Help Pressing a Utilikilt

[RamseytheGreat]

I'm not sure that basting would work on this. Any advice on the best way to press this without causing the pleats to curl? The site says that washing and laying it flat will be enough. Is this true?

[Southern Breeze]

Which Utilikilt do you have? I currently have three Workmans and in spite of all I do, some curling of the pleats occurs. It seems to be the nature of the beast.
One of the kiltmakers (I can't remember who, or the thread it's in) mentioned that some fabrics have a tendency to curl, or words to that effect.

[Sionnach]

Which Utilikilt do you have? I currently have three Workmans and in spite of all I do, some curling of the pleats occurs. It seems to be the nature of the beast.
One of the kiltmakers (I can't remember who, or the thread it's in) mentioned that some fabrics have a tendency to curl, or words to that effect.

Glad to hear that. I have washed my UK three or four times now, and I've always hung it out to dry. It has some curling of the pleats, but it has never bothered me- but I don't have plans to go anywhere formal in it, either. But next time I wash it I may set it out flat and see what happens.

[turpin]

Doesn't matter what one does, the pleats curl. as SB said, it's the nature of the beast. I have two Mockers and a Workmans. I wouldn't give up the mockers for anything. The workman? Maybe I just haven't washed it enough times yet.

[TheBlueCow]

It seems to help if you take efforts to suppress the curling (e.g. binder clip or close-pin each pleat if hanging to dry, or put weight on them if laying flat to dry.) But yes, I find that after all is said and done with the drying, there is indeed some curling. I bet that storing them with the pleats binder clipped/otherwise protected from curling that it would probably help, although I wonder if there would eventually be some curling anyways. It also seems like quite a bit of work to clip each pleat - maybe get a couple kilt hangers (the kind that are like giant potato-chip-bag-clips) and use those on the pleats?

[Riverkilt]

I've owned 15 Utilikilts. No pleat curl problem. Never ironed them.

Here's the secret.

Wash the Utilikilt. Hang it from a shower rod from three Big Box Store plastic hangars with about five clips on each hanger. You can usually buy a bag of extra hanger clips near where the hangers are sold.

Once the kilt is hanging I clip a weighted clip to the bottom of each pleat.
The weights pull the pleats straight AS the kilt dries. If you wanna be super neat you can also hang weighted clips from each of the inside clips too. I did at first but found it wasn't necessary.

To make your weighted clips buy a few bags of those extra hanger clips then head over to sporting goods and buy half ounce fishing weights, then hit hardware for some duct tape. Tape a half ounce fishing weight to each side of each clip. A mindless chore easily done while watching football on tv.

Its simple, it works.

If you insist on ironing ditch the ironing board and iron the kilt on the floor. That way you don't have to wrestle the kilt which is much larger than the ironing board.

Ron

[ChattanCat]

Ron,
Which "big box store" are you refering too? Do you have pics?

[sathor]

Ron,
Which "big box store" are you refering too? Do you have pics?

If he is talking about what I think he is, I use a lot of them. I have gotten them at Meijer and at Kmart, I would imagine that Walmart has them too. The Meijer ones (store brand is all I have seen, oddly) are called "universal grip clips" and was a pack of 12, and it says fits most adult and children's tubular hangers. (I use 3 hangers with these to hang my kilts, and all my pants and shorts)

I can't find them on either website, but think of it like a giant alligator/roach clip hybridized with a plastic clothespin. About as long as my pointer finger, with a little c shape thing in the middle (side view) where it grabs the hanger at. (When I use them, I only do so with the plastic hangers that have a little vertical bar near the two side to help keep them from sliding around randomly.

[sathor]

Ron,
Which "big box store" are you refering too? Do you have pics?

perhaps these are what he means... (I just shot these pics, shrunk em, compressed the crud out of em... etc)

[Skipper1]

I have a european style steam jet iron. I lay my utilikilts on the floor on a towel and run the iron over each pleat individually. That gets them all flat. I don't bother trying to iron them one on top of the other until after I have gotten the wrinkles out and only if I am feeling really domestic. Thats if I am at home. If I am on the trail who cares.

PS I can never seem to get the curl out of the bottom edges either