Advice on Repairing Pleats and Thread Question

[Naught]

I'm not sure that I would agree that the methods presented in "The Art of Kiltmaking", or TAoK for short, cannot be applied to repairs.
I have made many kilts from scratch and repaired many kilts. I use the same techniques and the same 4 stitches for both.

When stitching pleats by hand I do not push the needle into the fabric perpendicular to the edge of the pleat. I push the needle into the pleat perpendicular to where the thread from the last stitch came out of the fabric. The needle then passes through the fabric at an angle.
This does two things. The angle of the needle sets the size or length of the stitches and allow me to adjust and maintain the alignment of the Tartan elements.



This is called a Fell Stitch.

Does it not matter that the fell stitch is only catching two layers of fabric - those visible in your first photo - since the stitches aren't, or shouldn't be, under tension? I don't seem to be able to catch the bottom (unseen) layer without taking a stitch that is 3/16" or more. The idea in the post above yours of using a curved suture needle is interesting, though having never sewn with one it would probably be too weird to me.

[Steve Ashton]

Does it not matter that the fell stitch is only catching two layers of fabric - those visible in your first photo - since the stitches aren't, or shouldn't be, under tension? I don't seem to be able to catch the bottom (unseen) layer without taking a stitch that is 3/16" or more. The idea in the post above yours of using a curved suture needle is interesting, though having never sewn with one it would probably be too weird to me.

The second or bottom layer of fabric does not need to be caught by the Fell stitching. You need that second layer to sort of float inside the kilt. That is the part that you cut-away inside.