The Art of Kiltmaking Q's

[Alan H]

Question: Can I rip out two pleats and re-sew them?

Answer: yes you can though you may have to rip out more than two, depending on how you sewed the thing together.

If you haven't sewn in the waistband, you can rip out pleats at the beginning and re-sew. HOWEVER....just how HORRIBLE are they?

Keep this in mind, mad perfectionist or not, it' s your first kilt. You will make more kilts. When you strap the thing on, you can't see all the tiny little imperfections. When it's in your hand and you're sewing, every micrometer of misalignment glares out at you, whispering you SUCK as a kiltmaker in your febrile imagination. When it's on your rumpus, no such whispering goes on.

My point is that unless the first couple of pleats are REALLY bad and render the thing unwearable, you might strap it on yourself, three-quarters done and then go find a good and honest friend and ask them if it's really obvious when you wear it. If they say

"what problem with the pleats?"

or

"well yeah, I can see that it's a little bit off, OK, sure I guess, if you say so, but....."

then hang it, finish the kilt and wear the thing. The next one will be better. If they say

My GOD what have you DONE????

then you might go back and rip 'em out, eh?

It's a kilt, not a shrine. Not only that, but it's your FIRST kilt, made out of excess, inexpensive fabric. Save the mental torture for your ultimate tank.

[fluter]

Question: Can I rip out two pleats and re-sew them?

Answer: yes you can though you may have to rip out more than two, ...

If you haven't sewn in the waistband, you can rip out pleats at the beginning and re-sew. HOWEVER....just how HORRIBLE are they?

I too was going to suggest giving yourself a bit of charity on the first one.

If you do need to do them over, here's a hint from Herself: I was imagining how difficult it would be to re-stitch a pleat when I'd already done the subsequent ones. Barb pointed out that since I'm going to cut out the back of the pleat anyway, I could split the back down to an inch above the fell, where it will be cut out; and then get my hand in underneath to stitch!

[Carolina Kiltman]

Question: Can I rip out two pleats and re-sew them?

HOWEVER....just how HORRIBLE are they?

Keep this in mind, mad perfectionist or not, it' s your first kilt. You will make more kilts. When you strap the thing on, you can't see all the tiny little imperfections. When it's in your hand and you're sewing, every micrometer of misalignment glares out at you, whispering you SUCK as a kiltmaker in your febrile imagination. When it's on your rumpus, no such whispering goes on.

My point is that unless the first couple of pleats are REALLY bad and render the thing unwearable, you might strap it on yourself, three-quarters done and then go find a good and honest friend and ask them if it's really obvious when you wear it. If they say

"what problem with the pleats?"

or

"well yeah, I can see that it's a little bit off, OK, sure I guess, if you say so, but....."

then hang it, finish the kilt and wear the thing. The next one will be better. If they say

My GOD what have you DONE????

then you might go back and rip 'em out, eh?

It's a kilt, not a shrine. Not only that, but it's your FIRST kilt, made out of excess, inexpensive fabric. Save the mental torture for your ultimate tank.

From one perfectionist to another: I designed and built stage sets for decades! I have to confess that the night before opening, I was sure it was the lousiest, most mistake ridden design, possible for humans to produce. After a good night's sleep, a square meal and a single malt (not necessarily in that order) I would stand in the back of the house (or the sound/light/projection booth), the curtain would go up and I would see it for the first time as an audience member. My reaction would nearly always be; "damn, that's good! So unless it is a MGWHYD type of mistake, forgive yourself for being human, wear it and start on the next.

One final bit, one of my sons lives in an are rife with Quakers. The Craftsmen that do finish work will purposely make a small error (as in tile laying). Only God is perfect, and we should not try to emulate God!