Box-pleated Tartan PV X-Kilt Hiking Hybrid!

[HeathBar]

Very nice! What method did you use to stitch your pleats? Did you use a sewing machine?

[Tartan Hiker]

Very nice! What method did you use to stitch your pleats? Did you use a sewing machine?

I followed Alan H's procedure in his California Box-Pleat thread...the tapers are machine-stitched together from the inside. Fast, effective, strong, and invisible.
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=24143
I did (as you can see in one of my photos) overstitch the first and last tapers because I couldn't get to them from the inside. The pleats are not stitched from the bottom of the fell to the hem...only pressed.

[HeathBar]

I followed Alan H's procedure in his California Box-Pleat thread...the tapers are machine-stitched together from the inside. Fast, effective, strong, and invisible.
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=24143
I did (as you can see in one of my photos) overstitch the first and last tapers because I couldn't get to them from the inside. The pleats are not stitched from the bottom of the fell to the hem...only pressed.

I didn't think I could see any stitches. And seeing how long it took you, figured that you must have done it from the inside. I've been going over in my head a way to do that. I didn't follow Alan's post to the end so I didn't know how he had stitched. I'm going to start the construction of a skirt for my wife. I have enough to make her a box pleated skirt 28" long. But I am going to try and mark the outline of the pleats on the inside. Then sew the lefthand edge to the righthand edge. I know it wil take some dead-on aligning to get them right, but shouldn't be too much of a problem with the help of some pins. The fun part will be basting the pleats.

You've made a downright awsome kilt. Can't wait to see the first trail pic. Which trail will get the honors?

[Tartan Hiker]

The first hiking trip will have to wait for the weekend, I fear. If the weather is decent I may try to do Graybeard, which is the last peak in the Black Mountain chain south of Mt. Mitchell.

As for the pleat-sewing, Alan H is just right...it's a lot easier to show it than to describe it, so here you go, Heath.

I used a note card cut to the width of the pleat at the waist, marked on the inside of the pleat where the edges of the card hit the waist edge. My pleats were 2" at the bottom of the fell and 1.5" at the waist.



Then I chalked a straight line on the inside of the pleat from the waist mark to the bottom of the fell (remember that I already pressed the pleats from the hem up to the bottom of the fell, so there was a crisp fold there. That way I knew exactly where the line ended). You only need to make one of these lines, on the side that will be facing up when you are stitching.



I flipped the kilt over and carefully basted just the bottom 1/4" of the fell. That way everything stays put without my having to hold it.



Then I flipped it back wrong side out, pulled the pleat out tight, held the two waist marks together and ran a line of stitches from waist to fell.



The trick is to be extra-sure that the cloth is evened up at the top or the whole pleat will be off. I messed up one and had to rip it out...no fun.
The result...a perfect machine-sewn taper without a thread showing. And NO PINS!

[HeathBar]

Thanks for the extra detail. You're right, its easier to show rather than tell.
I hope the weather holds out this weekend for your hike.