Sewn-in box pleats

[BarefootScott]

Hi,
I've got a question regarding sewn-in box pleats. My current project is a box-pleated traditional kilt for casual wear. I chose box pleats for better everyday wear, since they tend to hold up better than knife pleats with extended use between washings/pressings. I would also like to sew the pleats in for even better crease retention, but I'm not sure what exactly gets sewn. I want to keep the pleats swinging as naturally as possible while giving the maximum endurance.
The picture below shows the bottom of one of my pleats with the right side unpinned. The pleat is between the black lines. Do I sew top to bottom along every inside edge, where the red circle is; or do I sew top to bottom on every outside edge along the white stripe where the blue circle is?
Or both?



Thanks,
Joshua

[ChattanCat]

Joshua,
What is the material; wool, acrylic, PV?
Does the material hole a pleat?
If it is wool, I would only press it again. It should hold the pleat without the additional sewing.
If I had to choose, I would say the inside (red circle). It will be hidden by the pleats.

[BarefootScott]

Material is 100% cotton. The upside and downside of cotton is that it doesn't wrinkle easily: it holds up well for everyday wear, but it doesn't hold pleats as well. I wish I had the mean$ to use wool, but that's out of my budget for the foreseeable future.

[The Wizard of BC]

Your 100% Cotton fabric will wrinkle badly each time it is washed. Also as you sit in it, move, or breath.

I edge stitch all my Cotton Kilts. In you picture you will need to edge stitch at both the "Out Pleat" (Blue circle) and the "In Pleat" (Red circle).

Keep your stitching between 1/8" and 3/16" from the pleat edge. Use a fairly loose tension and a rather long stitch length.

Use only a good quality thread. Cotton thread will shrink on repeated washings. Polyester will not.

You must edge stitch your pleats prior to assembly. This means laying out your pleats very carefully and ironing them. Then edge stitch. Then baste the pleats into their final position.

You can choose to end the edge stitching at the Steeking line or run them all the way up to the waistband. However if you edge stitch all the way up you need to plan and iron in the correct taper before basting.

I find box pleats do not hold up as well as knife pleats on non-Wool fabrics. Cottons are generally lighter than Wool as well so the swish factor is cut down. In most Cotton Box-Pleats I find that after a while the pleats will tend to splay.

The secret is good Steeking.

[Bugbear]

Thank you for all this information in this thread, Wizzard. Very useful...

[BarefootScott]

Thanks for all the good advice, Wizard.

. . .
You can choose to end the edge stitching at the Steeking line or run them all the way up to the waistband.
. . .
The secret is good Steeking.

What is "steeking"? I've never heard that term before.

[The Wizard of BC]

Ah, I assumed you were a kiltmaker.

Steeking is Gaelic for "to stitch". It referrs to a line of stitches which hold the pleats in alignment. In a Traditional Kilt the pleats are cut away in the Fell and need something to hold them in place. The Steeking is done from the inside and is not seen. In a Contemporary, machine sewn Kilt the steeking will show up as a line of stitches at the bottom of the Fell.

Without a Steeking line the pleats will wander and splay due to their own weight. Especially when using light weight Cottons.

Skip the Steeking at your peril.

[BarefootScott]

Ah, I assumed you were a kiltmaker.

Nope, just amateur DIYer here.

In a Contemporary, machine sewn Kilt the steeking will show up as a line of stitches at the bottom of the Fell.

This would be a line of stitches horizontally across the pleats? Because I used 13oz. cotton on my last three kilts (all knife pleated), I didn't cut the pleats out above the fell, as is usually done with heavier fabrics. The pleats provided stiffness to the waist that (as I understand) is usually added back in later with some sort of strip in the belt area (?).

[The Wizard of BC]

Without going into a full kiltmaking lesson and giving away all our secrets, yes, Steeking in a Contemporary Style Kilt shows up as a horizontal line of stitching at the hip line.

Other than proper apron taper, the Steeking line is the single most important thing a kiltmaker needs to insure he never skips.

13 oz. Cotton is exactly the same weight as 13 oz. Wool. Which is considered Mid weight Kilt fabric. The Fell will get thick and "Pillow-Butt" without removing the excess fabric.

The strip I think you are referring to is the hair canvas used in Traditional Kilts. Yes, it is a strengthening to keep the stress away from the taper stitches.
The best analogy I can give is, - you wear the reinforcement, the kilt floats over that without pulling. Just as a proper jacket which has interfacing. It is the interfacing which is sized to you and what you wear, the outer fabric of the jacket floats over that and will not pucker or pull.

In a kilt the hair canvas is built in and is continuous and connected to the straps and buckles. This is where all the stress is taken up. The Tartan fabric and pleats simply hang from this internal belt.

[BarefootScott]

Without going into a full kiltmaking lesson and giving away all our secrets. . .

Thanks for all your help so far, and don't worry: I won't bug with any more questions.

I think what I need to do is find some tailoring resources and "move up to the next level" because a lot of your terminology and concepts are already over my head. What you say makes perfect sense, but I had no idea that jackets (and kilts) "hang" from the liner, as you described.
Thanks again for your help, and I guess I'll do some research before getting into kilt #5.