Kilt Flashes

[David Thornton]

For those of us who are sewing challanged, is there a good source for flashes? I would like to get several solid colors.
David

[GlassMan]

I got my solid flashes from SportKilt. Part of the reason is that they're inexpensive. Another is that many inexpensive flashes I've found are simply a piece of ribbon while the one's at SportKilt.com are felt and look more like wool. Also, some other cheap flashes I've seen have some hard sheet sewn inside and they wind up getting bent outward and staying that way.

Finally, the one's at SportKilt are the only inexpensive ones I've seen that use a clasp closure instead of Velcro. I have velcro on flashes. It always get's snagged on my hose. The clasps are the way to go.

[Colin]

I have made a pair or two using grosgrain ribbon, and velcro. All I have done is cut the ribbon into flahes and added velcro the the back. I than use a strip of velcro (male and female sewn together so that it wraps around my calf and attaches) as the garter. Very easy to do and supplies can be found really cheap at any place that sells fabric (I got all this at Walmart for under $10 and have enough ribbon for a few more sets). This way you can also make numerous flashes in various colours or tartan and can just change them up with the same garters.

Here's some pics:

[Sherry]

You can just Google "kilt flashes" & get lots of hits. But I have made ribbon ones as per the instructions in the earlier link I gave. They are very simple & can even be sewn by hand. They cost pennies compared to purchased ones, & you can easily have a whole "wardrobe" of flashes.

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

[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?

[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