Stabilizer and Apron Canvas...?

**Kilted Taper** · 6th November 06, 05:34 PM

Are the same material? In my case, Tailor's Pride? Barb's book mentions broadcloath for the stabilizer, but the "supply list" only makes note of the Tailor's pride and the lining material.

Thanks.

**chasem** · 6th November 06, 08:19 PM

whoops!

erased my message, as I was confusing my words, and messed up! Deleted so not as to not confuse anyone else

**Kilted Taper** · 6th November 06, 08:26 PM

Page 93,
Attaching the Stabilizer

1. Cut a piece of broadcloth about 1 1/4" to 1 3/8" wide and the approximate...

So are the stabilizer and the underapron and apron canvas the same material? (Tailor's Pride)

**Barb T** · 7th November 06, 08:15 AM

The stabilizer can be any piece of tightly-woven fabric, and broadcloth is just fine. You need something lightweight and not stretchy, so be sure to cut parallel to the fabric grain. The stablizer is typically not canvas.

Actually, I buy bandanas at the local surplus store in outrageous colors and patterns (hot chili peppers, etc.) and cut strips to use as stabilizers. It gives me a giggle to think of them inside the kilt where no one will ever see them. Sometimes I try to choose a bandana that's important to the person I'm making the kilt for. For Jay's Project Iraqi Freedom kilt and for my daughter's Air Force tartan kilt, I cut up a stars and stripes bandana for the stabilizer.

I started using bandanas when I had a crisis on a trip when I was working on a kilt and had forgotten to bring along stabilizer fabric. I was stuck in an airport with nothing to do when I was struck by an inspiration to use the bandana that I had stashed in my briefcase. Got the kilt done and have had fun with it ever since.

Cheers,

Barb

**JimB** · 7th November 06, 08:46 AM

Maybe a picture would help.
Barb is the expert here, but I have a picture of what I used as a stabilizer (which in my understanding is needed to keep the pleats from stretching). I just used a piece of plain (pink sorry to say) cotton that my wife had in her scrap pile. The material had zero give to it and it was handy so I used it. It worked fine.

The horsehair stuff I think is used as a stiffener for the apron. I saw the price of that and I chose not to use it. I had some extra (cotton) canvas and I used that. It seemed to do the job well enough.

**Kilted Taper** · 7th November 06, 10:20 AM

Great. Thanks all for the replies! Much appreciated. Now, back to sewing.

**Barb T** · 8th November 06, 08:53 AM

If you're making a trad kilt by my directions, the stabilizer is only 1 1/4" wide and centered on the waist line. And, if you're making a trad kilt, you really do need the stiffness of the hair canvas to keep the pleats section from buckling and stretching out of shape.

Barb

**JimB** · 8th November 06, 09:21 AM

Ok, it's back to the book then.
I just assumed the width wouldn't matter as long as it kept the pleats from stretching. Mine is very thin and adds no bulk so I just took it from the fell on up.
As far as the hair canvas, I thought it was in the apron area. How exactly does it keep the pleats from buckling?
I don't have my book with me, sorry.

**Barb T** · 8th November 06, 11:16 AM

The width does matter. The stabilizer is a rectangle, but, if the pleats at the hip are bigger than the pleats at the waist, you can't fit a rectangle to something that is actually an arc. So, you put in something just wide enough to sew in right at the waist. And this is OK, because it's really only at the waist where you're pulling on the kilt straps that you need to keep the kilt from stretching.

The canvas that you put in on top of the stabilizer and that does go from the top of the kilt to the bottom of the fell is put in pleated so that the canvas can be wider at the hip end of the pleats and narrower at the waist end. Kind of like those luggage conveyers in the the airport that have the overlapping panels that slide together along the straight-aways of the luggage carousel and fan where the conveyor belt goes around a corner.

What do I mean by buckling? This isn't as much of a problem if you only put a waist buckle on a kilt, but most kilts nowadays are made with two buckles. If someone buckles the waist buckle tight, and then buckles the hip buckle tight, the back of the kilt needs to be pretty stiff to keep it from bunching up between the hips and the top of the kilt and creating folds across the pleats. The problem is even worse if the kilts has loops and someone wears a belt through the loops - that can really pull up the kilt and cause folds across the pleats. Having pleats in the canvas also stiffens the pleats in a top-bottom direction but gives it a lot of flexibility across the pleats.

Barb

**JimB** · 8th November 06, 01:18 PM

I think I've finally got it.
Thanks Barb!
I can see where the width would matter on most kilts and I will keep that in mind if I ever make one for anyone else. It didn't really matter much for me because my waist and hip measurement are so similar. I was able to make the fabric lay just fine as it was.
I do see the advantage now of the hair canvas, and that's good to know before I actually put belts on my kilts. So far I've only been using velcro.
But I get the idea. Finally.

Thanks again Barb!