Kilt Flashes

[Southern Breeze]

I'm thinking about making some flashes from solid color cloth.I've seen plenty of pics and was wondering:
A. Are they single thickness with the edges turned under.
B. Double layers sewn together.
Right now all my hands on experiance is with the ones made from ribbons.I haven't seen any of the cloth ones firsthand and so I can't tell how they're made.

[Colin]

Blu had a great article on making flashes in the article section of the site. Check it out.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/articles.php

[Southern Breeze]

Blu had a great article on making flashes in the article section of the site. Check it out.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/articles.php

I just checked there,none of the articles is showing.

[Sherry]

You could try this pattern. It's very easy.

http://www.piping.chez-schwa.co.uk/p...s/flashes.html

Sherry

[Southern Breeze]

Sherry,thanks for the link. Unfortunetly it's for ones made from ribbon.

[Rick]

I routinely make flashes as follows. Start with 1/4 yd. of fabric. I then cut 4 strips parallel to the selvedge which are 2.5 in. wide each. A roller cutter/cutting board and straight edge work well for this. I then press these over a cardboard pattern which is 1.4 in. wide. This helps to keep the edges straight with 0.5 in. folded under on each side. Take care to make sure that the correct side of the fabric is used here and that it is oriented the same way each time. I then stitch down the hem along the long edges as close to the outside edge as possible using the sewing machine. I use a thread that is the same colour as the fabric. To keep things from fraying, I then cut away most of the excess fabric on the reverse side with pinking shears. I then double fold over and stitch down one end of the strip to make a sleeve to hold a 3/4 in. wide elastic band. I then trim the 4 strips to the desired length. To make the notch in the end, I mark out a 90 deg. angle with tailors chalk using a drafting triangle as a guide. After cutting the notch, some anti-fray compound can be applied to the cut edge.

Rick

[Southern Breeze]

Rick, A huge thanks for the info,just what I needed. One of the things I couldn't figure out was the notch at the end. Using the anti-fray compound to seal the edges cleared that up. Again, thanks.

[Sherry]

I would suggest trying some of the sealant on a scrap of fabric. Some sealants turn whitish, & you don't want that on a finished project. :-o

Sherry

[Luke MacGillie]

Then there is always just a length of inch to inch and a quarter wool twill tape, enough to wrap around the top of the hose twice and tie in a nice bow knot. It can be something that matches your hose or just plain old red.

But then again I really dislike the non diced or tartan hose, looks too much like bobby socks for me.

[Rick]

I would suggest trying some of the sealant on a scrap of fabric. Some sealants turn whitish, & you don't want that on a finished project. :-o

Sherry

As with most chemicals used on fabric, testing is probably not a bad idea. I have used Dritz "Fray Check." While the formulation used to make up what is in my bottle does not turn white, there is no guarantee that they will not change the formulation. I use so little of it, I will probably have this bottle for years more.

Rick