Making Award Bars Into Kilt Pin Bars

[Joel]

I've heard people say in the past that they buy a new kilt pin for each new kilt as to not make too many holes in the material. Well, I don't know if anyone had ever introduced this idea or not, but I'm going to share it...

Besides wearing kilts, I do WWII Living History and portray a German Army Officer. And there was something I learned from it that I've applied to when I wear kilts. And no, it's not goose-stepping.

I learned early on that when you are given an award, you generally don't pin it through the material of the jacket, rather you sew in award bars. These are for the most part found on the left breast pocket where awards like the Iron Cross are worn. So, to make a long story short, I took the idea of sewing in award bars to the wearing of a kilt pin. This way, you can use different kilt pins with different kilts.

Here's how to make them:

Award bars are made by taking a piece of doubled thread and making three or four stitches over the spot to be reinforced.



The length of these stitches will determine the length of the bar. The stitches should be just a little shorter than you want the bar to be, as they will stretch a bit. Then, without cutting the thread, make buttonhole stitches over the bar until the supporting stitches are completely covered.



To make the buttonhole stitch, start at the left side. Hold the thread above the bar and bring the needle under the bar, then through the loop formed by the thread you are holding. Make it snug, then repeat. (Start on the right side if you are left-handed.)



And once you're done, it'll look something like this - depending on the length of the pin, of course:



Well, I hope this has been helpful information. But remember, if you chose to do this it's important to sew these in with a colour as close to that of your kilt as possible. If you do so, you won't notice them unless you purposely look for them. (It's also easy to remove them if you don't like them, just cut them in the centre and carefully pull the threads free as to not distort the material.)

All right, that's all from me for now. Happy kilting, everybody!

Cheers!

[thanmuwa]

Well, I hope this has been helpful information.
Cheers!

Great idea, thanks for that

[KiltedBrewer]

This may be a dumb question, but you slide the shaft of the pin between the bar and the fabric, right?

I've been trying to figure out how to change pins on my kilts without damaging the fabric, and this looks just like the solution I was looking for. Thanks!

[Joel]

This may be a dumb question, but you slide the shaft of the pin between the bar and the fabric, right?

Not a dumb question at all. But yeah that's it, the needle part of the pin goes between the bar and the fabric.

[Finn]

Joel,
That is a fantastic idea!
Thanks so much!

[Carolina Kiltman]

Great idea - - I knew about it, but never thought of using it for a kilt pin. I have a lot of thread left over from fringing a fly plaid of the same tartan fabric as my kilt. I'll just have to do it.