How to tell a professional how to press a kilt

[TheBrus]

Hello, All,

I don't need a hand-smacking for taking my kilt to the dry cleaners. And I don't need advice on how to wash my kilt in a) the local burn, b) with my garden hose, nor c) in my bath tub. I took my New House Highland kilt to the dry cleaners, because I have worn it a lot lately, and I wanted to get the sweat out of it. I went to pick it up this morning, and the pleats were improperly pressed.

The drycleaner is a pleasant woman who knows her business. The kilt was immaculately clean. And she did take care not to otherwise damage the kilt. She's not familiar with the proper pressing of a kilt's pleats, however. I have a photo from Matthew Newsome showing how the pleats should look. I could give it to her, but perhaps some instructions might also help. How do I tell this professional how to press the pleats so that they look like that again?

Plan B: I'd like to send this to someone who already knows how to press a kilt. I freely admit I would not only ruin the kilt, I would probably burn the house down if I attempted it myself. Can anyone recommend a kilt presser?


Thanks in advance for your help.
Jared Brus

[Father Bill]

Hi Jared. Call up your closest pipe band and find out who does theirs and whether they're happy with them.

[JohntheBiker]

Call a local kilt shop, particularly if they rent out kilts. When I want a kilt cleaned, I drop it off at the kilt shop to have the pleats basted and they arrange to have their cleaner do the cleaning. They may be able to help you restore your pleats. I wouldn't have a kilt pressed without basting first.

You could, of course, learn how to baste the pleats yourself.

[TheBrus]

Basting seems the way to go, but I don't have the sewing skills to do it right. And now some ugly presswork needs to be undone. The pleats weren't that bad when I dropped it off... you'd think they could just follow the pressing, but I guess I don't really know how much cleaning messes up the original pressing.

I like Fr Bill's and JohntheBiker's suggestions about how to get a cleaner recommendation... but, alas, I'm the only person wearing a kilt within a 3 hour drive. Chicago would be the best bet for a pipe band, but the kilt rental joint there is highly suspect. I can tell you a hilarious story about having my first two kilts made there.

[TheBrus]

Looking closely at the photo, and remembering what I can from Barb T's book, should the pleats go straight down from where they're stitched at the fell? That is, no tapering?

Jared

[NorseCelt]

There's a pipe band based in Grinnel and another in Des Moines. The one in Grinnel is called Turlach Ur.

[sydnie7]

Looking closely at the photo, and remembering what I can from Barb T's book, should the pleats go straight down from where they're stitched at the fell? That is, no tapering?

Jared

That is exactly right.

[creagdhubh]

I'd contact Matt to see if you can send the kilt back to him, so he can take care of the pleats. That's what I would do.

[MacGumerait]

I'd contact Matt to see if you can send the kilt back to him, so he can take care of the pleats. That's what I would do.

I whole heartedly agree with Kyle , I would contact Matt , you could be assured that his results would be 100 % correct .

Contacting a pipe band in the vicinity is also a good idea , however , one point to think about if you take that route .

Most pipe bands have knife pleated kilts and whoever they use for cleaning and pressing may only be familiar with a knife pleated kilt . If you have a box pleated kilt that is already messed up , they may not fully understand how to correct it and you may end up with the same problem .

Just food for thought . I wish you the best and hope you find a successful solution . I can certainly understand and relate.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

What can happen with dry cleaners is they lay the kilt out on their pressing table and press the pleats as they lay, which tends to be flared out a little (or a lot). Versus the way the pleats should be pressed which is straight with no flare.

To press the pleats that way without basting them first, you need to press them each individually by hand. Basting them first makes it easier to press the kilt as a whole (but I still use a hand steamer).

One piece of advice I have heard people give is to baste the pleats in before taking it to the cleaners. You really don't need to know how to sew to do this. Just lay the kilt out on a table in front of you, with the pleats laying as they should. I like to then pin the pleats all in place just to make it easier for me.

Take a needle and sturdy thread. I usually use white thread because it is easy to see. And just stitch in a line along the bottom of the pleats. I use big bold stitches, about one per pleat. They don't have to be even or perfect. All they have to do is keep the pleats in place.

When you get the kilt back from the cleaners, remove the thread and your kilt should be fine.

FYI, The Bruce did get in touch with me and I will be repressing the kilt for him. Glad to help.