pleating to the sett & the elements of the sett - Do I have this right?

[Bugbear]

I suppose you could make up several waxed threads off a spool before starting, and have them ready to go. Noing the way things go when I'm sewing, though, they would all end up tangled in knots.

[jhockin]

Just wondering how close together you experienced kiltmakers make your stitches, on pleats in the fell?
I've been trying to make a stitch on every 2nd twill line - but this means (esp. with 16 oz. material, and going through 3 or 4 layers) that I have to push the needle all the way through one side, then back up through the other side, rather than being able to work the needle from the top side only. If I DO work from the top only, I end up with a stitch about every 3/16" or 1/4" ; which doesn't seem like it would be enough, to make a kilt "to last a lifetime".

[Barb T]

I was taught that, if the stitches are more than a pencil point apart, it's too far. So every 3/16 or 1/4 isn't nearly close enough, and the stitch points will show as soon as there's a little tension on the pleats.

The only way to get the stitches close together without doing a stab stitch is to be able to flex the cloth. Here's a photo that illustrates what I mean by "flexing the cloth". You'll see that the needle is almost horizontal (not going vertically up and down through the fabric), and the cloth is flexed over my left index finger to allow the needle to accomplish this while at the same time going through all four thicknesses of 16 oz tartan in one motion. It also means that your index finger gets poked a lot until you develop a callus (and sometimes just below your fingernail on your left thumb.....ouch). You can also see why you only pin one pleat at a time. If you had more than one pleat pinned, you wouldn't be able to get your fingers over the edge of the pleat without having a huge bunch of material in the way. For those interested, the tartan is Ancient Duncan.



A hoop isn't a good idea. If you are stitching in a hoop, the only way to get stitches close together is to do a stab stitch (i.e, down and up in two separate motions), because, when the kilt is tight in a hoop, you can't flex the cloth.

[BEEDEE]

I was privileged to recently see the Highland Granite Tewksbury that Steve Ashton has. The stitches are so close together that you can't see them unless you flex the material. Thy really are close together.

Brian

[jhockin]

OK, I think I've finally got it (thanks to the photo/scan Barb posted earlier, in this thread - I'm a visual learner, and having a print like that, in front of me was a great aid!!) :
pleats "test" pinned - and i also went over my chalk marks, with thin, white, basting thread , as i find the chalk fades

now I "just" have to sew the pleats ( properly) ... but for now, i think i hear a cold stout calling ...

[Barb T]

Yup - that will work. Just remember that you'll pin only one pleat at a time when you're actually stitching the pleats.

[jhockin]

Yup - that will work. Just remember that you'll pin only one pleat at a time when you're actually stitching the pleats.

Oh, I WILL!, I have NO desire to be my very own voodoo doll! - besides, i REALLY only want to have to sew each pleat ONCE! ( and thanks , once again, for your valuable tips!)

[ChattanCat]

Hi Barb,
I am interested in the method of pinning. Do you pin perpendicular to the pleat you are sewing like the pinning at the waist that you mention in the book?
Thanks,

[Barb T]

Yes - perpendicular to the edge. That's the only effective way to anchor the stripes. If you pin parallel to the edge, the top layer of cloth can skooch and slide out of alignment.

Here's what I do:

-I thread and needle and wax the thread.

-I pin at the waist first, then add two pins between there and the top of the kilt, making sure that there's just a little flare from the waistline pin to the top. We're not talking much, here - maybe a 32nd. Enough to let you flare it a little when you put on the top band. Oh - and I also pin the waist about a 32nd smaller than the actual measurement, because the pleats tend to expand a little at the waist when you stitch (not true at the hips).

-Then I clamp the tartan under my leg, measure the pleat width at the hip, come up from the bottom with my needle and thread, and then go down and back up again to lock the bottom of the fell so that the knot doesn't pull through. Then I put the needle into the tartan like a pin to hold thing aligned at the bottom of the fell.

-I give a good tug and go to a spot midway from the bottom of the fell to the waist. Being the anal person that I am, I typically measure this, too, to make sure that it's consistent from pleat to pleat, and I use a pleat width midway between the waist and hip pleat size. I make sure that what needs to be centered is centered, and I put in a pin perpendicular to the edge and right at a prominent color boundary.

-Then I give another good tug and add pins perpendicular to the edge at some of the color boundaries along the rest of the pleat, again making sure that things that should be centered are centered.

That's it!

[jhockin]

just so folks know, I finally finished this kilt, yesterday afternoon; Thanks for all the help ( esp. Barb!).
As many have said, on this forum before, it certainly gives one an appreciation for the work of the professional kiltmaker! What a LOT of work!! It has been a real "learning experience"!
It turned out alright, for a first time hand sewn "tank", but I know & see the mistakes, that aren't apparent to most others - but I also know much more about what I will & won't do, on the next one!
Got a number of compliments about it already, when I wore it 'out'.
( Also recommended "THE BOOK"/TAoKM to a mom, as a perfect christmas present, who told me her son would be "so jealous", if he saw my kilt, as his doesn't fit anymore & he he "wears it everywhere"!)
Starting another 'x-kilt' style kilt soon/next, before starting my next hand sewn traditional ( MacNaughton Ancient tartan, this time).