replacing canvas backing

[Barb T]

How hard is it to replace the lining? Fix the stitching on the fell? What type of stuff is necessary? Do I need to send it to a pro kiltmaker or tailor, or can I get help from my mother or mother-in-law, who are both fairly good, but amateur tailors? Thanks!

I guess the real question is why you would want to go to the trouble to do this. If the kilt fits, is comfortable, and looks good from the outside, I'm not clear on why it would be worth it. If you're concerned that the pleat section is flabby or getting stretched out of shape, then it's worth doing something about it.

As far as the steeking at the bottom of the fell goes (note: the "fell" is the whole stitched part of the pleat), as long as it's doing the job of holding the free edges of the back of the pleats together, I wouldn't agonize that it's not particularly even. I'm anal, so I make mine neat and even, despite the fact that it never shows. But, function is really the critical element here.

Frankly, I would be more worried about whether it has a stabilizer at the waist than whether it has canvas or lining stitched all the way down. The stabilizer prevents stress on the pleat stitching (I've put a couple of pics of one below). Without a stabilizer, repeated wearings will stress and distort the pleats. If the kilt has no canvas, it should be easy to tell if it has a stabilizer or not. If it doesn't, it's an easy matter to put one in without taking off the top band.

And, yes, I always put an American flag stabilizer in the kilts I make (ahhh, not a cut-up American flag, of course, but Am flag-printed cloth).