Hand sewn?

[ChromeScholar]

Ok, kilt makers. I have a question I need an answer to.

When someone says a kilt is 'hand sewn", do they mean that every stitch in that kilt is put in using a needle and thread, with no sewing machine used at all? If a sewing machine is used, what can be sewn with a machine and what can be sewn by hand, and still call the kilt hand sewn? In any case, why is hand stitching superior to machine stitching?

[Riverkilt]

Aye...at least from Kathy Lare of www.kathyskilts.com

Better, I think, because sewing by hand allows the maker to align the tartan in the pleats perfectly as they sew.

I also think the "hand tension" on the thread - as opposed to the machine tension - allows greater "give" and improves the life of the kilt.

Looking at the flashes, they "might" be machine sewn...

Ron

[davidlpope]

I'm sure some of the kiltmakers will post, but when I see a kilt advertised as "hand-sewn" I understand it to refer to the sewing of the pleats. On well-crafted, hand-sewn pleats the alignment and taper of the pleats is usually first-rate. Machine sewing (either top-sewing or inside-out) tends to result in pleats that are less than perfect.

I don't know that hand-sewing details like the waistband, etc. really adds anything to the value of the kilt. Many of the interior construction details of the kilt (steeking, sewing in lining, etc.) need to be done by hand in order to preserve the exterior look of the kilt.

Cordially,
David

[The Wizard of BC]

The primary advantage of hand sewing over machine sewing is you can completely hide the stitching when hand sewing. If you ever get a chance to see a Tewksbury or Lare kilt up close you cannot see a single stitch.

If a line of stitches will never be seen because they are covered like the first row sewing a waistband on, where you will then fold the fabric over and cover the stitch line, can be done with a machine and I know quite a few kilt makers do so.

The other reason to hand stitch is the life of hand stitches is very long compared to machine stitches. In machine stitches you use two pieces of thread, one from the top and one from the bottom. If one of those lines of stitches breaks or wears out there is nothing to hold the other thread in place and it unravels. When the unraveling starts it happens very quickly. I have seen an entire pleat come unstitched in just a few moments causing a rather embarrassing moment.
In hand stitching it is one piece of thread worked over and under then over again. Even if the thread breaks it tends to stay in place. Or if it starts to unravel it is usually caught before going too far and can be fixed easily.

The thing that amazed me was how fast a good seamstress can do hand stitching. When Barb T. was here at Kilt Kamp I watched her sew a pleat almost as fast as I can do it with a machine. And every stitch was perfect. Completely invisible and exactly evenly spaced. I just sat there with my mouth open and eyes bugging out. And she was holding two pieces of fabric, folding them with a perfect taper and her alignment of the Tartan pattern was never even one yarn offset.

[berserkbishop]

I AM NOT A KILT MAKER, AND I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SEWING. ok, that being said, my grandma is making me a tank and she has hand sewed EVERYTHING up until the waistband. I will consider this a hand sewn garment because the vast majority of it was hand sewn. Just my two cents.

BB

[Pleater]

In tailoring hand sewn means that the sewing machine was guided by hand rather than a jig or computer.

I suspect that in kilt making the term has to mean without using a machine.

When sewing using a needle the layers of fabric can be manipulated so as to match up the pattern when edges of slightly different lengths are being joined, or if there is a slight variation in the weave of the cloth - I have found some pieces of cloth where the weft is not exactly straight across the warp, but in most cases the fault could be hidden by hand sewing.

On a sewing machine it is difficult - though not impossible, to ease in (shorten) one piece of material to fit a shorter one, but when hand sewing the trick is far easier to do. It is also possible to see both sides of the seam as you sew which makes the accidental sewing in of a fold far less likely.

Making shaped pleats is one of the more awkward exercises in sewing - certainly if perfection is required, though hand sewing is not a guarentee that it will be done well.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

When referring to a kilt as being "hand sewn" I always take that to mean that all visibile stitching is done by hand. This means all the pleats, for the most part.

For instance, on my kilts, the only thing that I might use a machine for would be long, straight, hidden stitches, such as the join in the fabric, which is always hidden in a pleat, or when I stitch the top of the lining, which I then hide beneath a waist band (which I hand sew on).

But the most important element is the pleats. I have noticed here lately that some of the kilts I've been seeing from the larger kilt making firms in Scotland are using more machine stitching even in their hand sewn kilts -- for example, I've noticed more and more buckles being machine stitched on, and this used to be always done by hand. This would be an example of a visible stitch done by machine, but the kilts are still called "hand sewn" because all the pleats are sewn by hand.

As has already been pointed out, the advantage to hand sewing, especially in the pleats, is that you can make the stitching virtually invisible. It's also easier to control the tension and make sure the tartan pattern is perfectly lined up in the pleats.

[ChromeScholar]

Thanks for the replies. That answers my questions.

[James MacMillan]

The two kilts that I have from ChattanCat are most definitly ALL hand sewn as he doesn't have a sewing machine. My other tanks, appear to be a combination of machine and hand sewing.

[Kilted in Maine]

Someday...Someday...