Question for the kilt makers out there!

[Off kilt-er dude]

Is Crinoline fabric good enough/ strong enough/ ok to use in stiffening the pleats/stabilizing the pleats before the liner is sewn in? I want to make my kilts the best quality that I can so that they don't distort or stretch. I am using mostly PV materials and canvas/duck cloth for workwear but I eventually would like to sell quality kilts and not have people upset because I used the wrong structural fabrics! I do have Barb's book and know that it calls for hair canvas I'm just looking for what's available.

[Pleater]

Crinoline fabric is the right sort of fibre, horse hair and cotton - but it might be stiffer than the canvas - the 'hand' of a material can be very different from something of the same or similar fibres. Crinolines need stiffness and rigidity whilst the kilt requires tensile strength.

It might be best to follow the guidelines closely, at least at first.

Can you not buy the canvas mail order?

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Off kilt-er dude]

I am mostly using el-cheapo wal-mart polyester/rayon fabric that I found only because it was on the clearance rack and they were practically throwing it away..... But getting back to the crinoline fabric that I found, it is not so stiff that it would stand on it's own, I would say its approximately halfway between canvas and the PV I have. I haven't looked into getting the hair canvas mail order but I am limited to a smallish budget for my kilts right now until I can get them down good enough to send to one of you experts to look over and tell me I need a brain to go with my sewing machine! ;) lol if however the hair canvas is more economical in the long run I would go that route!

[David Thorpe]

http://www.voguefabricsstore.com/Tai...9-Natural.html

$9.32 a yard, which is enough for at least two kilts. The right stuff isn't going to break your bank.
If you have serious aspirations as a kilt maker, learn to do it the traditional way -- by hand. The money you save in electricity for your machine will pay for your hair canvas. After you get the hang of it, you may decide that you can do it better on a machine. Others may disagree.

[auld argonian]

http://www.voguefabricsstore.com/Tai...9-Natural.html

$9.32 a yard, which is enough for at least two kilts. The right stuff isn't going to break your bank.
If you have serious aspirations as a kilt maker, learn to do it the traditional way -- by hand. The money you save in electricity for your machine will pay for your hair canvas. After you get the hang of it, you may decide that you can do it better on a machine. Others may disagree.

DB, you may have solved my problem from another thread...and Vogue Fabrics is right here in Chicago so I can get a look at the hair canvases and see how heavy it is...thanks..


Best

AA

[Baldybrown]

$9.32 a yard, which is enough for at least two kilts. The right stuff isn't going to break your bank.
If you have serious aspirations as a kilt maker, learn to do it the traditional way -- by hand. The money you save in electricity for your machine will pay for your hair canvas. After you get the hang of it, you may decide that you can do it better on a machine. Others may disagree.

What he said!

[The Wizard of BC]

There are two components which make up the internal construction of a kilt. They are the stabilizer and the interfacing. The stabilizer is a small strip usually of broadcloth that goes between the two back buckles. The interfacing is the large strip which spans the entire kilt from the left edge of the under-apron all the way to the right edge of the outer-apron. The straps are anchored to the interfacing. It is the interfacing that is normally, today, made from hair canvas.

In the old military kilts that I have been re-conditioning for the Canadian Scottish Regiment both the stabilizer and the interfacing are made from a medium weight cotton canvas. This looks sort of like a cotton gunny sack fabric. It is actually sailcloth. This stuff did its job for almost 60 years just fine.

If you cannot find hair canvas there is no reason you could not make the stabilizer and interfacing both from cotton broadcloth.

The thing you MUST look for is a fabric that does not stretch. Not at all. If you grab the fabric and pull, it should not have any give.

In a pinch you could use an old sheet or pillowcase. I'll warn you though, sheeting is hard stuff to sew through.

Almost every fabric store will carry cotton broadcloth. The price is usually minimal. Many have prints on them. This would allow you to add a personal touch to your kilts. This would also be the same stuff you would use for your liner so if you can find it, get extra.

[Off kilt-er dude]

Wizzard and Drummer! Thank you both and wizard you are amazing, I am deffinately going to get some canvas to try and broadcloth will deffinately be my backup and I'll even look into designs to add character to my future kilts so people can have a giggle!!! You all here at XMarks are superbly amazing! Great community I'm glad I found this group!

[The Wizard of BC]

As you are thinking of making kilts for others may I suggest that first you become real good at making kilts IAW Barb's book first. Make perhaps 5 or 6 exactly the way in the book. This will give you a good foundation to what a first quality kilts is, and what make it first class.

Then, you can branch out and experiment.

Please take this as advice from one who has been there, done that.

I would also suggest you take a look at this thread. Only after a good traditional basis to work from could I have taken on a job like this. This was not a case of "Well, let's just cut this thing open and see what we find." I was working on someone elses kilt. Something they had spent their hard earned money to buy. You don't experiment with other peoples money.

You also don't learn quality kiltmaking by starting out with inexpensive fabrics or taking shortcuts. Sure, premium kilt fabrics cost money. And sure, doing it the right way takes time. But using quality materials and taking the time to do it right is truly worth it. Not only does it teach you how to do quality work but you do quality work the first time. You don't have to re-learn quality after three or four less than perfect experiments.

There is also the fact that using quality materials are easier to work with than bargan basement stuff. I know, I know. I didn't believe this either until I had a good length of high quality wool to work with. But it is true.

If you have to save up to buy a length of good quality wool and the proper materials then do so. When you are done, wear the kilt you made. Not once, but wear it 30 or 40 times. Then critique your kilt. Find everywhere where there is a flaw. Find every stitch that popped, every wrinkle and kicking pleat that has developed. Figure out want caused it to fail and fix it. Only then will you be able to ask someone else to give you a few hundred dollars for something you make for them.

I don't mean to sound harsh here. I don't mean to discourage you from accomplishing your goal of being a kiltmaker. I am just offering a lesson I learned the hard way.

That lesson is this: Never forget that the money someone gives you, may have cost them the same scrimping and saving, the same skipped movie or postponed dinner out with their family, to give to you, for their kilt.

[Off kilt-er dude]

I completely beleive you Steve! As to your being "harsh" that's what I am looking for when I ask questions like this one. I have fairly thick skin, I would rather be told I am doing it wrong at this point and learn from the ones who have been where I am and are where you are now! also to back up your point on someone else's money and messing around with it I am kind of the person that makes absolutely sure I would pay me for my product and if I wouldnt pay me I don't sell it until I can get it right. I completely appreciate the time and effort you are all taking in explaining these things to the noobs like me who are trying to cut teeth on all of this!