Advice for sewing large areas of tartan?

[ardchoille]

I'm working with 13 ounce tartan in MacGregor modern and need some advice for sewing in the undercheck (red) region. I know I can baste/pin before sewing but that still seems to leave a fold of fabric and I don't know where in that fold to sew in order to end up with a straight seam. What would be the dangers of using tailor's chalk on wool tartan cloth? Does chalk brush out as easily in tartan as it does in cotton twill using a toothbrush? If I can do this without any problems to the cloth I can end up with a straight line to sew (following the chalk line) and end up with a straight seam for my box pleats. How do kiltmakers obtain such a straight seem in their pleats?

The area I am talking about is the yellow box in the lower right corner of this image:

[The Wizard of BC]

Tailors Chalk is the preferred method. However, never use chalk or markers that have wax or that say "Wash out". Both of these leave residue in the fibers.
You can get Tailors Chalk in colors but I have found that the red and blue are harder to get out for some reason. The color that seems to work best is a light gray.
The chalk you need to look for is usually sold in a triangle shaped piece and if you test it on a piece of fabric then slap the fabric it should come right off.
Barb's Book suggests JEMS brand from the US or Hancock's Marking Chalk from the UK. You won't find either of these in JoAnn's Fabrics but a quick check in the yellow pages for a supplier of professional sewing supplies should get you on the right track.

ps If your going to do much more of this you really need to get a copy of Barb's book. PM me for a copy or order direct from Barb.

I have used school chalk for marking. Simply sharpen the end with a blade in a "V" or chisel point.

Before you mark insure that the fabric is straight. I lay a long aluminum ruler on a prominent stripe of the tartan and pull the fabric till the stripe aligns with the ruler. I hold everything in place with small weights while marking.

It also helps to have a large lay-out table. In your home you can use the floor but to protect the floor I suggest you find a sheet of corrugated cardboard. You can buy corrugated cardboard at U-Haul stores or other packaging stores.

Then go to your local sewing store and find two adhesive tape measures.
Stick one to the bottom edge of the cardboard and CAREFULLY align the other on the top edge of the cardboard insuring that the numbers are perpendicular to the length of the tapemeasure.
If you don't know how to geometrically construct a 90 degree angle PM me and I'll walk you through how to do it.

After you have the two tape measures in stuck down you can use a yardstick to make perfectly straight and perpendicular lines anywhere you want.

Another neat thing about using a large sheet of cardboard is if you have to put your kilt away for awhile you can simply roll it up in the carboard. Sort of a puzzle keeper for Kilt Construction.

[Bugbear]

And here is a thread on the no no chalk:

sydnie7's thread '"Disappearing" tailor's chalk'

Barb gives a link to the chalk she uses, and there are some other kiltmaker's links in there too.

That measuring and making streight lines is why I plan on not trying to make a kilt: especially in tartan.

[ardchoille]

For years I kept making comments about making my own kilts, but never actually did it. Last year my girlfriend started nudging me into making a kilt so we began researching. I have been researching kiltmaking for almost a year and am going to "conquer the challenge", as she puts it. I kept running into wall after wall, but every time I did, my girlfriend would find a way to fix it or work around it. She is most supportive. Each time I want to give up she says "think of how you will feel when you're wearing a beautiful kilt that you made with your own two hands".

I'm going to order Barb's book next month.

These forums are great.. never have I seen a group of people who are this knowledgeable and supportive.

[Howard Clark]

The book is well worth the price, just in the ability to go look at it anytime you want to. And it answers all the questions pretty well, IMO. I wish I had purchased the book BEFORE I started trying to make kilts. I would have saved myself uncounted hours of struggling on how to do things.

Good luck.

[ardchoille]

Well, it looks like I won't be able to buy Barb's excellent book next month like I thought.. I'll just have to make do without. $600/month doesn't go very far

[Bugbear]

Hang in there, ardchoille. Hope everything works out for you.