Kilt Flashes

[Rick]

On another note, after looking more carefully at Rick's method, I think that I would just sew or serge the strip of fabric (width of finished flash x 2 + seam allowances) into a tube, leaving a long thread tail for turning (trim the seam allowances to about 1/4" if they are wider than that). This makes all the stitches hidden on the inside. Press the tube flat with the seam in the middle back. Then you can turn down the top & trim the bottom just as Rick describes.

Sherry

Great minds must think alike. I just purchased some wool fabric that is too light of weight to make flashes by the method I described. I was thinking about doing it as you suggest.

My new Hector Russell kilt just arrived and it included tartan flashes. They simply serged the edges with a thread colour that matched the line in respective line in the tartan. This looks fine. However, I only have a straight stitch sewing machine.

[Sherry]

The HR flashes sound interesting, but I'm thinking that, as a commercial producer, they have sergers set up with different colors of thread on them. It would be a pain to change the thread color for something small like flashes, but it could certainly be done.

Sherry

[Riverkilt]

Been noticing in the many Scottish goods catalogs that are arriving for the holidays that I can order swatches of tartan fabrics...guessing they could be used to make flashes too.

Learned to late (but was able to do a go back) to get my tartan flashes made up at the same time as my traditional kilt.

Like, I got X Marks flashes made up with my X Marks kilt from Kathy Lare.

Being an old sot and taking too long to thread needles any more its worth the fair price to have them made up by a craftsman.

Ron

[GlassMan]

Interesting, when I got my Hector Russel kilt I had a choice between a simple serged bottom, a frayed bottom and a pointed bottom for my flashes. I can't imagine that a huge amount has changed since April so I wonder why you didn't get the option?