your left, and the apron in your lap. Baste the apron edge.
-Locate where the center of the first pleat will be, and measure half the pleat width at the waist and hips toward you (toward the apron edge). Line the basted apron edge up with the marks you've just made, and hand stitch through _one thickness_ of the pleat using a blind stitch (a very closely-spaced hem stitch).
-Locate the center of the first pleat again, and measure half the pleat width at the waist and hips away from you, and fold the edge of the first pleat (this doesn't need to be basted).
-Locate the center of the next pleat, measure half the pleat width toward you, line the folded edge of the first pleat up with the marks, and stitch through one thickness.

If you've made a trad kilt before, it's the same thing that you do for the very last pleat when you stitch it to the underapron. It differs from stitching the other pleats in a trad kilt because, for all of the other pleats, you fold the next pleat and stitch through two thickness of the next pleat.

Anyway, once you've worked your way across the back of the kilt, you just turn the kilt over and make boxes out of each of the loops of fabric instead of folding them all one way. If this is confusing, just let me know, and I'll try to explain again.

Matt puts the buckle for the underapron strap on the inside so that he doesn't need a buttonhole. I've made box pleated kilts both ways. When I've put in a buttonhole, I've put it in after the first pleat. See photo below (ignore the text on the photo - I did that for another post).

And no, you don't cut out the pleats in the back. I just put canvas interfacing over the existing fabric and lining over that.

Gotta run and catch a plane. I'll check your math later!

Thanks Barb! You're the best!