X Marks the Scot - An on-line community of kilt wearers.

   X Marks Partners - (Go to the Partners Dedicated Forums )
USA Kilts website Celtic Croft website Celtic Corner website Houston Kiltmakers

User Tag List

Results 1 to 10 of 11

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    Join Date
    3rd January 06
    Location
    Dorset, on the South coast of England
    Posts
    4,545
    Mentioned
    1 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    As the kilt will need to be lengthened perhaps two or three times, I would not press the edge.

    Try turning the hem up by hand - select a fine horisontal stripe at the right height and a matching thread. Now make three stitches in the edge, one which is like this ( - )and two to make an X over the top of it. You don't need to put a knot in the end. Now put a small stitch into the stripe and then put the needle through the edge once, small stitch in the stripe and then go through the edge. Don't pull too tight. You can easily avoid putting stitches in the lighter coloured vertical stripes, and it makes a neat job.

    Now look at the new lower edge. It needs to look neat, but if you press it into a sharp crease it might show when let down, so pick a colour that matches or is just a little darker (lighter threads show far more than dark) and sew along the inside of the hem, fairly close to the lower edge so it is held in a tight fold. You can fold the pleats and 'oversew' the two edges maybe 1/8th of an inch from the fold, sew through a nice lot of threads for the stitches to hold and there won't be pulling - or at least not as much as sewing through a few threads on the edge.

    If you sew from the back and have the needle more or less flat to the fabric you can make a stitch which is fairly easy to see from the back, but which just surfaces on the outside of the kilt. You can do two or three stitches at a time if you have a fairly long needle - I tell people 'think of the Lock Ness Monster and you'll get the idea'.

    Unpicking is fairly easy as you can use a seam ripper to cut through the stitches holding the pleats and then ease the threads out from the back using the eye end of a strong needle. If there are marks left, pat them with a damp sponge or cloth and work the cloth gently - hold it left and right of a small area and twist it gently on the diagonals first one way then the other so the threads move over eachother and hopefully move back into place.

    You might need to press the pleats. Do that before putting in another hem - you want to keep the kilt so it will look right when returned to un hemmed condition, so always press in what you want to keep, not the temporary hem.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    29th July 05
    Location
    Utah, USA
    Posts
    356
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Pleater, thanks for such a thorough description. I'll have to print this topic out for reference when the kilt finally arrives.

    Auld Argonian. Your son must be assimilated. His resistance is futile. He will become one with the kilt. It may even call for an Xmarks intervention!
    Just imagine the look on his face as he wakes-up one morning to find himself surrounded by the kilted hoard, ya know kinda like a scene from one of those Capital One credit card commercials.
    Last edited by John M.; 17th March 06 at 03:47 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    5th September 05
    Location
    Chicago
    Posts
    5,144
    Mentioned
    2 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by John M.
    Just imagine the look on his face as he wakes-up one morning to find himself surrounded by the kilted hoard, ya know kinda like a scene from one of those Capital One credit card commercials.
    ....WHAT'S IN YOUR SPORRAN?

    Best

    AA

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

» Log in

User Name:

Password:

Not a member yet?
Register Now!
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.0