Sewn pleats

[toadinakilt]

I know UK and other makers sew along the edges of the pleats both inside and outside...somebody said something way long ago in a thread about removing stitches from the inside pleats of a UK so that it hung better or something like that...

So if I'm making a casual, and I decide to sew the pleats in permanently, should I sew both inside and out, or just outside?

[bubba]

IMO, only sew the outside. That way you can repress if need be to compensate for any changes in the fabric, such as shrinkage, while maintaining the look of the pleats on the outside. It will also allow the pleats to open more easily for the swish factor.

[Pleater]

If you are using a fabric likely to shrink, wash it before even thinking about making anything with it - unless it is never going to be washed but always dry cleaned.

Having used a heavy cotton sheet for a kilt, I would recomend anything of that ilk is washed, ironed, hemmed, then the visible edge of the pleats pressed into the length of cloth before anything else.

Sew along the outer edge of the small pleats with thin sewing thread. Don't make the mistake of using a thick thread - I had to unpick three pleats, top stitching thread is just not the way to go.


Fold the pleats to form the kilt, and use lots of small safety pins so you can see how the kilt will 'do' - if it looks good, and is the right size, I would then press it along the bottom half and sew in the back fold of the ordinary small pleats, but only for about 12 inches of a 24inch long kilt.

With the waist supression the back fold is not on the straight of the grain at the top, so it is best left free, but sewing the lower part is a great help when pressing.

I usually wear my kilts with the large pleats unsewn for a few days to see how they look.

It might be just the shape of my hip bones, but I find small differences in where the large pleats lie make 'tweeking' necessary to get these pleats to shape how I like them, and without rolling in or out - they can do either. Some require lifting from the strictly horisontal, others need to be lowered - that is the back fold of the pleat relative to the visible fold, and the material in between smoothed or squashed or otherwise distorted to compensate. The narrow end of an ironing board can help with this. Use lots of safety pins too, and it can help to have a tall stool to take the weight of the pleats as you work.

Whilst the small pleats should have the fabric grain vertical in wear the large pleats/edges of the apron have slants and distortions.

[Riverkilt]

Hey Toad,

Think that thread was when I asked about sewing the inside pleats of my AmeriKilts and Jimmy Carbomb came back and said don't do it and "unsew" the pleats of my UKs....looking at my UKs didn't seem feasable without them falling apart. Still not sure if he was pulling my leg.

Ron

[Riverkilt]

Hey Toad,

Think that thread was when I asked about sewing the inside pleats of my AmeriKilts and Jimmy Carbomb came back and said don't do it and "unsew" the pleats of my UKs....looking at my UKs didn't seem feasable without them falling apart. Still not sure if he was pulling my leg.

Ron