I remember a while back Rocky informed us that he washed a couple of his wool kilts on delicate cycle in his new upright washer. That being in the back of my brain the other night when I spilled some chicken tikka masala (Hazrads of being married to an Indian!) on my FAVORITE kilt, I quickly disrobed and put the kilt in our washer.......There was not a good feeling ANYWHERE in my body as i did this......It just seemed so wrong and I knew it was going to ruin my beloved "Heather Isles" ancient tartan bespoke kilt.....Masala is a mosh of different, vibrant spices that stain permanently (Know this from MUCH experience), so it had to be done immediately. I did try to treat the stain, but that seemed to spread it out and lighten it. So into the wash it went.

Results......I pull out the kilt. Good news is that the stain is gone. I've had this kilt for about 2 years, and its never been dry cleaned once (I think I've worn it maybe 10-15 times in all). I was surprised that it came out so vibrant and clean...That was good. Bad news...The pleats were ALL ruffled and it looked ridiculous.....I took a cloth and got them back to a somewhat organized line and let hang dry. Yesterday I basted, then I pressed with a towel and iron. End result-Perfect. Its like a brand new kilt!!! The nervous factor was terrible, and if you don't know how to baste your kilt, then you shouldn't try it. The pleats certainly come out of place after washing-even in delicate......But no curry stain!!! WHEW!!!

*ALSO* Many of you remember my post where my lovely daughter Skye took my good shears and decided to cut my Clan Brown Modern Kilt in a few choice places. I took the kilt to our local Asian wonder-woman tailor. Results for the fix were as good as you could expect. She was able to bind the cut pieces and matched the thread as it went over different color parts, but the repairs are certainly not invisible, but i am pleased enough that I wouldn't feel like my kilt is a white elephant if I wore it out.