Moved buckles, now the under apron shows - What do I do?

[gealach]

Hello Barb

I recently lost some weight and thus moved the buckles (around 4") on my wedding kilt following your instructions here: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-larger-78931/.

It feels almost perfect now but there's one problem: Because I moved the under apron strap and therefore pulled the under apron further to the left, the first pleat of the under apron (at my right knee) is now "rolling up" and the under apron is dropping below the over apron.

Can you give me a hint as how to go about this?


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Barb T]

Hi!

I'll take a stab at this, but I'm not entirely sure what you mean by the "first pleat of the underapron". Are you talking about the inverted pleat under the edge of the underapron (by that I mean the pleat that folds under the edge of the underapron instead of the other way like all of the other pleats)?

Assuming that's what you mean, can you describe more clearly what you mean by the fact that it's "rolling up"?

If it's the point of the pleat under the underapron that's hanging out, you can put a small hem in it that tapers from about 1/2" at the point to nothing at the edge of the underapron (like this http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...de-kilt-40778/).

If the entire underapron side of the kilt is hanging out below the apron, there's not a whole lot that you can do structurally to fix it. The fundamental problem is that the kilt is too big, and the underapron is sliding down because it's buckled farther into the pleats than is ideal. But! You can solve it "behaviorally". We run across this all the time in our band where we have to make do with kilts that don't fit new band members all that well. When you put your kilt on, get in the habit of reaching behind the apron at the top of the kilt and just pulling up on the underapron. Half an inch is enough. If your kilt is buckled tightly, it will stay.

Having said all that, maybe I've misunderstood your question! If so, ask again and give me a bit more info.

[gealach]

Thanks Barb

Yes, it is about the inverted pleat. Because the under apron is pulled further to the left the inverted pleat gets pulled open, bulging under the apron over my right knee. I'm going to try to hem the inverted pleat and press it again so that it lays flat against my leg.

Pulling up on the underapron works, but doesn't that look somewhat awkward unless one is wearing a waistcoat?

[Barb T]

Oh - I see what you mean about the inverted pleat. If it remains a persistent problem, you could consider just stitching the inverted pleat closed along the underapron edge. It's your own kilt, and it's not going to show. Trad box pleated kilts, in fact, commonly don't even have an inverted pleat, so it should be fine.

I'll bet you don't have to pull it up much - the main thing is to make sure that it's not sagging, which is the typical problem. If you make sure that the top of the underapron is as high as the top of the apron, I'll bet it won't hang out at the bottom. If it does, just pull it up a little. Unless you're wearing a skin-tight shirt, your shirt will blouse a little anyway and pretty much hide it if the underapron top rides a tad higher than the apron.

Thanks Barb

Yes, it is about the inverted pleat. Because the under apron is pulled further to the left the inverted pleat gets pulled open, bulging under the apron over my right knee. I'm going to try to hem the inverted pleat and press it again so that it lays flat against my leg.

Pulling up on the underapron works, but doesn't that look somewhat awkward unless one is wearing a waistcoat?

[Barb T]

And good for you to lose 4"!!!

[gealach]

Thanks again Barb, you're a gem!

Never in a million years would I have considered stitching the inverted pleat together. This is why it's good to ask someone who knows what they are doing...

I'll try different things tomorrow and report back.

[Barb T]

Great! Looking forward to hearing the results!

[Nomad]

Thanks for asking the question gealach, I'm in exactly the same boat after losing around 3 inches. The pleat on my falls less than 3 millimetres below the front apron (at right hand side) and it is slightly annoying, I may stitch/steam mine flat as this will also reduce the slight raising effect it has on the kilt.

I also followed Barbs directions, the only thing I changed was to unstitch half of the internal material that hides the kilts workings so that I could ensure the stitches holding the buckles on went through all of the kilt layers. My hands are a bit knackered and despite trying twice I couldn't get the needle to go through enough layers without doing this, I have done this twice now and I'm very happy with the results, thanks Barb. The kilt also passes the Wizzards stretch test with flying colours.

[Barb T]

Great! I love it when you guys tackle your own kilts successfully!!

[gealach]

It's done... I hemmed the inverted pleat practically the same way as it had already been done by HoE on the left hand side of the apron. It's now nicely tucked away under the apron.

I also tried holding the inverted pleat closed as suggested. Unfortunately that then pulled the first normal pleat open so I didn't stitch it closed.

Oh and as for the "successful tackling" I have to confess that for the underapron strap I stitched through the whole kilt. Had I tried to sew it on without going through the lining, there would have been only one layer of fabric to hold the whole weight. Would that have been right?
Are there any reasons not to stitch through the lining (besides aesthetics, of course)?