Hemming a kilt

**ThreadBbdr** · 14th May 08, 07:19 PM

Yes, I think you may be right. The other buckle might have been moved. On that side, the lines are only about a half inch off and the buckle is right on top of the slit for the strap.

If the kilt is running a bit big on you, I can certainly put it back.

**ThreadBbdr** · 14th May 08, 07:34 PM

I would say at least 1960s era, maybe older. The weave is, as I mentioned above, softer and has the 'old school' selvage. It's a single length, and I suspect the fabric may be hand loomed or at least done on the Victorian kilt looms.

Here's a discussion of the modern looms. If you are comparing this to kilts made in the last few years, the selvage edge looks a LOT different. See how on your kilt, the thread wraps around the edge more loosely? That's because the modern looms pack two threads in the space on the selvage that one thread would occupy on a handloom or the older kilt looms. I think I'd like this edge better overall. I wish it was still the standard.

The two places where your kilt has a hem are exactly where Barb says they ought to be - on the under apron and on the big pleat - to keep those areas from hanging down too far. I'll tweak the hem in the exact same places per her hemming directions.

You really have a winner here, it is going to be fantastic!

**Dukeof Kircaldy** · 14th May 08, 08:03 PM

Well, Karla, I am glad that we agreed to do this. Please enjoy yourself. When it comes to earning a living, I am truly a toff. People should do what pleases them rather than what makes money (e.g., accountancy, defending criminals, etc.). One of my exes was into textiles and we had a leclerc handloom and kromsky spinning wheel.

But I digress. The kilt fits very well, almost "bespoke". the issue to me was the lack of a "hem", but it sounds as if this is a real vintage kilt. So, I am glad you are enjoying this and I hope it is helpful to others. I am trying to figure out the technical talk and referring to Barb's book. But from what I am gathering, this is going to be an interesting thread.

**ThreadBbdr** · 14th May 08, 08:46 PM

I'm sitting here with it spread out over my lap. I'm pretty sure this wasn't made by a professional kiltmaker, as the twill lines are 'backwards' (left hip to right knee across the apron) But the overall quality of the piece far offset it's minor and (really invisible to anyone who isn't looking for them) flaws.

So here's what I'm going to do:

Reweave the places in the selvage where the double float was cut away to restore the integrity of the fabric. I'll lift the liner and use a few threads from the cut outs to do this. Stitch the liner back into place, but not replace it.

Hem up a scant 3/4 inch overall, undoing all the apron facings and deepening the hem in the appropriate places. Redo the apron facings and fringe edge for the new length. This will put the lower edge of the kilt just beyond the white stripe. We don't want to turn ON the white stripe (1/2 inch) because that would be very distracting and draw the eye to the area. That also puts the hem's stitching in the narrow black stripe, where it will totally disappear. After hemming, the distance from the center of the waist buckle to the hem edge will be 21 7/8, the length from the top of the waistband will be 23 1/2.

Rework the hip strap - move it up about a half inch (it's marginally too low and that will also let me fix the twill line on the tab which is driving me SPARE!) and fix the leathers on the hip and left apron (one is barely holding on and the other will need to be lifted to match it's buckle and is stitched with a nasty mismatched color now anyhow). Leave both the waist buckles alone as the fit is good.

Fix the deep pleat stitching where it has popped loose at the bottom of the fell, check all the other pleats to be sure the stitching is holding and fix any that look problematic.

Baste and press the pleats and new hem to set it.

Good to go?

**The F-H.C.A.G.** · 14th May 08, 10:27 PM

Probably inappropriate, but you all frighten me!

I thought I was OCD, but obviously, I need to give up my title.

Be well,

**ThreadBbdr** · 15th May 08, 04:35 AM

The needlework is the only place that comes out. I get obsessive over the details on my crafts so that I don't have to worry about dusting!

**Dukeof Kircaldy** · 15th May 08, 04:48 AM

OK, it was the hip strap that looked as if it had been moved. Then again, this may not have been made by a professional kiltmaker. I'd love to know the story of this kilt.

**ChattanCat** · 15th May 08, 04:43 PM

Karla,
You might want to consider eliminating the hip belt an buckle, they do nothing but pull the apron when you sit down.

Also, the belt buckle over the button hole, allows for easier doning of the kilt.

Wallace

p.s. what is a double float?

**Dukeof Kircaldy** · 15th May 08, 05:12 PM

Karla, don't you dare eliminate any buckles. Move them, but don't REmove them!

Wallace, you could do anything you wanted with this if I had given it to you! But that definitely is not a happening NOW!

Sorry!

**ThreadBbdr** · 15th May 08, 05:21 PM

Wallace - a double float is a flaw in the weaving. That one thread instead of going

Over 2, Under 2, Over 2, Under 2, Over 2, Under 2 goes
Over 2, Under 2, ............Over 4..........., Under 2

So that thread has a float on the top of the fabric that is twice as long as it 'ought' to be. There was an error in the way that the heddles were threaded. You can tell that because the same flaw appears over and over again up the selvege edge. If it had been an error in treadling, the flaw would have been a skip in the twill line across the entire face of the cloth.

But it didn't become a real issue until the prior owner snipped it out in several places; the structural integrity of the cloth was destroyed by that, causing a hole to open up and fray bigger with wear.

When you are inspecting a length of cloth, look for both types of errors, and mark them to work around. For this error, I would have used the opposite selvage for the bottom edge and buried this edge in the waistband (or cut it off). If the error was on BOTH selvages, I would have done a needle weave correction of the flaw at the bottom selvage on both aprons and probably pleated to a stripe that buried the flaw at the back of a pleat. It's actually easier to work around this one than a treadling error that destroys the twill line across the entire width of the cloth.

I really do need to set up my loom with a gamp and do a weaving tutorial, don't I?