Getting the pleat right at the join.

[plaid preacher]

Glad you found a solution. The reality is that because the join is deep inside the pleat it has no bearing on the sewing of the fell. If you look at Steve's photo, the material gets cut away. All you need to do is take the edge of the last pleat and line it up with the fabric for the next pleat ...and sew.

Good luck with the rest!

[The Wizard of BC]

There is a small editing change between the first and second printing of TAoK that I have never noticed before.

On page 78 of the second printing at the bottom of the right hand column there is an additional paragraph.

"If you are working with two pieces of tartan ripped from a double width, just continue folding and stitching pleats with the second piece of fabric. You will stitch the join when you are done with the pleats. (page 82."

[The Wizard of BC]

When I make my kilts I join my two pieces before I start sewing the pleats. This is because I lay out my pleats on the table, mark and press them before I start to stitch.
(yes, I do this regardless if I am machine or hand stitching.)

The problem for a first time kiltmaker is figuring out where to put the join.

To determine where to put the join in a kilt that is to be joined before being sewn you must layout your pleats so that you know exactly where the pleat edges (what I call the 'out pleats') and where the inside of the pleat depth fold (what I call the 'in pleats') are going to be.

But this thread is using TAoK as a reference so let's not confuse things with two different schools of kiltmaking.

Otherwise you will end up with a join that looks like this.



Can you find the join?


Here it is.



And back to the first view. See the join now?

[Sean Wilson]

Thank you once again. I can see the paragraph you mentioned on p.78. So it appears as if I should have just continued stitching the pleats instead of treating both pieces of material as separate items and stitched the join below the fell only later in the process at p.82?

I like the idea of turning the two pieces of fabric into one cloth right at the very beginning. When I have made a few kilts it's something I might try. Although I need to get a basic understanding of what I'm doing first LOL.

[Barb T]

Sorry I'm late to the party - I missed this thread. Both the first and second editions of TAoK suggest doing all the pleats first before sewing the join. Very experienced kiltmakers do the join first because they can predict where it will fall, but I strongly suggest that you wait until after stitching the pleats to make the join so that you can plan exactly where the join and the flat fell will fall. If you try to do this before stitching the pleats, you can wind up with the triple thickness of the join and the flat fell falling right where the pleat has to fold, giving you a huge ridge that doesn't press flat.