Misbehaving Pleats on Modern Kilts

[CommonHighrise]

I had this issue with my first kilt, and thought it was do to very stiff fabric (100% cotton duck), but now I'm seeing the same problem on my second kilt, thats made of much lighter material (Cotton/Spandex ripstop).

The knife pleats in both kilts lay nice and flat, like I see of all other kilts, when the kilt is laid out flat. However, as soon as I wrap the kilt around, the 'edge' of each pleat pulls away from the 'face' of the pleat under it. When put on, this is a 1"-1.5" gap, all the way around the kilt. I know I'm doing something wrong, just too daft to figure it out.

Both kilts have 2" wide by 2" knife pleats, one traditional uni-directional, the other RevK. Both pleat edges are sewn in, within 1/4" of the edge. The kilts are worn on my hips, with a 42" waist and a 45" rump, with proper allowances sewn into each kilt, 5" fell, with 21" overall length.

No amount of ironing seems to help, the duck kilt has been washed several times, with no change. I know I'm missing something. Please help curb my unruly pleats.

[Canuck]

If your kilt is 21" long then the fell should be sewn down 7". Also if you had more pleats it would help, I'm guessing you have between 10-12 pleats across the back. For a person your size I put in 16-18. The hip pleats should be double or triple the normal pleat depth, mine range from 12-15" that gives a bit of ease.
Also the pleats may not be deep enough and that too could be the cause.
Most companies seem to build contemporary kilts from 3.5-4 yds while some of us put in close to 7.
It's all in the construction.

[sydnie7]

What he said -- at a glance, I'd give your meaurements perhaps 20 pleats, 1.5 reveal, 3 inch depth, and a deep (6-inch) pleat either side of the apron. While I don't use a percentage for fell, rather base it on customer measure, 5 does seem short. Short fells can be used deliberately to make the pleats spring outward, I know Celtic Warrior kilts do this to make their contrasting inner panels show up better, but it's not normally what you want.

Pictures would help confirm these opinions.

[vorpallemur]

What he said -- at a glance, I'd give your meaurements perhaps 20 pleats, 1.5 reveal, 3 inch depth, and a deep (6-inch) pleat either side of the apron. While I don't use a percentage for fell, rather base it on customer measure, 5 does seem short. Short fells can be used deliberately to make the pleats spring outward, I know Celtic Warrior kilts do this to make their contrasting inner panels show up better, but it's not normally what you want.

Pictures would help confirm these opinions.

how tall the fell is a function of the wearer, and the location of the waistband. Five inch fell suggests a rather low waistband (or bad design). If it's worn higher than intended (or it's made wrong), the fell line would be above the widest point of the hips, which would force the pleats open.

Insufficiently deep pleats, or pleats that were rolled the wrong way when stitched down are more likely, I agree.

[The Wizard of BC]

CommonHighrise,

Can we assume that you made these two Kilts yourself?

If so, may I we suggest you find a copy of "The Art of Kiltmaking" by our own Barb T.

http://www.celticdragonpress.com/

This is the bible of Kiltmaking.

The problem you talk about is known as "Pleat Kick". There are a few reasons for pleats splaying open as you describe.

First is your choice of fabric. I make Kilts from Duck Canvas. But I am very picky where I get my fabrics. Because it is usually 100% Cotton, Duck Canvas is very prone to wrinkling. It also does not have a good swish factor. Duck may be used for Kilts that are intended to withstand abuse and rugged wear where wrinkling is not a factor but will only start to hang correctly after the fabric has been broken in and softened by repeated washings and use.
I don't think I would have ever chosen Cotton/Spandex for a Kilt. And stretch to the fabric will introduce a whole passel of problems as you sew it.

Second is perhaps your Sett size. You describe your pleats as having a 2" Reveal but it is unclear what the actual depth of your pleats is. The normal way to describe a pleat is to measure the distance from one pleat edge to the next pleat edge. We call this the Sett size. The Pleat Depth is then the Sett minus the reveal. If your depth is truly only 2" then your Sett size would be 6" and this is considered far too small for large reveal pleats. I would suggest at least 7" and perhaps even 9".

Third is the way the pleats are sewn. To insure that the pleats below the bottom of the Fell remain parallel and straight many Kiltmakers use a line of stitches known as Steeking. In the absence of Steeking the Kiltmaker pulls up on the inside of the pleat very slightly to force the fabric to lay flat as they sew the Fell stitches. Basting your pleats parallel is always advisable when making a Kilt to help keep the pleats parallel as you sew.

A few pictures of your work would of course help us to advise you. I think however that from the responses you have so far you are finding that Kiltmaking is a little more than just folding and stitching some fabric.

You will find that this forum is a wealth of information and there are many of us willing to help as much as we can.

Good luck and keep sewing.

[Squeaky McMurdo]

I would defer to the experts on this one but I haven't seen this mentioned yet:

Your kilt may be the right size for your waist, but too small for your hips. Wearing such a kilt will make the pleats flare out more than they should.

--Chelsea McMurdo--

[Pleater]

I wonder if the rigidity of the fabric is forcing the pleats into a lampshade effect - that is pushing the lower part of the pleat (which should hang free and vertical) outwards to continue the flare of the fell.

If so then cutting out the back of the pleat and sewing along the lower edge of the fell, ensuring that the pleats hung vertically from that edge should cure the problem.

If such a drastic removal of material is not possible then cutting out a narrow Vee of material at the lower edge of the fell should work. It will shorten the inner part of the pleat - the shape would be a < with the point towards the visible fold of each pleat.

It is mechanically the same as making a dart - except that to leave the material in place would probably result in the darts being visible

Wool is malleable and can be pressed into shape, but other fibres resist alteration, insisting on remaining as flat as possible and I suspect that is your problem with these kilts.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[CommonHighrise]

Thanks all, very much, for the help. I think I have it figured out. I was measuring incorrectly for my fell. I was measuring my rump size with my legs together, however I normally stand with my legs shoulder-width. This was moving the widest point of my rump to a lower and wider position, causing the pleats to be put under tension at the top, and opening them up.

Letting the kilt out just a bit, and bringing the fell stitching down a little farther cured the problem.

Indeed, this art is more than folding and sewing, as I am learning the dynamics of hip movement can play a large role in how a kilt looks.

Also, the Cotton/spandex kilt project turned out great, as the fabric was only slightly elastic (90% cotton to 10% spandex).