Modern kilts or camo kilts with lots of pleating?

[jkruger]

Hey all,
I have a bit of material for a camouflage kilt and I want to make it with a lot of pleats, like with about a half inch reveal and maybe 3 inches deep. Has anyone tried this with a non tartan fabric before? I wonder if, because there are so many that I wouldn't have to sew in the length of the pleats to keep them crisp.

[Good Egg]

Yes I've made one with British DPM. I made it as a 'standard kilt more or less as you say with 1 inch revealed and 3 inch hidden. I didn't sew the pleat in at the back and they work just fine. I did use wonder web on the pleat at the edge of the top apron and the next pleat along on both sides.

BTB I used a pocket of a pair of combat trousers as a 'sewn on sporran' and the waist adjusting tabs and buttons from the trousers instead of buckles.

[sydnie7]

A lot depends on your fabric content. Most of the camo I see is either 100% cotton or cotton/nylon 50/50. There's also some cotton/poly running around but less common in my experience.

Pleat life is very much a factor of fabric content. Trad wool knife or box pleats take a good hard steam pressing and hold that edge well. Cotton takes a nice edge but loses it easily, as well as wrinkling when you sit on the pleats (think about a cotton dress shirt). Cotton blends don't wrinkle as easily but they also don't take quite as crisp an edge when steam pressed.

If you're just going to stand or walk in your kilt, almost anything will look nice. It's the sitting that kills the deal. Edge-stitching the length of pleats, inside and out, helps non-wool fabrics hold that edge as you move through the day.

There are lots of camo kilts around, do a search here and you'll see a range of DIY results. Whatever you do, have fun!

[ccga3359]

I don't know if many pleats will help prevent wrinkling but I find with camouflage effect would be better with larger pleats.

[Pleater]

I am just ironing/pressing my 50 (yes fifty) pleat reverse kingussie kilt after washing it, and I can assure you that the smaller pleats do not guarentee crispness.

I don't sew the edges of the pleats, as a rule - and the one kilt I have tried that with requires redoing as the pleats roll outwards - perhaps the sewing shortens the edge.

I do wash my kilts a lot, as I get them dirty fast, but for the cotton ones I find that ironing and pressing using spray starch keeps them well enough for several days wear.

I find it easiest to have maybe 20 to 22 pleats, which means about an inch reveal at the waist. If you mark the hem where the folds should be for your hip measurement, both the outer and inner folds, it is easy to put pins in along the hem to hold the pleats. You need to be careful not to create a flare from waist to hip if you do not sew the fell, but it is not too difficut if you use the shape of the ironing board to get the lower part straight and the top tapered.

I also find it a good idea to press in the outer folds before starting to sew.

The 50 pleat kilt is a striped material and the fold should be exactly on the edge of a black stripe, but I was not certain it would work and did not press it before sewing, and there are some folds which show the red or white stripe which should be underneath. It is only a tiny line, but it should not show.

I have thought about, but not yet tried using fusible hemming tape to set pleats on cotton kilts. I have the tape already, just not got around to making the xperiment, Maybe cut it to about 1/4 inch and when I have the outer folds perfectly placed, fix them. It can be removed or moved by heating with an iron so it is not permanent, and it is light and fairly flexible - at least the one I have is. I think there are different weights, as the one I have is marked 'lightweight'. It needs to be flexible so the pleats don't stand out like a lampshade.

Anne the Pleater

[ccga3359]

I don't sew the edges of the pleats, as a rule - and the one kilt I have tried that with requires redoing as the pleats roll outwards - perhaps the sewing shortens the edge.

What's happening is uneven tension of the threads through the machine. This can also be achieved when sewing by hand (and better controlled). Sailmakers use this to put curvature into the sails.

[Captain Karrot]

What's happening is uneven tension of the threads through the machine. This can also be achieved when sewing by hand (and better controlled). Sailmakers use this to put curvature into the sails.

Another potential issue is the difference in the content of the thread vs. the fabric. If one has more cotton than the other, for example, as it is washed, etc., they will contract differently, causing a roll at the pleats.

[Tartan Hiker]

Another potential issue is the difference in the content of the thread vs. the fabric. If one has more cotton than the other, for example, as it is washed, etc., they will contract differently, causing a roll at the pleats.

Which is another good reason to use all-polyester thread, like Coats and Clark Dual Duty XP, which is poly covered poly.

After making about 12 camo kilts I've settled on 1.5" reveals to properly display the camo pattern yet provide enough fabric to give the pleated section some heft. On my body (38" at trad kilt level) that gives me 15 pleats, and with poly/cotton or nylon/cotton fabrics I don't get a lot of curl. If the cotton content is 50% or less, most wrinkles should fall out in a reasonable length of time. Be sure to press with your iron set hot enough for the synthetic content, not on "cotton" setting as you'll melt the other fibers. Don't trust your irons settings...test on scraps until you get it just right. The synthetic content should soften, but not actually melt. Melting will result in an obviously shiny surface that is flattened (less texture) when compared with unironed fabric. It may seem that melting the synthetic fibers would provide for a longer-lasting press, but the reverse is actually true in my experience. I'd like Steve to comment on his observations on iron temp, especially if his differ from what I just said.

And if Steve has offered to help you, run, don't walk, to his shop with all possible haste. He is the master of contemporary kiltmaking.

[Smayniac]

I have thought about, but not yet tried using fusible hemming tape to set pleats on cotton kilts. I have the tape already, just not got around to making the xperiment, Maybe cut it to about 1/4 inch and when I have the outer folds perfectly placed, fix them. It can be removed or moved by heating with an iron so it is not permanent, and it is light and fairly flexible - at least the one I have is. I think there are different weights, as the one I have is marked 'lightweight'. It needs to be flexible so the pleats don't stand out like a lampshade.

Anne the Pleater

I don't use the fusible tape for the actual pleats, but I have used it for the edges of the apron on several of my Xkilts, like anything it works better on some fabrics than others.

Bob

[The Wizard of BC]

I would advise against using any fusable anywhere on a Kilt that is supposed to move.

If there is one thing I have learned in the six years I've been making Kilts it is that it is the movement of the Kilt that is the single most important thing to a Kilt looking good.

Fusable interfacing or hemming stuff restricts the movement of the fabric.
I even go so far as when I am edge stitching the Pleats I back off both the bobbin and top tension of my machines to allow the stitches to give a bit of freedom to the fabric and not bind layers too tightly together.

The only thing I use fusable for is to hold layers together and prevent them from slipping out of alignment until I stitch them.
And then only in places that are under the waistband or inside a pocket construction where it completely hidden and will not effect the movement of the fabric.