Knife-pleat tapering info

[Barb T]

Barb, my fathers Motto was "I buy you books and buy you books and all you do is chew on the covers. Just quit your crying and go figure it out."

Ooh - I love this! You obviously took his advice!

Makes me think of the time that I promised Carolyn that I would buy her any book that she wanted to read as long as it wasn't a popcorn book. I have never regretted the megabucks that I have spent on books for her!

B

[The Wizard of BC]

Barb, Please remember which book I use as my inspiration for everything kiltish..

And when you come to Victoria you will see a house full of books.

[Doomsday]

Ah, Barb I must buy your book.

[way2fractious]

Gordon,

You sent me an e-mail asking for further instructions on tapering.
Here it is.
I'm assuming you are making a Contemporary Style or solid colored kilt.

Determining taper is just arithmetic.

For example if your kilt is;

42" Hip
37" Waist
16" Apron
1" Pleat Reveal

Then the pleated area in the back will be;

at the hips 42" - 16" = 26"
at the waist, 37" - 16" = 21"

At the hip = 26" and your pleats are 1" then = 26 pleats

But at the waist the measurement is 21" but still 26 pleats.

So, 21 / 26 = each pleat is .8076" at the waist. or converted to approx. 13/16"

Here is a kilt pleated and Steeked.

-IMG-

There are two basic methods of laying out pleats. I'll call them the Traditional and Contemporary methods just for clarity.

[snipped for brevity]......

Ah, finally... the first installment of the forthcoming book, The Art of Contemporary Kiltmaking. (Well, actually, there have been a few earlier tidbits.)

[Raptor]

Steve, that info was priceless! I'll be trying that next load of tartan I find at a good price.

Oh heck... with my fat gut & skinny little legs, I'll probably be looking at a reverse taper, which means... umm 37"... uh divide by the square root of the hypotanuse... I'm getting a headache....

[Pleater]

Ah but you are not a cylinder (not if you are like most people, anyway) - just because two measurements are the same by tape measure it doesnt mean they are identical in shape, nor that they are stacked in the same plane.

One measurement could be an even 0 or O, but the other a D shape, and having smaller hips than waist might simply mean that you have a normal enough taper in the pleats, and a 'bay window' at the front with the aprons hanging straight down from the belt.

One reason I have not gone into the making of kilts for sale - too many shapes!!!

[The Wizard of BC]

Now you know why kiltmakers are all gray haired, have stooped shoulders, and wear thick bottle bottom glasses.

Oh wait, that's just me. Add one more thing to the list. Our brains are mush.

[BozemanboB]

Mr. Wizard, may resurrect an old thread and ask you questions?

(I'm assuming you just nodded your head, shrugged your shoulders, and said "Sure." If that's the case, please read on... )

Images are below.

- I think I see in the first pic that the pleat edges are sewn waist to hem. Is that right? Did you also sew the hidden edges of the pleats? I'm guessing they are sewn only from fell to hem - is that correct?
- Second image shows the taper being introduced. (Geez, I gotta work on my precision...)
- Third image shows the taper being sewn in. Do you just sew over the line that's already sewn in? (Matching the stitch length, presumably.)

Thank you for your help, sir.

(Many others have said it, and I'll say it too: the generosity of the professional kilt makers on this board is fabulous. I hope someday I can return the favor to this great community.)


boB

Here is the tapering in the sewing machine.



Here is the finished taper.

[The Wizard of BC]

Um, yes, maybe.

In the example photos yes, the outer edge of the pleat (The Out-Pleat) is sewn from waist to hem. But this depends on the Model of kilt I am working on.

See, the differance in my kilts is that I don't make the exact same kilt each time and then add different pocket arrangements and call it a new model. Each of the Models of my kilts has a completely unique pleat arrangement. Pleat width (Reveal) and Pleat Depth are different on each. As is Apron Width, and overall appearance.

So on some Models the Reveal is sewn completely from waist to hem and then oversewn when doing the Taper. On our dressier models the Reveal is sewn only from Fell to Hem to avoid the second row of stitching. So on some Models we end up with Contemporary Tapers and on some we have Traditional Tapers as is illustrated above in the line drawings.

Matching the stitch length is not a problem because of the machines we use but trying to get the needle in exactly the same hole each time is a pain and actually not good because the needle on the second pass will often cut the thread of the first pass and leave broken threads that will show after a few washings and weaken the kilt.

However, on the In-Pleat I always sew only from the Fell to the Hem because when tapering, the edge of the In-Pleat will change. If you ever get to look at the inside of one of my kilts you will see that the edge of the In-Pleat above the Fell is unstitched and a crease pressed in.

Oh yea, Ironing. Any professional sewer will tell you that the first thing you do in the morning is turn on the iron. All day and all through the process the kilt goes from sewing machine to ironing table. Back and forth. Before you sew a single stitch, iron your piece to "Normalize" the fabric. After each step it's another trip to the iron to set the work you have just finished.

As far as accuracy goes, in my shop the standard of measurement is 1/32". Or about one Twill line. I think that is one of the secrets of why people like my kilts. Accuracy and quality do show in the final product. OK, ok, I can't always hold to 1/32", but a small error should never be more than 1/16" or out comes that line of stitches. It's just practice and anyone can achieve it. It just has to be important enough to you to want to try to achieve it.

Did that answer your question?

[BozemanboB]

Did that answer your question?

Yes! And more, as well.

Soon, I hope, I'll post pictures of my creations for all to admire - and critique.

Thank you again.

boB