storing a plaid

[sailortats]

I should be receiving a fly plaid in today's mail. I ordered it for an upcoming event. Obviously it will not see a lot of usage and so will be spending most of its time in storage. What is the best way to store it away? I envisage just folding it up and putting it in a drawer but won't this cause a lot of wrinkles?

[David Thorpe]

I fold mine and drape it over a hanger. If the wrinkles don't fall out, a little steam will do the trick.

[brewerpaul]

you could get the type hangers for pants, that I use for my kilts, with the clips and then hang it as you would a kilt. I keep my wool kilts and things in one closet with two cheese cloth bags full of cedar chips for moths. I find the inexpensive clip type pants hangers quite nice for kilts and things.

[figheadair]

assuming that you have a single-width plaid then the best way is to wrap it around a cardboard tube. that's how historic specimens are/shold be stored. For a double-width one I'd fold it in half once then as above then each time that you wear it refold in a different place. If you intend to use it infrequently then beware the moth and spinder. Do the former and then place inside a plastic bin bag.

[sydnie7]

If you're really worried about moths, and have the room, then rolled as described - well sealed - and into the freezer! My sister's extended family has a 1950s-era kilt that spent several decades in deep freeze before being passed along to those who wear it now.

[Paul Henry]

The only thing i would be hesitant about with Peter's suggestion would be placing it in a plastic bag. In archivael terms this might be a bad idea. as unless everything is scrumplessly clean and dry there is a chance for mould/spores and the like to be present. I sometimes work with historic manuscripts and books, and the advice that I am given is to wrap the book or paper in acid free paper loosely but completely and then place it in a separate box, which then possibly might be put into a plastic crate, but the extra layers allow a little bit of breathing for the precious papers. Of course your plaid may be less historic than some of my papers, but perhaps no less valuble to you!
I except that I might be taking things to the extreme, but I have to be careful with the volumes in my care!

[creagdhubh]

I fold my plaids, which are all 4 yard day/blanket plaids, a couple of times (lengthwise) then put them on a wooden (I only use wooden hangers -they are strong and durable, not to mention they look good!) pant hanger and hang them in my wardrobe. I also hang each plaid, and all of my woolen items such as jackets and kilts, in a breathable garment cover made of natural materials - not those cheap plastic varieties. I do the same thing with my wife's tartan sashes. This method has never produced wrinkles of any sort on the fabric and is an organised way to store the plaids.

Hmmm...I recall a photo (see below - look directly behind the Duke's kilt in the Balmoral tartan) of the late Duke of Windsor's wardrobe with his day/blanket plaid in the smart, Balmoral tartan, hanging in the same fashion.



Cheers,

[kilted guys wife]

you could get the type hangers for pants, that I use for my kilts, with the clips and then hang it as you would a kilt. I keep my wool kilts and things in one closet with two cheese cloth bags full of cedar chips for moths. I find the inexpensive clip type pants hangers quite nice for kilts and things.

if you decide to go this way try putting some tissue or paper towel between the fabric and the hanger clips. this way you won't press clip dents into the fabric.

[LandRover]

I can't offer a suggestion concerning the plaid storage, but I do have a question about the picture shown above.

When i got my first kilt, I searched this site (and other places) for the accepted and correct (?) method for storing the kilt between wearings. One of the no-no's seemed to be hanging the kilt from the two straps inside the waistband. I've read that concentrating the weight of the kilt on these two straps would cause the pleats and the aprons to become distorted over time.

Yet the picture shown above (and pics from the closets of kilt wearers) shows that method being used; does the Duke's Royal Clothing Manager know something that he/she isn't sharing? I now use pants hangers and a couple of purpose-made kilt hangers, but I wonder if maybe there is something more to this ...

[Deirachel]

Land, if you look at the front right kilts in the image, you can see there is a distortion of the black lines of the right top. That is a bit exaggerated due to the hanging concurring at the time of the image itself, but over time that will happen permanently. Any distortion in the weave will eventually effect the pleats and aprons.

For those who want to use the "tube method" of plaid storage and also want to use cedar for it's antivermin properties:

If you have a table router set up, if you use a large round over bit and a 3"x3" length of cedar (cut a board you can get them at your local lumber yard), you can make a dowel by using the bit to cut the corners of the wood off, just make sure you leave about an inch on each end of all the sides to keep it solid on your table (depending on the size of your bit it can be a circle or a rounded square) and sand it. For a good sized (read solid enough and long enough) cedar dowel, I found this to be much less expensive than buying one (if you can find one...). Just remember, to lightly sand the dowel occasionally (one a year or two) to keep it working.

For a less stable/permanent, easier way, prick holes in the cardboard tube with a tack (if the tube is heavy enough, you can use a very small drill bit). Tape up one end, toss some cedar shavings in the tube, then tape the other end (if you use a heavy mailer tube, they come with those nice plastic ends and you don't have to tape the one end, so it's easy to change out the shavings when you need to.)

My mom used these methods for some of the captured battle flags at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum when she was doing an archivist internship (she set up the cardboard, while I made her the dowels and a rack for them).