ironing ham

**Steve Ashton** · 28th February 16, 12:58 PM

If you can give me till tomorrow I'll go to the shop and take some pics of pressing.

And maybe Barb has some pics already.

**Sean Wilson** · 28th February 16, 03:44 PM

Originally Posted by Steve Ashton

If you can give me till tomorrow I'll go to the shop and take some pics of pressing.

And maybe Barb has some pics already.

Thanks that will be a great help...

**The Wizard of BC** · 29th February 16, 06:36 PM

OK Sean,

When you press the pleats you first baste them parallel and press them flat.

I use a 3ft x 5ft flat table.
You must lift the Fell 'cause it's tapered.

Here is Barb Pressing pleats on an ironing board. She lets the Fell area droop over the end of the ironing board which accomplishes the same thing a lifting the Fell like I do.

But when you press the Fell area and the aprons you want to work some shape into the wool.

Here is the Fell of a recent kilt. You can see how much shape the pressing will put into the pleats.

The bulge under the Fell area is the Ham.

Once you press shape into your kilt it will no longer lay flat.

**Sean Wilson** · 1st March 16, 01:12 AM

That's fantastic.... I would never have thought of putting the ham under the fell.... i'd have pressed it flat.

What about the aprons are they presses flat or is the ham used and if so on what parts of the apron?

**The Wizard of BC** · 1st March 16, 06:40 PM

The facings of the aprons and where the deep and/or reverse pleat are - are the areas that are pressed using a ham. These areas need shape to go over the hip bones. These are the only area of a kilt that have small darts. There is a small dart inside the kilt to let the facings & deep/reverse pleat fabric up at the waistbanding to have shape.

Please see pages 89 and 98 of ToAK for details of these small darts.

Shaping by pressing over a ham is what takes out the bubbles or ripples cause by forcing the wool fabric to take a three dimensional shape. Pressing relaxes the wool and all of the bubbles sort of magically disappear. So use a ham anywhere there are ripples or bubbles and anywhere you need the kilt to have shape. To have a flat piece of fabric to take a three dimensional shape.

Basically I press the pleats below the Fell flat. Everywhere else I press over a ham.

**Sean Wilson** · 2nd March 16, 01:59 AM

Wow thank you very much. It makes sense now you explain but I never would have thought of using the ham so much. I tried it under the apron with darted areas and like magic the small wrinkles disappeared. AMAZING!