Help Removing an Invisible Stitched Hem

[WalesLax]

Sorry about the delays, I have not forgotten about all of you. Given the current status of the world, it took quite a bit longer to get the kilt to me than anticipated. I also needed Woolite and basting thread (all I had was nylon).

I have also watched a plethora of videos and read tutorials on cleaning, basting, altering, and pressing kilts, so I am feeling more confident.

That said, the kilt is here and currently getting a wash, and I will certainly document and share what I am doing.

Bath time:


Rob

[WalesLax]

First, I let my kilt dry out in the shade on clean Trex decking




I started basting the pleats above where the material was folded under...



...going from right to left, I think I got better at basting as I went along...



Whomever it was who put the invisible stitch in was fantastic, because it was a nightmare to remove. Maybe not a nightmare, but it was tedious, and I was impressed with how well it was done.



When opened, I could see that the invisible stitch was actually holding the reversed pleats in place:




Once I got the invisible stitching out, I was left with tons of little strings that I will have to go back and meticulously remove later:



The kilt at full length. You can see where I basted was just above where the original/my new bottom of the kilt was affixed via the invisible stitching. You can also see how I tried to re-line-up the pleats to get ready for pressing with my iron:


A closeup of my (poorly) aligned pleats, just in case any of you were worried about me taking your jobs in kilt making/repair/alterations, you should be able to rest easy once you see this:



Post ironing, the front looking nice and clean and pressed:

[WalesLax]

Post pressing, the back looking OK as it hangs. All of my kilt hangars are spoken for AND it is windy out today, so I don't think this picture does it justice:

[WalesLax]

Another view of the kilt laid out nicely so you can see my handiwork:

(after posting this picture, I went back and corrected the yellow line just to the left of center that appears to have disappeared. I think it was just because of the way I put the kilt down, but I made sure and reapplied heat to that area to "lock it in.")