Pleat practice

[Breagh]

Wow thank you! I never thought of using forks to measure but that's an amazing tip, would that work on both kilt wool and the bedsheets?

I am so happy I am on the right track with practicing on bedding and things!

I will have a look at forks and pegs when I am back home!

My next steps were going to be trying to make a kilt out of a curtain, as I have never measured anyone before, in my book I bought it tells me how to mesure so I was going to measure then make a kilt from curtains to see how it fits my partner before getting wool! However would you recommend maybe making a kilt for a child (his is nephew for example out of a duvet? I'm just thinking if it's possible to get a tartan close to there they are Munro.

I really appreciate your help as I said I have gone I to this blind and just working my way thought it with you tube and my wee book!

I have wrote a blog about my journey so far and once I am home I might post it in here to see if I am on the right track, because when I tired to upload a picture onto here it didn't work! 😅

[Pleater]

@Breagh Duvets are a bit lightweight but if the fabric is doubled over you can have the fold at the lower edge, which makes up for there not being a selvedge.

Making kilts from whatever fabrics I had around gave me the opportunity to devise a fairly straightforward method of making them.
I make reverse Kingussie pleats, as normal pleats tend to get me trapped in the local vegetation - heathland and 'managed' woodland, so the two halves left and right are mirror imaged with the pleats pointing to the rear - like a bird's wing.

A fairly normal width of material is 54 inches and so as to use it all I cut across, selvedge to selvedge, and then join the selvedges to have four pieces joined together. So 216 inches to pleat and form the aprons.
At the centre back I make a large inverted pleat about double the size of the smaller ones which requires 24 to 28 inches. These kilts are plain or non tartan pattern so they can vary a little - I have one pleated to the goldfish.

Working from the centre back I measure and clip together suitable lengths to make the outer, visible folds. These are usually 6 to 8 inches, but half way along each side there is a join - and I like to hide that join so it is as invisible as possible fairly close to a fold. 6 and 1/2 inch pleats are quite common.

Getting the pleats formed and counted gives an estimate of the width of the fell in pleats, but each side also needs to have a double width pleat under the apron, the apron itself, and I like to make an edge - if there is enough fabric a couple of folds taking several inches give the edge a bit of weight - if there is barely enough then I might sew on a fairly hefty cotton tape and use hemming tape to hold it folded to the inside of the apron.

Once at that stage it is just a matter of settling the pleats. A fabric with wool in it might be lightly pressed, using a cloth, cottons could get a spray of starch - it is amazing how it is suddenly a kilt - though be careful not to iron pins with plastic heads, as they might melt, and glass ones might shatter. I always pin so the head is towards the edge which hopefully keeps it away from the iron.

Anne the Pleater