A peek inside a very common Traditional kilt

[The Wizard of BC]

Many of you know that I have a very difficult time with how the word "traditional" is used. I have seen so many different ways to make kilts that I honestly do not believe any one is more traditional than another.

As the kilt I am working on may have been 'traditional' at one time it now does not fit into the same catagory as a kilt made in accordance with TAoK. So I do not feel that I am breaking some sort of rule by re-building this more in the Contemporary style.

This means that the next thing I did was to close up the left strap hole. To me, this is building in a weak point into the garment.

I then constructed a Contemporary style stabilizer and interfacing.



This is one of the hallmarks of the Contemporary style. The interfacing which provides the vertical stiffness and body to the kilt is three layers folded to take the curve of the Fell. Under each apron are two full layers. These are then machine stitched into one integrated unit. This is separate from the kilt itself so needs to be firmly anchored inside the kilt

The two narrow black strips you see in the photo above are the Stabilizer. This kilt will retain the third strap and buckle on the right side so a lower Stabilizer strip is needed for that just as the upper two straps and buckles. The Stabilizer forms the horizontal strength of the kilt sort of like a belt. These must be made from a fabric with no stretch. I use a woven fabric with heat fusible backing to 'tack' the Stabilizer into position which is then moved over to the sewing machine and stitched firmly to the interfacing.

The larger black part in the above photo is the piece of liner inside the apron. I install this under the interfacing and then fold it up. This totally encases the interfacing so it is not seen on my kilts.

This type of Interfacing and Stabilizer become one integrated unit. When you strap the kilt on you are actually wearing the Interfacing and Stabilizer. The outer Tartan fabric can then drape naturally outside without stress or distortion.

Here is one of my own kilts worn inside out without the liner covering the interfacing to show this.



This unit is then firmly anchored to the inside of the kilt to keep it in place and to prevent it from balling up during washing. Just as you do when stitching the Steeking line, the goal is to go through as many layers of the inside of the pleats without going all the way through and showing on the outside.



The customer will be in this morning for a fitting so I must finish the next step which is to get the waistbanding stitched on.

[Steve Ashton]

To tell the truth I got so wrapped up in kilt making that I totally forgot about this thread until the customer came to pick up her re-built kilt today.

So here is what it looks like now.

With the new stabilizer and interfacing in, the straps and buckles are now firmly anchored all the way to the stabilizer. The left strap hole is closed to eliminate the weak point.

Notice please that all of the large stitches made with bright green thread have been redone. Seven pleats that had been sewn with thick cotton thread were re-stitched.



The new internal elements now allow the Fell area to stand up by itself.



And because some of the history of the kilt was lost when the name of the original maker had been removed, I tried to give the customer some of the history back.



The customer tried the kilt on and the first comment she made was "Wow, it feels like a kilt again."



The back hangs the way it should again and the swish is back.




As I said earlier, this was not an attempt to knock any one maker. I did however, want others to know and understand that not all kilts are made the same. This is one of the reasons that I dislike the word "traditional". Over the years there have been thousands of kiltmakers. Each trying to find a way for their product to stand apart from all the rest.

But everyone needs some way to tell if the kilt they are looking at is a quality product.

The stretch test is one of the most telling ways you can easily gauge the quality. It will tell you in just a moment if the garment you are looking at will survive wearing more often than a once-a-year Burns Dinner.

Then look at the details. Look at the stitching. Is it neat and on a hand stitched kilt does any stitching show through to the outside?
Does the Tartan pattern display correctly in the back? Do the aprons and pleats hang straight and parallel and do the edges of the aprons flip out unsightly?



So here ends my peek inside what was advertised as "A premium quality Traditional kilt". I hope that this little peek inside a kilt gives others a better idea of what needs to be hidden behind the liner of their kilt.
And hopefully, this will give everyone a little more information on gauging the quality of a potential purchase.

[gsmacleod]

Steve,

Thanks so much for this (and other) useful post - seeing the internal construction has been a great learning experience. As someone who is planning to try making their own kilt, the information and images you share are invaluable.

In addition to my tank, I have a couple of cheap acrylic kilts that I picked up locally for places I don't want to wear my tank. Armed with the knowledge from your threads, I have added a stabilizer and interfacing to both as well as basting and repressing. They're still not perfect but they do hang better and I got rid of (mostly) the shower curtain effect.

I know in terms of these kilts it really wasn't worth the time, but I used it as a chance to practice the techniques I need when I take the plunge on my own.

Thanks again!

Shane