the little bits of hem in a properly-made kilt

[turpin]

Knowing these little details let's one evaluate the quality of a kilt and it's maker. We become better educated "kiltsumers". Thank you Dr. Tewksbury!

[Standard]

I knew that there must be a reason for the hemmed section, and now I understand why it is in there. Thanks for teaching me something new today.

[Carolina Kiltman]

I'm getting more and more respect for J. Higgins, the maker of my most recent kilt.

[The Wizard of BC]

When the master herself shows you some of those small details that go into a well made Traditional Kilt it inspires me to show you the other side of the coin.

In making a quality Contemporary Kilt you taper the aprons just as you do in a Traditional Kilt but because the Poly/Cotton fabrics used don't take a compound curve like wool does we have to do things just a little different.

In the following pictures you can see the apron edge. Note that although tapered the line of the taper is a straight line.

We also have to hem our fabrics as they do not have a Kilt Selvedge.

So, the first thing I have to do is lay-out and mark the pleats. I don't have a Sett to follow so the total distance between the pleats is determined by the stiffness of the fabric.

I lay-out the pleats first because with the large grid on my tables I can insure accurate 90 degree angles of pleat to hem.

I them mark out the apron edges, Deep and Reverse Pleats. Again, the depth of these is a function of fabric stiffness.

Now we come to those pesky apron tips. Because I lay-out and hem the fabric before anything else I have to lay-out the Apron Tips at the same time as the Hem so I can sew them all at once.

Here's what it looks like on the table.



And here is the same area from the back side. You can see the continuous hem here.



So what does this look like after the pleats are formed?

Well, here is the back side of the apron just as it will be when finished.



No matter if you are making a Full Traditional Kilt or a Contemporary Kilt, if you want it to look good you taper your apron edges and you take care of the apron tips. How that is done is all a function of the fabric.