"Flipping" pleat

[Bryan]

After loosening the second strap per Robert's suggestion, that seems to have fixed the problem somewhat. I never realized I had the top strap so tight. Thanks all.

[The Wizard of BC]

I've noticed that many of the people experiencing kicking and wayward pleats are speaking about machine sewn Kilts.

In my experience many, if not most, machine sewn Kilts do not have a Steeking Line.
In a Traditional Kilt the Steeking is a small invisible horizontal line of stitches just below the bottom of the Fell that hold the inside of the pleat and support it so that it does not sag under its own weight or through the stresses of wearing the Kilt.

Because it is usual, for machine sewn Kilts, not to have the pleats cut away most makers seem to think the Steeking is just a waste of time so don't put it in. Or perhaps they don't even know about it in the first place.

I have found that this one line of stitching is very important to the hang and swish of the Kilt. On my Kilts, because they are machine sewn the Steeking can be seen as what some call "The FK panty line".

If you are experiencing a Pleat or even a few pleats that seem to stick out and not lay flat try this.

Lay your Kilt inside up on a table. Align the pleats so they are nice and straight and parallel. Then look at a horizontal line in the Tartan up near the Hip line.
If you see the Tartan line stair stepping across the Kilt what may be part of your problem is that the fabric may have been sewn crooked or the fabric itself may have been overstressed, or the pleat may have been pressed incorrectly.

The inside of your Kilt should look like this.



If you see a pleat or two with noticeable stair steps in the Tartan lines, try this.

Use safety pins and pin the pleat up till the Tartan lines are aligned like this.



Now, this may cause a slight pucker in the fabric but go ahead and try the kilt on with the pleats pinned into place and see if the Pleats on the outside are laying flatter.

If they are use a needle and thread and put a couple of tight stitches in the back crease of the wayward pleats holding the little pucker in place. Like this.



I've used heavy white thread and exaggerated the pucker so it will show up in the photo but you can get the idea I'm trying to get across.

I have done this to about 50 other peoples Kilts and it really helps to control those wayward and kicking pleats.

BTW, the Kilt in these photos is one of my Tartan Model without the liner installed. It is the Maple Leaf Tartan from Fraser & Kirkbright in 16oz Merino Wool.
In the last photo, near the top, you can see my Steeking line which eliminates the pleats kicking out and insuring they hang perfectly straight and parallel for the life of the Kilt. I had to artificially distort the Tartan line for these photos.

[Bugbear]

That makes sense, Wizard. And I guess the steeking could be done by hand. Is there any particular kind of thread that should be used?

[The Wizard of BC]

Ted, in Barb's Book, on page 91, it shows the steeking.

If you don't have a page reader I will be willing to talk you through it over the phone or Skype.

Use good quality 100% Polyester thread on Wool Kilts. I like Guttermann. Otherwise match the thread to the fabric in the Kilt for minimum difference in shrinking.

You stitch one pleat to it's neighbor supporting the the creased edge of one pleat to the body of the pleat behind where they overlap. Then move to the next pleat and sew it to the one directly behind. Work all the way across the inside of the Kilt with the Steeking line right below the hip line.
Ted, I know it may be hard for you to perfectly align Tartan stripes but even close is better than no Steeking.
The stitches should be invisible. Don't sew all the way through to the outside of the Kilt when hand stitching.

[Bugbear]

Thanks, Wizard. I understand about Barb's book...

I do very much understand what you are saying about the steeking needing to be there whether the pleats are cut out or not. That is the kind of thread I prefer to use, but I just wanted to make sure.

[kilty]

I was wondering if anyone has tried the sticky tape that you can buy made especially to stick cloth together. Could we just put one of these strips between the one or two pleats that keep curling. The pleats would stay together and the strips would not be visible.

What do you think?

[The Wizard of BC]

Kilty,

I would advise against anything that sticks the pleats together and reduces their ability to move. It is Swish that you want.

My post is just to try to control a wayward Pleat and can be done very easily and only takes two or three minutes to do. It will not lessen the Swish.

Also, the sticky tape you mention is only temporary and will wear off in just a few washings leaving a sticky residue behind.

[Barb T]

I was wondering if anyone has tried the sticky tape that you can buy made especially to stick cloth together. Could we just put one of these strips between the one or two pleats that keep curling. The pleats would stay together and the strips would not be visible.

What do you think?

It's not that the pleats don't stay together. It's that the pleats are _pulled_ open.

[Dan R Porter]

I thought you were being kind and pouring your flask into his pipes.

[Bugbear]

All right, I have looked over my kilt, and fooled with how the pleats hang etc. It's not too much of a problem right now, but I do agree with the Wizard that it needs some needle work, and understand what he is talking about.

Actually, the biggest problem right at the moment is that I have no place to work on the kilt. I am planning a second round of alterations sometime this year, so I will add that to the list.

But like I said, I see exactly what the Wizard is talking about...

* In fact, I think I understand now why the pleat would bend out like that if only supported on one edge by the fell... *