I've had my 'tank' for about 15 months now. I'm not a daily kilt-wearer, and I have other kilts that I wear for hiking and such. So my tank only gets worn for certain occasions such as Highland Games, weddings, festivals, etc. If I had to guess, I'd say I wear it perhaps once or twice a month at best. Aside from putting it on to model a new doo-dad that goes with it, I've probably worn it 'out and about' perhaps two dozen times.

What I've noticed over time is that it fits me differently now than it did when new. When I first got it, I had to put the buckles on the 2nd hole from the ends of the straps. Now I have them all the way at the tightest holes. And I feel like I need my kilt belt tightly strapped on in order to keep my kilt where it belongs.

Yes, I have lost a little weight during that time. So it's not surprising that I've had to take up the settings a bit. But it seems the change in my kilt fit is disproportionate to the change in my trouser fit. Where my trouser size has changed by perhaps an inch, my kilt size seems to have shrunk by 2 inches or more.

So I'm wondering if there's more at work than simple body-shape changes. It would make sense that, over time, the fabric would stretch and conform to my body shape, requiring adjustments as it wears itself in to my hips/waist. Even with multiple layers of overlapping wool, stitched together with a stabilizer and such, fabric is still fabric. When subjected to tension, moisture, and heat (i.e. wearing it), the fibers will relax and the weave will stretch to my shape, and thus require readjustment. Especially over the course of a year or more of wearing. Even the leather straps could have stretched a little.

Has anyone else experienced an unexplainable or disproportionate change in the way their kilt fits over time? Is there a "break-in" period where the kilt tends to conform itself to the person's body shape? Or is it all in my imagination, and I really have lost that much circumference around my waist but not in my hips (where I wear my trousers)?

More importantly, if there does tend to be a period where the kilt conforms itself to its owner, should people make an allowance for this when they order? In other words, assuming they plan to stay the same weight/size, should they order a kilt just a tad on the snug side so that after it stretches in, it will fit perfectly?

(Note: I am well aware that I can have the straps/buckles moved to accommodate. I'm not asking for advice on how to make my kilt fit better. The purpose of this thread is more of an academic question on the stretch/flex properties of kilts over time.)

Mine have not changed a whit since I got them. I have gone up and down a couple pounds necessitating change of one hole but nothing like what you describe. It sounds like something's slipping. Is it hand made? Do you know the maker? Might be something to consult with them about.

I suspect that it is your shape which has changed rather than the kilt - losing a little weight seems to alter the waist more than any other part of the body - and I find that any increase appears at the waistline first.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

Well, I do find that a kilt can 'settle' a bit, but a few hours wear seems to do the job and the difference isn't anywhere near what you're describing.

Who made the kilt? If you're missing a stabiliser then the pleats could be giving way at the waist line or something.

I would certainly advise against 'adjusting' your actual measurements. that's only likely to mess up your kiltmaker.

Hmmmm.... it could be a lot of things I suppose but an interesting question. The wool in one of my 8rd kilts was woven by Pendleton. Though a tartan, it was not woven specifically for kilt making. It stretches a wee bit when worn but also adjusts back. I have another that is made of a "blended stretch wool" and of course it stretches a bit. None of my other kilts seem to stretch at all, especially my 8yd tank made of pure tight weave scottish wool -- couldn't budge it if one tried! I too lost weight about a year ago and also noticed a bigger difference in the waist of my "dress" kilt than my trousers but then I realized that I wear the kilt a lot higher (just below ribs) than my trousers (between navel and hips) and I just figured I lost more inches from above than below. I also know that I pay a lot more attention to the "fit" of my dress kilt than I do to the others, as I tend to do with "dress" anything as opposed to "everyday wear." Your situation could of course be entirely different ???

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tulloch

Mine have not changed a whit since I got them. I have gone up and down a couple pounds necessitating change of one hole but nothing like what you describe. It sounds like something's slipping. Is it hand made? Do you know the maker? Might be something to consult with them about.

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It is definitely not the construction of the kilt at play. It's a well-made (in Scotland) kilt, and I see no signs of stress on anything. The material is 16-ounce Lochcarron wool. Machine stitched.

Quote:

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I suspect that it is your shape which has changed rather than the kilt - losing a little weight seems to alter the waist more than any other part of the body - and I find that any increase appears at the waistline first.

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Probably so. I'm a bit "hippy" for a guy, just due to my natural bone structure, so I suspect that as I've lost weight, it is changing at my natural waist faster than at my hips.

Really what I need to do is bust out my cloth tape measure and take the same measurements I took when I ordered my kilt, then compare it to the difference in the holes in the straps and see if they correspond.

I, too have noticed something similar. I'm not poo-pooing the observations of the makers and wearers who responded previously, but I can't explain away my change in fit by citing weight loss. I've owned my well-made 8 yarder for about 7 months but worn it many times. I started out right in the middle holes, but now I'm right at the smallest adjustment. No weight loss (if anything, I've gained weight!) or shape change around my midsection. Bizarre.

Like I said, the kilt is very well made. It is 14 oz Welsh wool, which has a much softer feel than other kilt wool I've felt. Don't know if that makes a difference...

I was taught to measure for a kilt "snug" with the tape. I am interested in what your measurements are now compared to when the kilt was made.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tobus

Yes, I have lost a little weight during that time. So it's not surprising that I've had to take up the settings a bit. But it seems the change in my kilt fit is disproportionate to the change in my trouser fit. Where my trouser size has changed by perhaps an inch, my kilt size seems to have shrunk by 2 inches or more.

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I just lost a little over 50 lbs. My pants size went down from a 36 (that my belly hung over) to a 34. Conversely, I had to move the buckles on my kilt 3 inches and still put it on the tightest setting, so that's probably a good 5 or 6 inches of leeway (I used to wear it on the loosest setting at my old weight).

Tobus,

The problem you describe could be a common one. I do see what may be a similar thing on some kilts that come into the shop for alterations.

To better advise you would you please do an experiment for me.

Hold up your kilt by the two top buckles. You need to watch the area of the Fell or pleats between the buckles in the back of the kilt. Then pull on the buckles. You are trying to pull them apart just as they are when you strap the kilt on.. Do this firmly with about as much force as you would expect to happen while you wear your kilt, move around in it and bend. Say 20 pounds of pull.

Do you see any stretch or movement in the area directly between the buckles? Do the buckles or the tabs holding them to the kilt move at all? Is the stress of the pulling taken up by the stitching in the Fell at all? Does it look like the pleats are being pulled apart exposing the stitches.

If you see any stretching between the buckles the problem may be that the kilt maker forgot to put the stabilizer into the kilt. With the stabilizer in and well stitched down there should be no stretch between the buckles. None, nada, zilch. All the stress should be taken up by the stabilizer. There should be no stress trasferred to the stitching of the pleats.

If you do see any stretch in the area between the buckles when you pull on them the next step is to do much the same thing on the straps.
Grab the kilt near the left side buckle and by the right top strap. Pull about as hard as you did on the buckles. You should see no stretch across the apron. No puckers should develop in the apron or apron fabric. The strap hole should not gape open. There should also be no stress visible where the right strap is sewn onto the apron edge.

If you see any of these things it is a good bet that this is where your problem is. The kilt has stretched by being worn. The internal construction has loosened or failed. Or perhaps is missing altogether.

If you can determine that this is the cause of your problem don't worry. A kilt maker can fix it. It won't be cheap but will be less than a new kilt or the cost of sending the kilt back across the ocean to the original maker.

Quote:

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To better advise you would you please do an experiment for me.

Hold up your kilt by the two top buckles. You need to watch the area of the Fell or pleats between the buckles in the back of the kilt. Then pull on the buckles. You are trying to pull them apart just as they are when you strap the kilt on.. Do this firmly with about as much force as you would expect to happen while you wear your kilt, move around in it and bend. Say 20 pounds of pull.

Do you see any stretch or movement in the area directly between the buckles? Do the buckles or the tabs holding them to the kilt move at all? Is the stress of the pulling taken up by the stitching in the Fell at all? Does it look like the pleats are being pulled apart exposing the stitches.

If you see any stretching between the buckles the problem may be that the kilt maker forgot to put the stabilizer into the kilt. With the stabilizer in and well stitched down there should be no stretch between the buckles. None, nada, zilch. All the stress should be taken up by the stabilizer. There should be no stress trasferred to the stitching of the pleats.

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Thank you for that, Steve. I did this experiment last night, and it is as you described. When I hold it by the buckles and pull, there is stretching between them. And I do see the stitching being pulled on.

What's weird is that when I lay the kilt open and look around the edges of the lining, I can see the very edge of what appears to be a stabilizer underneath. The lining is black, but there is a layer of firm tan-coloured material below it, which I would assume is the stabilizer. But if so, it is apparently not doing the job. I was pretty disappointed to see that.

So I guess here's where I eat some crow and say that my kilt is not as well made as I previously stated. :( The question is, then, what can be done about it? How difficult is it for a kiltmaker to take the lining off, evaluate what's below it, and (possibly) stitch a stabilizer in place?

I'd be interested to know who made this kilt?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tobus

What's weird is that when I lay the kilt open and look around the edges of the lining, I can see the very edge of what appears to be a stabilizer underneath. The lining is black, but there is a layer of firm tan-coloured material below it, which I would assume is the stabilizer.

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You may be correct here, or possibly not. There should be two internal parts in the back: A piece of hair canvas interfacing, and a stabilizer. What you're seeing may be interfacing... The stabilizer could be made of the same thing, or the kiltmaker could have used a different material altogether. Hard to know without a little exploratory surgery.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tobus

How difficult is it for a kiltmaker to take the lining off, evaluate what's below it, and (possibly) stitch a stabilizer in place?

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Removing the liner, evaluating what's underneath, and installing the stabilizer is a relatively simple task. I don't know what a kiltmaker would charge; it's mostly labor that you'd be paying for. (If you were nearby, I'd do it for a pint or two at the local pub!! ...but I'm not a professional kiltmaker...)

As flyrod said, installing a stabilizer is not a complex job. With good instruction and basic hand stitching skills anyone should be able to do it.

Notice that I said should.

The daunting and scary part is taking a razor blade to a perfectly good kilt that you paid a good penny for.

The Stabilizer is a small, thin strip of fabric. Usually broadcloth similar to a bed sheet. It is sewn inside the kilt between the two top buckle tabs.

To install a stabilizer would required you to un-stitch the liner, un-stitch most of the hair canvas interfacing, and remove the buckles.

You then stitch the stabilizer in place firmly sewing it to the pleats and insuring that the stabilizer is just long enough to keep the back of the kilt the original size.

You then re-install the hair canvas interfacing, stitching it to the kilt and to the stabilizer.
Then you re-install the buckles by stitching the tabs completely through the kilt, stabilizer and interfacing.

Finally you put the liner back in place.

I just finished exactly the same job on a regimental kilt. Total time involved was more than if you did it from scratch due to the disassembly required. Say 4 - 4.5 hours.

The sewing part is not hard. Understanding what to do and how to do it so the stabilizer and interfacing do what they are supposed to do is not difficult to learn. Barb's book explains it really well.

As I said the scary part is that first step of cutting into your kilt. Not a job for the faint of heart or those who have never torn a garment apart for an alteration.

Fantastic topic!

If you remember when this thread started I offered to take a look at this kilt for Tobus.

He mailed it to me and I have now had some time to evaluate the kilt.

Here are some 'before' photos of what the kilt looked like when it arrived here at the shop.

This first photo is of the outer apron right edge. You can see the apron taper and the fabric selvedge

https://i.postimg.cc/MpcMn13V/DSC01272.jpg[



Here is a shot of the deep pleat and the small tuck to prevent the apron tips from hanging down.

https://i.postimg.cc/3xyszwW3/DSC01304.jpg



Here is a look at the Fell of the kilt. This is a machine sewn kilt using what we call blind machine stitching in the Fell.
This means that the pleats are aligned, face-to-face, and sewn. then the outer pleat is folded back into position to hide the line of machine stitching.

https://s20.postimg.org/mx7khh3h9/DSC01269.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/0y61971F/DSC01269.jpg

You can see where not all the Tartan lines are aligned. This is common with blind machine stitching

Here are a couple more before shots.

The under-apron and reverse pleat.
Note that there is almost no apron taper on the left under-apron edge. Also note that the reverse pleat is not as deep as the deep pleat. This is common on some kilts.

https://i.postimg.cc/FHfbGH00/DSC01278.jpg[


Now let's take a look at the inside of the kilt.

The lining is rather unusual. here you can see the lining in the back of the kilt. The lining material is very thin so it is doubled and in places tripled over to give a good weight.
You can also see the very deep fold in this lining to allow it to form a curve.

https://s20.postimg.org/5654ui2u5/Liner_detail_2.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/bwZCd29t/Liner_detail_2.jpg


Here is the lining behind the under-apron. The little white tag you see is the only size or makers tag I could find on the kilt. It says simply 34.

https://s20.postimg.org/phce325st/liner_detail.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/W1D8sFMf/DSC01275.jpg


The unusual thing about this lining is that while there is some type of interfacing built into the kilt it appears to be enclosed within the lining. I have not seen this before but I like it as it gives a very clean look to the finish of the kilt.

https://i.postimg.cc/sgBJcd8Q/liner_detail.jpg


My appraisal so far is that this is a pretty good kilt for a mass produced, machine sewn kilt. The fabric is good quality wool with a good selvedge.
The stitching is tight and secure with only 8 small loose threads that I have found so far.
The kilt appears that it should hang well and swish well.

A Tank? Maybe not if we define a Tank as having to be hand stitched. But a good mid-price range kilt.

Steve, is there a stabilizer in there?

Tobus started this thread with a question about a break-in period on a kilt. He said that the kilt seemed to be getting bigger the more he wore it.

One of the possible explanations given was that it was possible that the stabilizer and interfacings were not doing what they are supposed to.

Here is a photo of the back of the kilt looking at the area between the buckles.
This is one of the areas that takes the most stress when a kilt is strapped on.

Please note the distance between the buckles as shown by the ruler.

https://s20.postimg.org/mlzaw71st/Fell_unstretched.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/kgV2Zn7C/Fell_unstretched.jpg


What I did to evaluate this kilt is to put some stress on the buckles pulling them apart in a similar manner as when the kilt is worn.

Here is the same area of the kilt as before but now with only 4 lbs of pull on it. I would estimate that in normal wear this area of the kilt could have somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 lbs of stress on it.

https://i.postimg.cc/RZ3m9h3P/Fell_stretched.jpg
https://s20.postimg.org/9tb6w9q71/Fell_stretched.jpg

With just 4 lbs of stress this kilt has stretched over 1" in just the area between the buckles. When I first pulled on the buckles of this kilt this area stretched a full 2" but I did not have a scale to measure the amount of pull so did not want to use this example.

Now, here is a detail of the under-apron strap.

https://i.postimg.cc/L8qrZW3v/Straps.jpg
https://s20.postimg.org/97m805v4t/Straps.jpg

Please note the distortion of the fabric in this area. There is no pull on this strap. It is just laying on my table. This distortion of the fabric is now permanent and is caused by a similar problem as we saw in the back of the kilt.


Next I will begin to figure out what is going on here and come up with a plan to overcome it.

Great write-up so far, Steve, and it pretty much echoes my concerns/observations thus far. When pulling the buckles apart, the stretch was very noticeable (even though I hadn't really even considered it or noticed it before, except for the fact that my kilt was fitting differently).

Not having any other traditional kilts to compare it to, I had no way of knowing whether the construction on this one was typical or not. So I'm interested by your comments on the lining and such. The deep folds did confuse me a bit, but I figured that was normal.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the final analysis yields and the proposed solution.

Even before taking a razor blade to the kilt I noticed a few other things which are different on this kilt from what I know as traditional.

Here is a look at the strap hole. This is the inside of the kilt. and you can see that the lining is not sewn down to the fabric except at the top and bottom.

https://i.postimg.cc/P5LcZhxR/The_or...strap_hole.jpg

I found this little detail as I was feeling around the kilt figuring out how best to take it apart.

https://s20.postimg.org/l98f2tplp/Th...strap_hole.jpg


The first step to working on this kilt is to remove the lining to expose the construction details underneath.

Tobus, you may not want to look at these photos 'cause I'm cutting your beautiful kilt apart.

If you remember previously I noted that the interfacing was enclosed within a fold of the lining.
Here is what the lining looks like when you cut it away and lay it out reversed.

https://i.postimg.cc/RZWn7pwF/3_peice_interfacing_2.jpg
https://s20.postimg.org/a3ipfm4t9/in...ing_detail.jpg

(Just a note for those who may never have seen the inside of a kilt before.
The black fabric is called the lining. It does nothing to the kilt except cover up the internal construction underneath. Many people seem to think that the lining is to keep your kilt clean. Well, if that were true it would be removable and washable.

the cream colored stuff you see is the interfacing fabric. This is the stuff called 'hair canvas' that you may have heard our kiltmakers talking about. This interfacing is the actual strength of the kilt. If the interfacing is doing its job the outer Tartan fabric will float over the interfacing without stress and distortion.

This is where your swish comes from.)

You may not notice anything unless you have made a traditional style kilt before but the interfacing on this kilt is made from three pieces and the 2 pieces in the apron area are not sewn to any other part of the kilt.
The straps are stitched clear through the apron and the interfacing on one end but it just floats on the other end.
This would be the cause of the distortion of the apron fabric.

Here is something that should be changed when we are ready to start putting the kilt back together.

Here is the inside of the outer apron. You can clearly see the separate pieces of interfacing.

https://i.postimg.cc/cLvXvmH7/3-peice-interfacing.jpg

I now come to the area of the kilt where I suspect the biggest problem is.
This this with the interfacing and the stabilizer.

Here is a photo of the interfacing in the area of the Fell behind where the pleats are sewn down and tapered .

If you can see, there are just a few stitches sewing the interfacing to the outer, Tartan fabric of the kilt. When I make a Traditional style kilt this interfacing is sewn down to the Tartan fabric with 5 or 6 horizontal rows of blanket stitching. This is to allow the interfacing to act as a single piece of fabric across the back of the kilt, taking all the stress off the Tartan fabric.

https://i.postimg.cc/cLvXvmH7/3-peice-interfacing.jpg

Please note in the upper left corner of the cream colored interfacing. If you can see two vertical lines of machine stitching.... This is where the buckles are sewn to the interfacing.

Now, probably, the maker thought that because they machine sewed this kilt that the stitching would not need a lot of reinforcing. Perhaps it is just how they were taught. But this stitching of the interfacing, as it is done, is not reinforcing the back of the kilt at all.

Also note how the waistband is made. The wide stretch of tartan you see covering the top of the interfacing is where the waistband is folded down from the top most likely allowing the maker to machine stitch the waistband without running off the edge.

I now have the kilt disassembled as much as I need to evaluate it fully.

Here is a photo of the last part of the kilt I needed to see. This is the area under the interfacing where the stabilizer usually is.

https://i.postimg.cc/W1hzx9pk/No-Stabilizer.jpg

In this area you can see where the pleats are cut away to keep the kilt from being bulky in the back.
The two top pencils you can see are pointing at where the buckles are located on the back of the kilt.

Here is a detail of this area under the interfacing.
https://i.postimg.cc/pLpQkYg0/The-Cut-away.jpg


If you look at where the lower pencil is pointing you can see a line of stitching along the pleats. This is called the "Steeking". Because the pleats are cut away they need to be stitched to keep them from sagging under their own weight. The steeking line is usually sewn so that it is not visible. I think this detail on this kilt also needs to be re-done.

You can plainly see that there is no stabilizer installed in this kilt. The buckles were sewn through the Tartan fabric and directly to the interfacing. But because the interfacing itself was not sewn to make it act as a single piece of fabric, the folds in the interfacing acted like an accordion allowing the size of the kilt to stretch.

The next thing now is to start putting this kilt back together.

Absolutely fantastic Steve, thanks for putting this up. Any chance of making it a sticky? It would be great to have it for ready reference.

WOW!!! That was impressive Steve, any chance we will find out who originally made this kilt? Just curious is all, I know it was still a nice kilt, just for FYI you might say.

Impressive deconstruction! Fascinating! I'm not brave enough to take any of my kilts apart, but I'm going to look a lot more closely at their make up, and do the stretch test on one that has a similar problem as Tobus'. I know this might seem common sense to those here who have made their own kilts (and especially to those that make them for a living) but for the lay person, this is great knowledge! Thank you for sharing.
If I can make a leap here, can it be assumed that all quality kilt makers with good reputations will be this thorough in constructing their kilts? How does the "regular Joe" with limited experience know he's gotten what he paid for? Or for that matter to even know what to ask for? I'm guessing the answer will have something to do with having several conversations with the maker?
Thanks again for this topic Tobus and Steve.

Bravo Steve!

This should be stickied in some sort of FYI format for all would-be kilt shoppers.

:pith:

edit: My apologies for echoing exactly DownunderKilt's thoughts- I enthusiastically replied to Steve's post w/o fulling reading the rest of the thread.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Downunder Kilt

Absolutely fantastic Steve, thanks for putting this up. Any chance of making it a sticky? It would be great to have it for ready reference.

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*** :clap:

This is awesome stuff. It's like "kilt anatomy 101". Or a Chilton's manual showing you what your engine looks like when you take it apart. :lol:

Yes, it's slightly difficult to see my kilt being gutted on Steve's table. But it's necessary. In fact, from what I'm seeing, if I had worn this kilt much longer with the fabric being stretched and the stitching being stressed like it was, I'm afraid I might have done more permanent damage. So I'm glad we caught this when we did. At this point, I'm assuming the kilt can be retrofitted with a stabilizer and proper interfacing, and returned to service.

To answer the question that's been asked several times, I don't know who made this kilt. I can tell you who I bought it from, but that's not who made it. This kilt came from Skye Highland Outfitters about a year and a half ago. This was the original thread from when I received it. The kilt was, according to Josh, made in Scotland by someone he subcontracted there. I have no clue who he was using then for constructing traditional kilts, or who he's using now. The size 34 tag in there suggests that it was done by a somewhat industrial shop, though that's just a guess on my part.

I consider this a classic example of needing to do one's homework before spending money on a kilt. And talking to the actual kiltmaker directly. When I bought this kilt, I didn't know what questions to ask. All I knew was that I wanted an 8-yard, 16-oz kilt. And his price looked pretty good. But as I'm learning now, there's a lot more to it than that, in terms of how a kilt is actually built. I didn't really think I should need to know the finer points of kilt construction details in order to get a quality kilt. I know better now, and my next kilt will come from a top-quality kiltmaker with a long history of excellent work, with whom I deal directly.

This isn't to say that my kilt is junk. It's a good kilt - it fits me well and looks great, has great swish, and is made from quality fabric (Lochcarron Strome, IIRC). But it just has a couple of deficiencies in the way it was built. Hopefully we'll be able to retrofit it and get it back on the road. And provide some education for the rabble along the way. Not only in terms of how kilts are (or should be) made, but in terms of why quality craftsmanship matters.

This is good stuff! Information like this is why this forum is invaluable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tobus

This is good stuff! Information like this is why this forum is invaluable.

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Indeed, just when you think we have talked about it all, you start a thread like this and Steve ends up taking us all to school, pretty neat in my opinion. Thanks for the heads up about the origin as well. Just wanted to make sure it was not made from the company I had planned on using for my next kilt. Again, I know it was a quality kilt, but still, don't want to have to worry about this myself. The worst part is I am the type of person who would have just made up an excuse and ignored the problem. I would have thought there was nothing wrong with the construction of the kilt. Good to know you are not so easily fooled.

I don't know if Steve said it (if he did, I overlooked it)...but there is NO STABILIZER STRIP under the canvas on this kilt! The stabilizer strip holds the weight of the kilt between the two buckles. In creating this "sticky" thread, it would be great to show a side by side comparison of what is MISSING with this kilt and what a PROPERLY CONSTRUCTED kilt looks like. Maybe I'll attempt to do that when I make my next kilt (which might be a while from now, unfortunately!).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Woot22

The worst part is I am the type of person who would have just made up an excuse and ignored the problem. I would have thought there was nothing wrong with the construction of the kilt. Good to know you are not so easily fooled.

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Actually, I was so easily fooled! I had no idea anything was amiss here until I innocently asked the question. After realizing that my kilt was fitting me differently, I figured maybe it was just a function of a "break-in" of the kilt. Turns out, I was completely wrong. The expert advice and detailed look that Steve is giving us has made it crystal clear what the issue is, and I would have been none the wiser without it!

I'm sure that people who have Barb's book (or otherwise are "in the know" about kiltmaking) are not seeing anything earth-shattering here. But for the rest of us who just enjoy kilts but have never delved into the details of construction, this thread is proving to be a very good "kiltmaking for dummies" type affair.

Wow, this post has been a great read so far and I can't wait for the next installments. They say it's a poor day when you don't learn something. It looks like I've had a pretty good day.

The kilt is normally worn above your waist unlike pants and as men tend to have a belly bulge above their waist which usually shrinks most when weight is lost, it is understandable that kilts tend to slacken off more than pants if weight is lost. My experience with new kilts from a variety of manufacturers from super cheap to expensive hand sewn and in acrylic, PV and wool of 10, 13 and 16 oz weights is that all slackened off on the first wearing then remained constant thereafter. Kilts can be a better test than pants belt size for determining whether your weight is changing.

Bill

If you have been watching this thread you know we are now ready to start putting this kilt back together and get it back to Tobus so he can enjoy wearing it again.

The first step is to install the stabilizer to the inside of the kilt. The job of the stabilizer is to give strength to the back of the kilt between the buckles as you have seen.


Last night as I was watching TV I sewed the stabilizer into the kilt. Here is a photo of the finished stabilizer.

https://i.postimg.cc/mgtqM9V4/New-Stabilizer.jpg

The white strip of fabric is the stabilizer itself. This is carefully cut from a piece of cotton similar to a bed sheet. This fabric is very strong along the grain or weave. It does not stretch very much so, while light weight, makes a very good reinforcement.

I thought it best to stitch this using a white stabilizer and black thread so you could see the stitches better. Notice how many stitches there are. The stabilizer is stitched to the back of all the pleats to anchor it and reaches across the back of the kilt from one buckle to the other.

You can see one pencil stuck through the strap hole and the other two point to the location where the buckles will be sewn on the outside of the kilt.

Next step is the interfacing.

Or you can have a little fun with the stabilizer, because it never shows (unless someone like the Wizard deconstructs your kilt....). I always use American flag cloth.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...zercloseup.jpg

An interesting thing to note is the stitching on the two stabilisers just posted, very interesting to see thats there's more then one way to do things

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Originally Posted by Emmet

An interesting thing to note is the stitching on the two stabilisers just posted, very interesting to see thats there's more then one way to do things

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There are many ways to do the stabilising strip,I use old and fine linen shirts!
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...n/_MG_2656.jpg

Funnily enough I use an old linen jacket for my strips

I've had some time to work on Tobus's kilt today so here is the continuation of this thread -------

The next step is to install the interfacing.

Most kilt makers today use what is called 'Hair Canvas". This is a woven fabric that is stiffer in one direction than the other. It is also dimensionally stable which means that along the grain this fabric does not stretch. This fabric helps support the back of the kilt giving it shape.

https://s20.postimg.org/kq7x7ankt/ne...g_going_in.jpg

But the most important reason for the interfacing is to take the stresses of strapping the kilt on without transferring those stresses to the Tartan fabric or the stitching.

Where the stabilizer stretches across the back of the kilt from buckle to buckle, the interfacing spans the entire length of the kilt including both aprons.

There is a problem though. In this photo you can see that when laid out, because the Fell is tapered, the kilt forms a curve. If you cut the interfacing in a matching curve you will loose the strength and resistance to stretch. You must fold darts into the fabric forming it to the curve of the kilt.

https://i.postimg.cc/g2xhWcc4/new-In...g-going-in.jpg

https://s20.postimg.org/um906xtct/ne...acing_fold.jpg

Everywhere the interfacing fabric is folded must be sewn down. As you saw from the before photos, if the folds of fabric are not sewn, they will open like an accordion defeating the whole reason that the interfacing is there.

Here is how I sew the folds of interfacing. Again, I am using a contrasting black thread so it is easier to see in these photos.

https://i.postimg.cc/htXDjfdz/new_interfacing_fold.jpg
https://s20.postimg.org/raapdn1lp/ne...ing_detail.jpg

And yes, as others have pointed out, there are many ways to stitch the interfacing. Mine is my way. It is no better or worse than another kiltmaker as long as the fabric conforms to the shape of the kilt and will not stretch. When the kilt is worn the interfacing should act like one long piece of strong fabric.
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