Kilt Flashes

[Southern Breeze]

I'm thinking about making some flashes from solid color cloth.I've seen plenty of pics and was wondering:
A. Are they single thickness with the edges turned under.
B. Double layers sewn together.
Right now all my hands on experiance is with the ones made from ribbons.I haven't seen any of the cloth ones firsthand and so I can't tell how they're made.

[Colin]

Blu had a great article on making flashes in the article section of the site. Check it out.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/articles.php

[Southern Breeze]

Blu had a great article on making flashes in the article section of the site. Check it out.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/articles.php

I just checked there,none of the articles is showing.

[Sherry]

You could try this pattern. It's very easy.

http://www.piping.chez-schwa.co.uk/p...s/flashes.html

Sherry

[Southern Breeze]

Sherry,thanks for the link. Unfortunetly it's for ones made from ribbon.

[Rick]

I routinely make flashes as follows. Start with 1/4 yd. of fabric. I then cut 4 strips parallel to the selvedge which are 2.5 in. wide each. A roller cutter/cutting board and straight edge work well for this. I then press these over a cardboard pattern which is 1.4 in. wide. This helps to keep the edges straight with 0.5 in. folded under on each side. Take care to make sure that the correct side of the fabric is used here and that it is oriented the same way each time. I then stitch down the hem along the long edges as close to the outside edge as possible using the sewing machine. I use a thread that is the same colour as the fabric. To keep things from fraying, I then cut away most of the excess fabric on the reverse side with pinking shears. I then double fold over and stitch down one end of the strip to make a sleeve to hold a 3/4 in. wide elastic band. I then trim the 4 strips to the desired length. To make the notch in the end, I mark out a 90 deg. angle with tailors chalk using a drafting triangle as a guide. After cutting the notch, some anti-fray compound can be applied to the cut edge.

Rick

[Rick]

You could try this pattern. It's very easy.

http://www.piping.chez-schwa.co.uk/p...s/flashes.html

Sherry

I was inspired by this idea from Sherry. After I purchased my old straight stitch Singer sewing machine at the junk store a few years ago, I purchased a new-old stock zigzag attachment for the machine. I have never had an occasion to use it until now. This device moves the fabric laterally under the needle to make the zigzag pattern, as opposed to the approach used on modern machines where the needle moves sideways. Anyhow, one can set the stitch spacing quite small and make a wide embroidered effect with this tool. I thought that a vertical stripe down the centre of the garter flashes of a contrasting colour might look good. Indeed while not traditional, it looks nice. In this way, one can pickup another colour from the kilt in the flashes.

Rick

[Sherry]

Clever! Do you realize there is special thread for machine embroidery, the look of which you might enjoy much more than regular utility thread.

Post a pic of your embellished flashes?

Sherry