Pressing the pleats

[The Wizard of BC]

Droid,

If you will reach up into the pleats at the hem and slide your hand up towards the waistband you will find that your hand will stop before getting all the way to the top. This is where the pleats are sewn down and tapered.

This sewn down area is called the Fell. This area of the kilt with its tapering is what gives the kilt its shape.
The Fell should reach from the top of the waistband down to approx. the widest part of the hips and butt.

Below the Fell the pleats are not sewn down. They are simply pressed. This is the area we are talking about when we say we are pressing the pleats.

The kilt, if you try to lay it flat on the floor, will not lay totally flat because of the tapering. If you spread out the tapered area the pleats will splay out like a fan.

This splaying of the pleats is bad. If you were to press the pleats while they are splayed, the back of the kilt when you wear it will look horrible. About like a stage curtian.

So what we do is arrange the kilt on the floor or table and lift the Fell area up till the pleats lay flat. (I put a pillow behind my Fell to hold it up while pressing) If you push the fell area up till the hem is straight the pleats will probably start to fall into place all on their own. Then we measure the width of the pleat at the bottom or biggest part of the Fell. When we baste the pleats we try to keep the same width of pleat from the bottom of the Fell down to the hem.

Also watch that the pattern of the Tartan keeps in the same place on each pleat as it is at the bottom of the Fell.

for example: If there is a prominant line down the center of a pleat keep it in the center all the way down the pleat. Use pins to create a temporary pleat edge if you must.

Then starting at the outer apron side take one pleat and place it on top of the next pleat. Use a tape measure to keep the width the pleat the same at the bottom of the Fell all the way down to the hem. Don't forget to baste the apron edges to the adjoining pleat.

Work your way across the pleats basting as you go. Each pleat should now be exactly the same width as up at the bottom of the Fell.

Add as many lines of basting till you can pick up the kilt and the pleats don't sag from their own weight. My basting jobs will usually have four, five or six lines of basting across the kilt.

What you are trying to achieve is perfectly parallel and straight pleats.

Now you are ready to start with the pressing.