Washing a Wool Kilt

[cdarwin]

I noticed last night that my SWK Heavyweight has s small spot on the front apron. I don't recall spilling anything on it, but since it's currently my go-to kilt it was probably fairly recently. Anyway, searching through this site and the rest of the interwebs, I think I have a pretty good handle on how to wash the kilt myself. I thought I would present my findings first and get some opinions before I proceed and do anything stupid.

I found this article here about washing wool sweaters that seems not far off from a lot of the advice I've seen on the XMTS forums. The most comprehensive I have found on this site being this post by Rocky.

There are just a couple of discrepancies that I would like clarified if you don't mind. The sweater article seems to imply that warm water is preferred as long as you stick to warm water and avoid extreme temperature changes. However, most of what I have read on here suggests using cold water. Also, the sweater article explicitly recommends against using woolite while I've seen woolite recommended numerous times here on the forums.

XMTS seems to be my definitive resource for all things kilt, so I am inclined to follow what is recommended here. However the sweater article seems to be well informed and I just want to see what others thought as well.

Cheers,
-J

[Burly Brute]

Dry cleaners! Ha. I have no experience with cleaning a kilt first-hand. I just think as your go-to kilt, it would be a better service to it to get it professionally cleaned. But, I have no idea. I just thought I would throw my two cents in there being that I am at work and bored!

[Pyper]

There are just a couple of discrepancies that I would like clarified if you don't mind. The sweater article seems to imply that warm water is preferred as long as you stick to warm water and avoid extreme temperature changes.

By my reading, the sweater article is emphatic that hot water is best. I makes sense that hot water wouldn't do damage, because the next step, after the kilt is dry, is to press it -- with steam. Obviously the steam will be a lot hotter than any water.

[The Wizard of BC]

The article quoted and here on X Marks actually agree when it comes to water temperature.

It is true that hot water is best at releasing the dirt but any, and I mean any. movement of the garment will ruin it.
The article is very clear about this.

So, with kilts we say use cold water. The kilt can still be cleaned but there is no worry and the chances of ruining a good kilt is minimal.

I'm not a fan of Woolite but it has little to do with what is said in the article. It has to do with price. Dish washing liquid is inexpensive. So is baby hair shampoo. Both will do the job and cost a lot less than Woolite.

The big difference in the article and what you read here on X Marks has less to do with the method and a lot to do with the garment.
A wool Sweater is knit. Kilt fabric is woven. Big difference.
A sweater has about 1/2 yard of fabric. A kilt has 4 yards. Big difference.

And if you notice in the article it strongly cautions about pulling, stretching, distorting or moving the fabric in any way. Well, that's because of the use of the hot water.
If you simply use cold water the job still gets done but you can actually pick up a wet kilt weighing 6 or 7 lbs wet and not have to worry about the fabric distorting from it's own weight.

I wash all my wool kilts in cold water using hair shampoo. Quick, easy, and not a single problem or worry.

[Pleater]

If you just want to remove a spot. or even go over the entire apron, you can do that separately from the entire kilt - before washable wool, garments were sponged rather than washed.

I used to have a light blue woollen coat with a swan's down collar and that was sponged over almost every time I wore it, according to what my dad told me.

Place the piece of cloth you want to clean dirty side down on something clean and absorbent.

Towels should be covered over with something smooth or the cloth will be marked by the tufts.

Use warm water first, with perhaps a drop of washing up liquid in it to reduce the surface tension. The temperature should be just above room temperature, not hot or cold.

Use a sponge wrapped in a clean cloth, dipped and lightly squeezed out but still enough moisture to go through the cloth into the layers underneath. Go over the area you wish to clean pressing the sponge down so the liquid is pushed through the cloth, hopefully taking the dirt and stains with it. Do not rub - the motion is like pressing with an iron, up and down not sideways. Rubbing might remove the mark faster, but it would probably leave a roughed up area that could be permanent.

Lift the cloth to see how it looks. Don't lay it back down on the absorbing layers, you could get faint stains from what has come off the cloth.

If you need to repeat the process for stubborn stains use a fresh absorbing layer, or fold the towel to a clean place and put on a new cover.

If there is dried food or a stubborn stain, damp the front face of the cloth with a stronger solution of detergent, leave for a few minutes, then do the sponging process again.

Leave the kilt to dry away from heat and sunlight. A light pressing might be required.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Pyper]

I washed my kilt last night. I used warm water. Blue dye runs in warm water. Doh! It will definitely be cold water from now on.

As a piper, my kilt gets sweaty. My kilt smelled like a wet dog, so, unfortunately, spotting wouldn't help, but that's good info to have for fixing food stains and stuff.

Here's a nifty trick I came up with. Cut a piece of fiberglass window screen, maybe three feet long, and put it in the tub before you put the kilt in. Now you can easily lift it out of the water without any risk of stretching it.

I pressed the water out of my kilt with clean towels, and shaped the pleats, and it's looking pretty good. It's still the same length it had been (compared it to my other kilt). When it's dry I'll baste it, press and block it, and maybe take a picture of myself wearing that fleece Inverness cape I made.

[mumsie53]

Hi, I washed a 9yd kilt I bought for my husband on ebay a week or 2 ago.. I used the bathtub rather than the washing machine, cool water, a little cooler than you would bath a baby in, and ordinary hair shampoo.. the way I did it was to put the kilt in folded as for a hanger, smoosh it down in the water and left it for about half an hour to loosen the dirt.. then I "smooshed" it up and down in the water by just pressing my hands on it here and there, when all the dirt was out (and it was surprising how much dirt was in a kilt that looked ok ).. I drained the water,refilled with the same temp and did it again until all the soap was gone.. Then I,folded the kilt lengthwise so the pleats were inside the aprons and eased it into the leg of a pair of tights (pantihose to our US chums).. tie a knot in the leg and put the whole thing into a spin only cycle.. (the tights keep the pleats) ....I then hung it on 3 skirt hangers (one for each apron and one for the back), smoothed any small creases, and there weren't many.and dried it hanging around one of those collapsible clothes driers.... it kept its size,shape and needed practically no pressing......the plaid got the same treatment and turned out just as well.. I am very pleased with it
hope this helps
PamH

[Pyper]

Now that my kilt is drying out, I realize a lot of the darkness in the white stripes was actually due to the thread being wet, not due to taking on color. Yeah!

I'll probably work on the basting tomorrow.

[cdarwin]

Thanks everyone for the great advice! I was able to get the small spot out of the kilt using Anne the Pleater's sponge technique. I will wait to wash the entire kilt until it gets really grimy.