hemming a kilt?

[dpseadvr]

I am looking at getting a kilt from Stillwater they come in 24in length and I need it to be 22. How hard is it to hem one?

[sirdaniel1975]

I hemmed a kilt of lesser yardage once. It was 24" length and I wear a 22.5" length. It was not hard just time consuming. Although, repressing the ends of the pleats was a pain in the _ _ _ ! They didn't come out right.

I suggest either leaving it at 24" length and just wearing it with a higher rise (like a military kilt) or not getting one at all. Just get a kilt in the length you require.

The problem with hemming a pre-made tartan kilt is, the centered display of the tartan in the front apron... might not look right after being hemmed or might not look as good.

This is just my opinion...

[Livingston]

I sat down and hand sewed the hem on a Stillwater Heavyweight in about 3 or 4 evenings. No, I am not real good with needle and thread. Like Sir Danial says, getting the pleats pressed back properly is not easy.

[Tartan Hiker]

I've done a couple of SWK's. pressing and hand-stitching takes me about 2 hours.

[Barb T]

The problem with hemming a pre-made tartan kilt is, the centered display of the tartan in the front apron... might not look right after being hemmed or might not look as good.

Because a kiltmaker centers the tartan side-to-side and not top to bottom, this isn't really an issue. If the tartan looks "centered" from top to bottom in a particular kilt, it's an accident of the length of the kilt relative to what part of the sett the weaver placed at the selvedge.

Just remember that, to do it right, you really need to do more than just turn up a hem and stitch it. You need to take out the apron and underapron facings first, then turn up the hem and stitch it. And it's best to turn up an extra half inch at the point of the deep pleat and about an extra inch at the underapron edge (tapering to the regular hem depth about 9" from the edge) in order to keep the deep pleat and the underapron edge from sagging below the bottom of the kilt.

Once you have the hem stitched, sew the facings and edges back together again, and BASTE THE PLEATS. It doesn't take long, but it is crucial to getting the kilt pressed properly again.

Cheers,

Barb

[Barclay]

I used the Tartan Hiker method, and it took me the better part of a rainy Saturday afternoon, but the kilt looked good and fit great afterwards.

[dpseadvr]

Thanks for the info and input

[Pleater]

Although I have not hemmed an already made kilt, I have remade quite a few now as I am working at getting smaller around the middle.

I find that it makes it a lot easier to impose new shapes onto material if I remove the old pressing so I am starting without unwanted folds, and pressing in the new folds makes sewing them much simpler.

I'd suggest pressing out the fold at the bottom of the kilt, then turning up the edge and pressing it before you start to sew it, then once sewn, press the lower edges of the pleats.

Be careful with man made fibre fabrics, you need the iron only just hot enough to do the work, and use a pressing cloth when working on the right side of the material.

Most tailoring seems to rely heavily on skillful pressing and shaping rather more than sewing.

[dpseadvr]

that all sounds like WAY to much sewing and work to me. I still take uniforms to the taylor to let them sew everything on for me

[Hachiman]

Stillwater Kilts will sell you a kilt at whatever length you want, provided you're willing to:

a) discuss it with them prior to ordering
b) pay a little extra (which is negotiated with SWK management)
c) wait a little longer for delivery
d) keep in mind that there's no exchange if the kilt length is the one you specified but you measured it wrong

Personally, I'd be happy to wait a few weeks to get a kilt at the right length.

YMMV

cheers.

Hachiman