Sewing down pleats of thrifty... How to?

[sp00ky]

Hi All,

Just picked up a thrifty kilt for my 11 year old son, along with sporran, belt hose, sgian etc.

He is really excited, and proud to wear it, and I proud of him.

For the cost, it is perfect for a growing kid. My questions is can anyone point me to some tutorial, or good descriptions on how to sew the pleats down? I knew that when I ordered it it was with un-sewn pleats, but didn't think it would bother me, but if it is simple I think it would improve the kilt.

I have searched over the forum, but no luck.

Is it as simple as running the sewing machine down the edge of each pleat for 6 or so inches, or are there other considerations to be made?

Thanks for anyone's tips in advance.

Scott

[Burly Brute]

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...ty-kilt-66697/

THIS IS YOUR BEST BET LINK RIGHT HERE:
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...es-just-66836/


To be honest, I ended up doing nothing to mine and have no regretted it. And trust me, I took mine on a 3 day bachelor party and it still looks new! Good luck and don't forget pics whatever you decide!

-BB

[sp00ky]

Thanks, I knew I had seen the thread in your second link before but for the life of me couldn't find it.

My biggest question was do I sew all the way through, from outside to inside, or so I have to move stuff inside around.

I will likely be using a machine (well not me actually, my wife or mother will, I can use a sewing machine but don't often and would prefer if someone with some more experience does it) and from what I read, I can sew along the edge of each pleat from the outside stright through without concern.

Thanks,

Scott

[dadgad]

I took mine to my local tailor (Chinese lady). She did a pretty good job. Good enough for a $30 kilt, anyway.

[O'Searcaigh]

Hi -- I've made three 8yrd kilts from scratch -- sewing down lots of pleats (and actually got it "right" after a lot of failed attempts). If you can live with top stitched pleats (use thread color that doesn't show and sew close to the pleat edge) it is not too hard to sew down the pleats if you do each one separately -- meaning to move the fabric underneath each pleat so you are only sewing through one double thickness of material at a time. On an "already made kilt" you will not be able to sew all the way up to the waist band but if all you want to do is make sure the pleats stay in place below, that shouldn't be a problem. The only other thing to be careful about is to start from the top and not to sew any lower than the top of the "hip" line -- if any of that makes any sense. Making a kilt can be fun but it takes a lot of "learning" and patience to get it "right." Unfortunately, I've not found any "seamstresses" or even "tailors" able to do any better than I/you can if you keep at it - an art worth learning if you like kilts and aren't rich!

[Pleater]

I don't sew down the pleats unless there is one that will not behave, but I spend time shaping them and pressing them into shape.

If the pleats are not shaped then sewing them down right through all layers could mean that you make it too small.

You might consider sewing the outermost two layers of fabric so as to preserve the edge of the pleat if it doesn't hold the crease. I did one by hand, sewing along a dark stripe a little way from the edge to make the stitches invisible.

Now I am not sure what you mean to do, sew the pleat down to make a solid fell or sew along the edge of each pleat separately just to keep the fold.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Mickey]

I've done 4 Thriftys, and here's how I did it. Notice that I did not say, Here's how to do it... just how "I" do it.

I start at the bottom of the waistband using heavy basting thread. (I'm using white on this one to show where the stitching is, but used red on the other pleats... Look very closely and you can see the occasional red stitch) I started using basting thread because regular thread seemed to blow out every so often, as much as these are worn. Basting thread seems to take care of the problem.




Then I go through the bottom layers, and snake the needle back and forth between them, the bottom layer of the top pleat, and "catch" the bottom of the top layer without going through the top layer.




Here, I've pulled the pleat apart so you can get an idea of how the stitching flows.


Here is the final result before a light ironing. You can see where there is a visible white knot where I didn't move it into the fold of the pleat far enough (Didn't notice it until the photos, and have since re-done it).



Very simple to do, and once you get going, it really takes no time at all. I can do one in about 20 minutes. It really does change the entire look and feel of a Thrifty. Very well worth the small effort, IMO.

[fluter]

Before you get started, measure your son's waist and hips. If the hip measurement is greater, you may need to account for that. Otherwise, if he's still boy-shaped then charge ahead.

The Thrifty is made and pressed as a "cylinder;" it's the same diameter from the waistband down. If you need the hips to be larger, you can open up each pleat by a small amount, and make it fit better. How the kilt is laid out with respect to the tartan will determine whether this looks good.

There are some photos of a SWK old style Economy in this thread.

I would not machine stitch it. It's easiest for a right-hander to work from bottom to top, exactly as described in the Art of Kiltmaking. However the catch-stitch shown above worked out very neatly. The TAoK method is to stick the needle right in the "gutter" of the seam, and come up catching a couple of threads of the edge of the pleat. It's effectively invisible if done with a bit of care.

[O'Callaghan]

I was reading this thread and wondering what I was missing, because the fell is sewn down on my SWK Thrifty Kilt, and it came that way. OTOH, it is sewn down for less then two inches, which is certainly less then on my other kilts. I had read that they didn't sew down the fell on old ones, though. Did the OP buy a secondhand (Am. used)Thrifty?

[fluter]

I was reading this thread and wondering what I was missing, because the fell is sewn down on my SWK Thrifty Kilt, and it came that way. OTOH, it is sewn down for less then two inches, which is certainly less then on my other kilts. I had read that they didn't sew down the fell on old ones, though. Did the OP buy a secondhand (Am. used)Thrifty?

If the entire fell were stitched, it would be 8 inches in a standard length SWK. You could do the same with your thrifty, adding a bit of optional taper below the existing seam.

IIRC mine has a seam run across the pleats about 2 inches from the top. I would just leave that alone, and work below it, when/if I return to that project.