I have been hand washing all my kilts for a while now and feel it is the best thing for them, though I am hard on my kilts with wearing them in sandy scrubland and they are not rugged denims or canvas.

I think that they are lasting better than when I put them in the washing machine on 'delicates' or even 'hand wash' settings.

If you pre wash the fabric in exactly the way you intend to wash the kilt, then you should not get shrinkage after the kilt is made, but if you chose the wrong washing method you could ruin the material before you even start work.

If you are going to machine wash then you might need to consider folding the raw edges under and tacking down the seam so you don't get any fraying in the wash.

I would only put a fabric with that amount of wool in it into a washing machine if it was labled as washable, and then only on the hand wash program.

Anne the Pleater