taking my first alan made kilt to the cleaners

[Alan H]

Wish me luck. I'm taking it in tomorrow morning. I think I will tell them sixteen times that they are NOT to press the pleats without me being there. I think I will tell them that if they press the pleats when I'm not there, and they ruin the pleats they owe me $400 to buy a new kilt. In fact I think I will bring in a piece of paper, printed up with this agreement, and see if the manager will sign it.

I hate to do this, but they're the best dry cleaners in town, and STILL they mess stuff up.

[pipesndrumsnun]

Good luck! It is sort of like leaving your child at school for the first time!

[auld argonian]

Didn't one of our kiltmaking members from BC suggest that you baste the pleats before sending it to the cleaners so that the potential for disaster is minimized?

http://westcoastkilts.com/kilt-cleaning.php

Best

AA

[James MacMillan]

I really like the signed agreement idea - I have one old kilt that just never recovered form its trip to the cleaners. I still wear it, but not to anything nice.

Has anyone had any experience fixing a wool kilt that has been stretched out of shape by a bad press job? It was a few years ago, but I remember hours and hours trying to work the wet wool back into shape. I got it half way fixed, but ..... well you get the idea.

[O'Neille]

Wash something in woolite sometime after you get it back from the dry cleaners. You'll be amazed at how much filth you get out of it. Personally, I like to know that the gunk on my kilts is my gunk and not from the last hundred items that were "cleaned" in the same fluid.

To each his own, but I swear by the Kathy Lare method of hand washing in woolite and laying flat to dry. I use an old patio screen door w/ fiberglass screen. This preserves the lanolin and other oils in the wool, prevents excessive felting and is quite easy.

[Bugbear]

Hand washing works great, but I bought a fold out clothes drying rack to dry my kilts I've found that the kilts are difficult to lay flat because of the tapering at the hips, so I hang the tapered part over the edge of the rack and the pleats are very easy to flatten out and don't require much pressing when it dries.

Wash something in woolite sometime after you get it back from the dry cleaners. You'll be amazed at how much filth you get out of it. Personally, I like to know that the gunk on my kilts is my gunk and not from the last hundred items that were "cleaned" in the same fluid.

To each his own, but I swear by the Kathy Lare method of hand washing in woolite and laying flat to dry. I use an old patio screen door w/ fiberglass screen. This preserves the lanolin and other oils in the wool, prevents excessive felting and is quite easy.

[James MacMillan]

Hand washing works great, but I bought a fold out clothes drying rack to dry my kilts I've found that the kilts are difficult to lay flat because of the tapering at the hips, so I hang the tapered part over the edge of the rack and the pleats are very easy to flatten out and don't require much pressing when it dries.

Where did you find a fold-out drying rack? I've done some searches, but no luck yet.

[Bugbear]

I found mine at a yard sale, but I think that Walmart has racks that set in a tub for drying wool sweaters. You might try those type of stores in the travel departments.

[auld argonian]

Not to rain on your parade but I really doubt that you'll find a cleaners that will sign any kind of agreement like that...

I seem to remember Glassman having mentioned that he had some luck cleaning his kilts at home with that Dryel stuff...

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/k...ighlight=dryel

Best

AA

[The Wizard of BC]

James, Any competent kiltmaker can get your kilt back in shape unless it has been crumpled in a box somewhere for 20 years.

If you can't find anyone, send it to me and I'll do it.



Yes, I always tell my customers to baste their pleats before any washing.

It is far better to hand wash a good Wool Kilt.

Check the articles section on ideas about washing and basting.