Do kilts have a "break-in" period?

[Tobus]

The worst part is I am the type of person who would have just made up an excuse and ignored the problem. I would have thought there was nothing wrong with the construction of the kilt. Good to know you are not so easily fooled.

Actually, I was so easily fooled! I had no idea anything was amiss here until I innocently asked the question. After realizing that my kilt was fitting me differently, I figured maybe it was just a function of a "break-in" of the kilt. Turns out, I was completely wrong. The expert advice and detailed look that Steve is giving us has made it crystal clear what the issue is, and I would have been none the wiser without it!

I'm sure that people who have Barb's book (or otherwise are "in the know" about kiltmaking) are not seeing anything earth-shattering here. But for the rest of us who just enjoy kilts but have never delved into the details of construction, this thread is proving to be a very good "kiltmaking for dummies" type affair.

[crash]

Wow, this post has been a great read so far and I can't wait for the next installments. They say it's a poor day when you don't learn something. It looks like I've had a pretty good day.

[billsides]

The kilt is normally worn above your waist unlike pants and as men tend to have a belly bulge above their waist which usually shrinks most when weight is lost, it is understandable that kilts tend to slacken off more than pants if weight is lost. My experience with new kilts from a variety of manufacturers from super cheap to expensive hand sewn and in acrylic, PV and wool of 10, 13 and 16 oz weights is that all slackened off on the first wearing then remained constant thereafter. Kilts can be a better test than pants belt size for determining whether your weight is changing.

Bill

[The Wizard of BC]

If you have been watching this thread you know we are now ready to start putting this kilt back together and get it back to Tobus so he can enjoy wearing it again.

The first step is to install the stabilizer to the inside of the kilt. The job of the stabilizer is to give strength to the back of the kilt between the buckles as you have seen.


Last night as I was watching TV I sewed the stabilizer into the kilt. Here is a photo of the finished stabilizer.



The white strip of fabric is the stabilizer itself. This is carefully cut from a piece of cotton similar to a bed sheet. This fabric is very strong along the grain or weave. It does not stretch very much so, while light weight, makes a very good reinforcement.

I thought it best to stitch this using a white stabilizer and black thread so you could see the stitches better. Notice how many stitches there are. The stabilizer is stitched to the back of all the pleats to anchor it and reaches across the back of the kilt from one buckle to the other.

You can see one pencil stuck through the strap hole and the other two point to the location where the buckles will be sewn on the outside of the kilt.

Next step is the interfacing.

[Barb T]

Or you can have a little fun with the stabilizer, because it never shows (unless someone like the Wizard deconstructs your kilt....). I always use American flag cloth.

[Emmet]

An interesting thing to note is the stitching on the two stabilisers just posted, very interesting to see thats there's more then one way to do things

[Paul Henry]

An interesting thing to note is the stitching on the two stabilisers just posted, very interesting to see thats there's more then one way to do things

There are many ways to do the stabilising strip,I use old and fine linen shirts!

[mookien]

Steve: What an absolutely splendid example of illustrated, forensic deconstruction/reconstruction!

Thank you for sharing it with us in such a dramatic and easy-to-understand fashion. You obviously spent a lot of time, and went to a lot of trouble to produce it. I appreciate it, and know many other folks do, too.

This is the most interesting, informative, and "fun" thread I have yet to read on XMTS. Very well done!

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Tobus: You now own what I think will become a piece of American, kilt-making lore. I know you will treasure it. Your kilt may have been an heirloom before, but now I think it is not an exaggeration to say that it will become a legend - the kilt that Steve Ashton brought back to life in plain view.


John

[RAF]

Steve: What an absolutely splendid example of illustrated, forensic deconstruction/reconstruction!

Thank you for sharing it with us in such a dramatic and easy-to-understand fashion. You obviously spent a lot of time, and went to a lot of trouble to produce it. I appreciate it, and know many other folks do, too.

This is the most interesting, informative, and "fun" thread I have yet to read on XMTS. Very well done!

------------------------

Tobus: You now own what I think will become a piece of American, kilt-making lore. I know you will treasure it. Your kilt may have been an heirloom before, but now I think it is not an exaggeration to say that it will become a legend - the kilt that Steve Ashton brought back to life in plain view.


John

Ditto!

[billsides]

Great story and photos. It prompted me to study my cheapest kilt, a now ancient $60 (with postage) Pakistan made 8 yd acrylic claimed 16 oz (obviously less) It is now only worn around house and garage as I have better but remains my most comfortable kilt. It stretched 1" initially, no big deal, I used a different hole in its straps. Not a thread has ever pulled, it is abused in the garage and machine washed. It holds pleats and does not crease unlike most working ones. Its cotton lining is long gone exposing construction. It is high rise, has good shape but no cut pleats, excessive bulk or internal webbing so is very cheaply made. It has three straps and 23 pleats whose stitching carries all waistline loads like the kilt featured. It is proof that webbing around the waist is not essential but I believe it is a very good idea as some expensive kilt pleat sewing leaves much to be desired so anything that reduces loads on it is desirable. Webbing also largely eliminates stretching, but does involve extra work hence cost.

Bill