Interfacing material for a PV material

[Tartan Hiker]

Without this layer of canvas the strain of the buckles (or whatever you use for fastening) will strain the pleat stitches. I use a 3" wide strip of plain old cotton canvas in my washable kilts. Wash it several times in hot water so it won't shrink later, and be sure that it is loosely stitched to the pleats and tightly fastened to the inside of the kilt beneath the buckle straps. That way as you cinch down on the straps the canvas is taking the strain and not letting it translate to the pleat stitching.
Think of it like the inside of a hard hat. The harness grabs your head and the helmet just goes along for the ride. In the kilt, you're actually cinching the canvas around you waist and the kilt just goes along for the ride.

[ccga3359]

Without this layer of canvas the strain of the buckles (or whatever you use for fastening) will strain the pleat stitches. I use a 3" wide strip of plain old cotton canvas in my washable kilts. Wash it several times in hot water so it won't shrink later, and be sure that it is loosely stitched to the pleats and tightly fastened to the inside of the kilt beneath the buckle straps. That way as you cinch down on the straps the canvas is taking the strain and not letting it translate to the pleat stitching.
Think of it like the inside of a hard hat. The harness grabs your head and the helmet just goes along for the ride. In the kilt, you're actually cinching the canvas around you waist and the kilt just goes along for the ride.

Interesting, perhaps I shall order all my future kilts lined. Thank you.

[ChattanCat]

Without this layer of canvas the strain of the buckles (or whatever you use for fastening) will strain the pleat stitches. I use a 3" wide strip of plain old cotton canvas in my washable kilts. Wash it several times in hot water so it won't shrink later, and be sure that it is loosely stitched to the pleats and tightly fastened to the inside of the kilt beneath the buckle straps. That way as you cinch down on the straps the canvas is taking the strain and not letting it translate to the pleat stitching.
Think of it like the inside of a hard hat. The harness grabs your head and the helmet just goes along for the ride. In the kilt, you're actually cinching the canvas around you waist and the kilt just goes along for the ride.

The canvas or broadcloth is used to carry the load across the pleats at the back of the kilt. This relieves the pleats from the stress of the belt buckles.
The interfacing is for supporting the pleats in the vertical direction. It simply keeps the pleats straight in the vertical direction.

Wallace

[Sheep In Wolf's Clothing]

I use very heavy cotton canvas (looks almost like burlap) on my PV kilts. Though, in the latest PV kilt that I am making, I added hair canvas just to get the feel of it because I am going to be using in the next kilt I will be making which will be a 16oz wool kilt.
Sara

[Barb T]

The canvas or broadcloth is used to carry the load across the pleats at the back of the kilt. This relieves the pleats from the stress of the belt buckles.
The interfacing is for supporting the pleats in the vertical direction. It simply keeps the pleats straight in the vertical direction.

Wallace

Gaak - major edit - I inadvertently deleted a line out of the following before I originally posted it, and, leaving out that line changed the whole meaning. Sorry!! It's fixed now.

When canvas is put into a kilt properly, it is fan-folded. So, it really doesn't do anything to keep strain off the pleats. But a trad kilt _should_ have a stabilizer, a 1 1/4" strip of broadcloth (not canvas) that is stitched securely but invisibly at the waistline of the pleats and under the canvas. This keeps the buckles and straps from putting stress on the pleat stitching. So, what I had _meant_ to say the first time is that the _canvas_ doesn't keep the pleats from stretching.

Think of it like the inside of a hard hat. The harness grabs your head and the helmet just goes along for the ride. In the kilt, you're actually cinching the canvas around you waist and the kilt just goes along for the ride.

This is true if you're thinking about the stabilizer but not if you're thinking about the canvas.

As far as the pleats below the stabilizer, there's little to keep the pleats from being pulled at the hips (although the steeking helps a little), which is one of the reason why, if you have a hip buckle, it shouldn't be pulled tight. And, as Matt and I have said many times on this forum, a man's kilt doesn't need a hip buckle.

Cheers,

B

[Kiltman]

The canvas interfacing in a trad kilt is there to stiffen the kilt and help it keep its shape. The way the interfacing is fan-folded parallel to the pleats gives the kilt rigidity up and down the body (to keep the kilt from buckling) but allows the kilt to flex easily around the body.
Barb

Thanks again Barb. I always learn some thing when you speak about kilts.

[Tartan Hiker]

This is true if you're thinking about the stabilizer but not if you're thinking about the canvas.

In most casual kilts (at least the ones I've dissected and the ones I've made) one strip of canvas cloth does both jobs. Easier to install, quicker to dry, plenty of support for light weight material, etc.

I've never made a full-on traditional tank (but will start as soon as "the book" arrives!) so I am unfamiliar with all the separate items that real kiltmakers employ. I do know that in a light, casual kilt one strip of pre-shrunk canvas under a cotton lining works perfectly well.