Hemming a kilt....

[Barb T]

I see what you mean about the drawing. Try thinking about it this way. Take a regular sheet of paper, and turn up a fold about an inch at the bottom. Turn the paper so that the folded edge is at the bottom and the flap is on the side you can see. The line in the drawing is the edge of the paper (not the fold) in the flap you folded up.

So, in kilt terms, you turn up a flap toward the inside of the kilt and baste it so that it stays put. Then, you hold the kilt so that you're looking at it from the inside, with the folded edge toward you and the top of the kilt away from you. The herringbone stitch is done catching first a little piece of the folded part and then a little piece of the kilt, then a little piece of the folded part, and then a little piece of the kilt. So, you're making an "X" across the edge that's folded up.

The advantage of using a herringbone stitch as opposed to a blind stitch or a hem stitch is that you aren't stitching tightly at the folded-up edge and you don't wind up with a little ridge that shows from the front. It's also a bit flexible.

[csbdr]

I see what you mean about the drawing. Try thinking about it this way. Take a regular sheet of paper, and turn up a fold about an inch at the bottom. Turn the paper so that the folded edge is at the bottom and the flap is on the side you can see. The line in the drawing is the edge of the paper (not the fold) in the flap you folded up.

So, in kilt terms, you turn up a flap toward the inside of the kilt and baste it so that it stays put. Then, you hold the kilt so that you're looking at it from the inside, with the folded edge toward you and the top of the kilt away from you. The herringbone stitch is done catching first a little piece of the folded part and then a little piece of the kilt, then a little piece of the folded part, and then a little piece of the kilt. So, you're making an "X" across the edge that's folded up.

The advantage of using a herringbone stitch as opposed to a blind stitch or a hem stitch is that you aren't stitching tightly at the folded-up edge and you don't wind up with a little ridge that shows from the front. It's also a bit flexible.

AAAAHHH!!The light comes on. I get it. So this stich is also completely invisible from the outside of the kilt. I think I can do this. I will probably contact you, to see if I may send it to you, when the time comes to make sure it's done right. thanks for the explanation!

[Barb T]

AAAAHHH!!The light comes on. I get it. So this stich is also completely invisible from the outside of the kilt. I think I can do this.

Yes - you're absolutely right. On both counts!!

[The Wizard of BC]

csbdr,

I sincerely apologize if I offended or upset you. That is never my intent. I am sorry.

I saw that you had bought the Kilt off ebay in one thread and then in almost the next thread saw you asking for help to alter it.

The price you paid was almost that for which you could have had a custom made Kilt and it seemed to be an impulse buy of something that does not even fit.

Then, without even trying the Kilt on you were asking about hemming. I just thought that you should first wait for the Kilt to arrive and then see if it indeed needed to be hemmed.

When you get the Kilt please post some pictures of you wearing it and we will all help as much as we can. But until we see some pictures we are just guessing. With luck you will find that it fits perfectly.

Again, I am very sorry for sounding flippant.

[csbdr]

csbdr,

I sincerely apologize if I offended or upset you. That is never my intent. I am sorry.

I saw that you had bought the Kilt off ebay in one thread and then in almost the next thread saw you asking for help to alter it.

The price you paid was almost that for which you could have had a custom made Kilt and it seemed to be an impulse buy of something that does not even fit.

Then, without even trying the Kilt on you were asking about hemming. I just thought that you should first wait for the Kilt to arrive and then see if it indeed needed to be hemmed.

When you get the Kilt please post some pictures of you wearing it and we will all help as much as we can. But until we see some pictures we are just guessing. With luck you will find that it fits perfectly.

Again, I am very sorry for sounding flippant.

Like i said, my fault. Actually, I haven't seen a custom made, 8 yd. kilt out of 16oz tartan for $300, except for Matt Newsomes boxes. but they are 4yds. Seems like we're always talking $5-600 or higher, so I was thinking it was still a bargain. Just trying to get some info ahead of time.

[csbdr]

csbdr,

I sincerely apologize if I offended or upset you. That is never my intent. I am sorry.

I saw that you had bought the Kilt off ebay in one thread and then in almost the next thread saw you asking for help to alter it.

The price you paid was almost that for which you could have had a custom made Kilt and it seemed to be an impulse buy of something that does not even fit.

Then, without even trying the Kilt on you were asking about hemming. I just thought that you should first wait for the Kilt to arrive and then see if it indeed needed to be hemmed.

When you get the Kilt please post some pictures of you wearing it and we will all help as much as we can. But until we see some pictures we are just guessing. With luck you will find that it fits perfectly.

Again, I am very sorry for sounding flippant.

Hi steve! I really wanted to apologise again. That was totally my bad. I was stressed and not in a great mood. I am usually not one to impulsively throw off posts like that, and I feel really bad about it. Thanks for the return apology, but it wasn't needed. You did nothing wrong and were just trying to help out, not having any idea what I already know or don't know. I'll post some pics when I get it, and look forward to your input. Thanks and sorry again! Chris

[Dixiecat]

Actual picture of the catch stitch.

Terminology for hand stitches really varies. It depends on region, generation and family lore. For the above stitch, some say herringbone, some say catch stitch, some might even say blind-hem (but they'd be wrong). To me herringbone is the embroidery stitch (actually an elongated cross stitch) and the catch stitch is the hemming stitch. They're all the same really, just the use of the stitch is different. I'm just glad Barb used pictures in her book to keep things clear!

Check this link out to see what this person says the stitches are:
http://www.sewing.org/html/el_handstittch.html

[Barb T]

http://www.sewing.org/html/el_handstittch.html

The only difference between this one and the one that I use is that, for the upper stitch, I don't stitch through both thickness of fabric, only through one (i.e., it is over the edge of the folded piece, not *in* the folded piece).