Hemming a kilt....

[Kilted in Maine]

in the thread that Kilted in Maine provided the link to, Barb T. does state that the best stitch to use on a kilt's hem is the herringbone or catch stich.

Do you realize that Barb T. is only 2 hrs away from you?

May I suggest,
- Wait until your kilt arrives
- If you like the way if fits - leave it alone and enjoy!
- If not, call and arrange an appointment with Barb T. and "Go West Young Man"!!

[Bugbear]

Oh, When will I learn...?

[csbdr]

The first thing you will need to do when this ebay Kilt arrives is measure yourself and then the Kilt.

This will insure that it is in fact the correct size for you.

From the photos on ebay it appeared that the Kilt was too big for the person wearing it. But that may only have been taken for the sale and not on the person the kilt was made for.

A Kilt with a 25" Rise may actually be 27" long from hem to top of waistband.

The bottom edge of a Traditional Kilt uses the selvedge edge of the fabric. There is no turned up hem as in trousers or skirts. This edge will not unravel and is the excepted way to make the Kilt. When the Kiltmaker is sizing the Kilt they start at the selvedge edge and work up.

To proper re-size a Kilt you do the same thing. You take the excess material from the top. This however is a complete re-build of the Kilt and would require an accomplished Kiltmaker.

The reason I suggest you measure yourself and the Kilt is not only to insure that the Waist size is correct but that the hip size is correct and that the Fell is the correct length.

A search on this forum will aquaint you with all these terms.

Buying a Kilt from ebay is fine as long as the Kilt fits in the first place. Buying it and then having to hem it or have it re-built seems a bit, how shall I put this, un-informed.

After you have spent the money on the Kilt and then you add the cost of the alterations you could have had a custom made kilt built for you from scratch.

Keep us posted when the Kilt arrives and we will be better able to advise when we see some pictures.

OK, let's clear some things up. I do know all the basic terms, and have my own measurements in mind. I really didn't go buying a random kilt because I liked it. I have not been kilting long, but I know that much. I also searched and read all I could before asking questions, so I'd be happy to not hear "do a search" advise again, please, as I stated earlier. I have seen enough threads on hemming kilts to know that, in most threads, that it is not such a big deal. Several folks have commented previously about how SIMPLE it really is. "25 inch rise" in the ad means to me that the seller confuses his terms, as I did when I was a total noob. I don't think he really means the rise is 25" That would really be something to see. So, a little bit of a risk? yes. Uninformed? No! and I really didn't appreciate that. If it doesn't work out, it goes back on Ebay.

Thank you all for the help. I have time constraints and may, in the end, have the work done by someone else. I just wanted to clear up a couple things which remained unanswered for me in my searches of other threads

[Barb T]

Hey, chill! People are just trying to be helpful. And even people who wear kilts and know kilts and sell kilts don't always mean the same thing by drop and length. So, you truly won't know how long the kilt is until it actually arrives. To answer your questions specifically:

1. Don't cut anything off before you hem.

2. Don't just cut the bottom. It will ravel like crazy, and you'll have threads hanging off of a fringey edge. Some fabrics in older kilts were suitable for just cutting without raveling, but not kilt fabrics that are used today.

3. You don't use a blind stitch to hem a kilt. You use a herringbone stitch. See below.



4. Hemming a kilt is not like hemming a skirt. If someone hasn't hemmed a kilt before and doesn't know what they are doing, they need instructions. So, yes, there are special things that they need to know, including that you have to take out both the apron edge and the underapron edge and open them flat before hemming and then put the kilt back together again after you hem. And that you have to turn up some sections a bit more than others. And that you don't use a blind stitch. And then that you baste the pleats before pressing. And that you don't iron directly on the kilt.

5. Any reputable kiltmaker will hem a kilt. I charge $45 plus shipping both ways to hem a kilt because it takes several hours to do a proper job.

[csbdr]

My apologies to The Wizard of BC and the board. I've given up coffee recently, and had a hard morning with my 6yo today. Got me in a bad mood. No excuse for poor manners, however and I sincerely apologise. I do appreciate all the advise however and promise to be good

Barb, thanks for the clarifications on my original questions. I saw your drawing earlier and had a little trouble following, not having alot (OK any...) of experience with this. I'm assuming that above the line is the outside/visible portion of the kilt? The line is the bottom edge and the area below the line is the inside? Is this the stitch Anne is describing? I had trouble visualizing that.

Your fee for doing the work is very reasonable, and worth every penny considering how LOOOOOONG this would take me to do. I will see what the full story is when I get it in the mail and may PM you if you don't mind.

[Barb T]

I see what you mean about the drawing. Try thinking about it this way. Take a regular sheet of paper, and turn up a fold about an inch at the bottom. Turn the paper so that the folded edge is at the bottom and the flap is on the side you can see. The line in the drawing is the edge of the paper (not the fold) in the flap you folded up.

So, in kilt terms, you turn up a flap toward the inside of the kilt and baste it so that it stays put. Then, you hold the kilt so that you're looking at it from the inside, with the folded edge toward you and the top of the kilt away from you. The herringbone stitch is done catching first a little piece of the folded part and then a little piece of the kilt, then a little piece of the folded part, and then a little piece of the kilt. So, you're making an "X" across the edge that's folded up.

The advantage of using a herringbone stitch as opposed to a blind stitch or a hem stitch is that you aren't stitching tightly at the folded-up edge and you don't wind up with a little ridge that shows from the front. It's also a bit flexible.

[csbdr]

I see what you mean about the drawing. Try thinking about it this way. Take a regular sheet of paper, and turn up a fold about an inch at the bottom. Turn the paper so that the folded edge is at the bottom and the flap is on the side you can see. The line in the drawing is the edge of the paper (not the fold) in the flap you folded up.

So, in kilt terms, you turn up a flap toward the inside of the kilt and baste it so that it stays put. Then, you hold the kilt so that you're looking at it from the inside, with the folded edge toward you and the top of the kilt away from you. The herringbone stitch is done catching first a little piece of the folded part and then a little piece of the kilt, then a little piece of the folded part, and then a little piece of the kilt. So, you're making an "X" across the edge that's folded up.

The advantage of using a herringbone stitch as opposed to a blind stitch or a hem stitch is that you aren't stitching tightly at the folded-up edge and you don't wind up with a little ridge that shows from the front. It's also a bit flexible.

AAAAHHH!!The light comes on. I get it. So this stich is also completely invisible from the outside of the kilt. I think I can do this. I will probably contact you, to see if I may send it to you, when the time comes to make sure it's done right. thanks for the explanation!

[Barb T]

AAAAHHH!!The light comes on. I get it. So this stich is also completely invisible from the outside of the kilt. I think I can do this.

Yes - you're absolutely right. On both counts!!

[The Wizard of BC]

csbdr,

I sincerely apologize if I offended or upset you. That is never my intent. I am sorry.

I saw that you had bought the Kilt off ebay in one thread and then in almost the next thread saw you asking for help to alter it.

The price you paid was almost that for which you could have had a custom made Kilt and it seemed to be an impulse buy of something that does not even fit.

Then, without even trying the Kilt on you were asking about hemming. I just thought that you should first wait for the Kilt to arrive and then see if it indeed needed to be hemmed.

When you get the Kilt please post some pictures of you wearing it and we will all help as much as we can. But until we see some pictures we are just guessing. With luck you will find that it fits perfectly.

Again, I am very sorry for sounding flippant.

[csbdr]

csbdr,

I sincerely apologize if I offended or upset you. That is never my intent. I am sorry.

I saw that you had bought the Kilt off ebay in one thread and then in almost the next thread saw you asking for help to alter it.

The price you paid was almost that for which you could have had a custom made Kilt and it seemed to be an impulse buy of something that does not even fit.

Then, without even trying the Kilt on you were asking about hemming. I just thought that you should first wait for the Kilt to arrive and then see if it indeed needed to be hemmed.

When you get the Kilt please post some pictures of you wearing it and we will all help as much as we can. But until we see some pictures we are just guessing. With luck you will find that it fits perfectly.

Again, I am very sorry for sounding flippant.

Like i said, my fault. Actually, I haven't seen a custom made, 8 yd. kilt out of 16oz tartan for $300, except for Matt Newsomes boxes. but they are 4yds. Seems like we're always talking $5-600 or higher, so I was thinking it was still a bargain. Just trying to get some info ahead of time.