I happen to be basting a kilt in preparation of pressing so thought I would post some photos for you.
I hope these help.
If you just flop a kilt down on the table the Fell area, (That part in the back that is sewn down and tapered) will try to lay flat, but the pleats themselves will splay out.
You should be able to see that the pleats are not the same width at the hem as they are up at the bottom of the Fell.
The waistband is taking that curve you mentioned.
To properly lay out a kilt for pressing you must insure that the pleats are the exact same width all the way down their length just as they are at the bottom of the Fell.So we lift the Fell area up till the pleats lay perfectly straight and
parallel
.
I have a rolled up kilt holding the Fell area up. This allows the pleats to lay flat
.Here you can see two lines of basting in place. The pleats are held parallel by the basting.And here you can see why we use basting thread instead of pins.
You should be able to see that the basting thread lays flat while at the pins there are pronounced bumps. If you were to try to press over the pins those bumps would be transferred to the pleats.
These two lines of basting took about 10 mins. to put in.
I'll now put in a third where the pins are and then PRESS, not iron. You use the heat of the steam to heat up the fabric. This softens the fibers.You then press straight down with pressure to set your creases. Then pick up your iron and move to the next spot.
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