Stabilizer and Apron Canvas...?

[Kilted Taper]

Are the same material? In my case, Tailor's Pride? Barb's book mentions broadcloath for the stabilizer, but the "supply list" only makes note of the Tailor's pride and the lining material.

Thanks.

[chasem]

whoops!

erased my message, as I was confusing my words, and messed up! Deleted so not as to not confuse anyone else

[Kilted Taper]

Page 93,
Attaching the Stabilizer

1. Cut a piece of broadcloth about 1 1/4" to 1 3/8" wide and the approximate...


So are the stabilizer and the underapron and apron canvas the same material? (Tailor's Pride)

[Barb T]

The stabilizer can be any piece of tightly-woven fabric, and broadcloth is just fine. You need something lightweight and not stretchy, so be sure to cut parallel to the fabric grain. The stablizer is typically not canvas.

Actually, I buy bandanas at the local surplus store in outrageous colors and patterns (hot chili peppers, etc.) and cut strips to use as stabilizers. It gives me a giggle to think of them inside the kilt where no one will ever see them. Sometimes I try to choose a bandana that's important to the person I'm making the kilt for. For Jay's Project Iraqi Freedom kilt and for my daughter's Air Force tartan kilt, I cut up a stars and stripes bandana for the stabilizer.

I started using bandanas when I had a crisis on a trip when I was working on a kilt and had forgotten to bring along stabilizer fabric. I was stuck in an airport with nothing to do when I was struck by an inspiration to use the bandana that I had stashed in my briefcase. Got the kilt done and have had fun with it ever since.

Cheers,

Barb

[JimB]

Maybe a picture would help.
Barb is the expert here, but I have a picture of what I used as a stabilizer (which in my understanding is needed to keep the pleats from stretching). I just used a piece of plain (pink sorry to say) cotton that my wife had in her scrap pile. The material had zero give to it and it was handy so I used it. It worked fine.



The horsehair stuff I think is used as a stiffener for the apron. I saw the price of that and I chose not to use it. I had some extra (cotton) canvas and I used that. It seemed to do the job well enough.

[Kilted Taper]

Great. Thanks all for the replies! Much appreciated. Now, back to sewing.

[Alan H]

I used brown canvas in my last 6-yard, though I made it full-width, from where the waistband buckle on the right side is, all the way around to where the stitching for the inside buckle on the left side goes.

I make the left side closure on my kilts the way that Matt Newsome does, with an INSIDE buckle strap in the kilt, and a buckle attached to the far left edge of the under-apron. That way there's no cutting a hole in the kilt!

My philosophy was to have the 2-inch wide canvas take all the stretch load at the waistband rather than the pleats. So far, seems to work, but it's only been 2-3 days 'round me rump so far.