A newbie question for you pros out there...

[joshmccl]

Hello,
I gave my new (and first) kilt a good once over last night and I noticed these strange folds at the end of the hem, two of them, folded inwardly and sewn into place. Check out the pics. I emailed Scotweb where I got the kilt and they said this is a natural part of kilt construction and they are designed to make the kilt look right. Is this the case? Any advice would be helpful! It just seemed a little slipshod to my untrained eye.

[HeathBar]

Its normal to have these in a custom made kilt. They keep the bottm edge from sticking below the front apron.

[McMurdo]

Have no fear, that is absolutely normal and is done so that there is no under apron peeking out.

[joshmccl]

Thanks Heathbar and McMurdo, that puts my mind at ease.

[Monkey@Arms]

Hard to see from your pics, but assuming that those pleat ends are at the front the kilt, then I believe they are indeed proper. The purpose is to keep the under portion of the pleats from being lower than the front of the apron. Cheap kilts don't have them because they add to the cost of construction.

(Ah, others beat me to it.)

Best regards,

Jake

[joshmccl]

Excellent confirmation gents. I will reply to Scotweb and thank them for their diligence, rather than question their construction.

[Detroitpete]

On my machine-made, more 'affordable" kilts, I've taken to pressing then using fray check or a strudier glue to keep that bit from peeking out.

First kilt and ya picked a good one. Plus, you seem to be a bit 'detail' oriented ;-) I think it's fair to say we can all just welcome ya to the addiction, lad!

[Southern Breeze]

Congrats on your first kilt!

The journey to kilt addiction starts at one!

[Bugbear]

Yep, should be there. In fact, I put those two hems on my wool Stillwater kilt when I was making alterations in it.

Thanks to Barb T. of course.

And congratulations on your first kilt.

[ChattanCat]

You will probably find the same kind of "hem" on the far edge of the underapron. All is well, it is there to keep the edge of the underapron from showing also.