Moth hole repair

[jhughes]

I recently got a kilt that has a few moth holes on the inner apron. I have limited sewing experience and no experience in darning, but I have read that it is not uncommon to simply patch the hole and continue wearing the kilt. I searched for a detailed description or some pictures but couldn't find anything. Could someone who has patched a moth hole provide a picture of the repair so I could see what it should look like when finished?

Also, it feels like there is an internal stabilizer under the lining, but the straps appear to be attached directly to the wool. Does that look right?

[The Wizard of BC]

One way to repair a moth hole is to open up one of the apron facings and cut out a small piece of fabric in the same element of the Tartan pattern that the hole is.

Then stitch that piece as a patch into the inside behind the hole. Do not try to stitch the edges of the hole or the edges of the patch. Just stitch enough to hold the patch in place with the Tartan pattern aligned.
Leave the edges of the hole and the patch loose and raw.
You stitch with small stitches of a matching color.

And then needle felt the raw edges. This blends the raw edges of the hole into the patch. And on the inside, blending the raw edges of the patch into the apron around the hole.

Here is a tutorial on using felting needles to patch a hole.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Pat...Needle-Felting



Oh, and the straps should be fastened through the out tartan fabric but anchored to the stabilizer or interfacing inside the kilt.
The outer Tartan fabric is supple and will stretch and distort without the inner strengthening elements taking up the stress.

If the straps and buckles are sewn to the outer Tartan fabric alone it will stretch and distort like this.

[Hirsty]

Another way, not as professional, is to sew around the holes.

[jhughes]

Ok, thanks! I just ordered some felting needles, as soon as they arrive I'll give it a try. For the straps, will I need to remove the lining to access the stabilizer, or can I just sew through the stabilizer and lining to properly secure them?

[jhughes]

This project has been sitting since December, but after following the thread "A peek inside a very common traditional kilt" I was motivated to do a little more work on it. I did the stretch test, and the fabric between the buckles did stretch. I started to remove the stitching on the liner and found that while there is interfacing sewn in to the pleats and behind the lining on both aprons, there is no stabilizer present.


With that discovery made, I will go ahead and install a full length stabilizer, close up the buttonhole, and move the left buckle to the inside. Now the questions: the interfacing on the aprons is not attached to the interfacing on the pleats or to the aprons themselves, and is encased all around with the lining material. Do I need to change that? Would it be a problem to just sew the stabilizer over the pleat interfacing and let the apron interfacing drape over it? When moving the buckle to under the apron should I try to use a thinner buckle?