How to prepare DW material

[NorCalPiper]

Ok-so i have this DW material coming. When I get it, how do i sew the pieces together? Should i over/under and machine stitch the pieces? Thats what I was tbinking to do, but i didn't know if thats actually the way to do it. Thanks-josh

[fluter]

"The book" says to wait until after all the pleats are done, then make a felled seam by hand.

You can do it ahead of time, if you're sure of where the seam will be---i.e. that it won't show, so it should be on the underside of a fold. I'd recommend doing it by hand.

By machine,I find it's really tough to keep the stripes matched up; but my machine sewing is strictly novice-class. If you have a walking foot, that would probably help.

[Wompet]

Having sewn a couple of joins, I'll echo Ken's advice above and TAoK - mark the pleats, mark the join, sew the join, sew the pleats. Or is it sew the pleats, sew the join, sew the pleats? Either way, follow Barb and Elsie's directions.

[Pleater]

I have quite a few kilts that required joins as the fabric had to be split selvage to selvage - the pinstripe is the most obvious candidate for this treatment.

I calculated the construction so as to make the joins fall at the inner folds of pleats, so the hip to hem could be sewn straight and the hip to waist suppression sewn in at the edge of the pleat, then be pressed flat and the edge trimmed to be even.

I find this is better than making ordinary seams.

I do have to arrange the waist sewing to accommodate the joins, but find it easier to work on the smaller pieces of fabric rather than a whole kilt length at once.

If I have raw seams rather than selvages I overlock the edge - that is serge, in the US, or do a three step zig zag being careful not to buckle the fabric by making the tension on the thread too tight.

I found that seams which doubled the fabric showed through as a ridge on the outside.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Heming]

Hi,

I might not be the one to give advice, as I've only ever made one kilt and that was a casual style denim thing of my own (modern) design.

Also you'll have to excuse my lacking skills in English sewing terminology, it's almost midnight here and English is my third language.

But if you have a good sewing machine, one that sews a nice, even seam, doesn't jump around and doesn't get cranky if you mention it's mother, go ahead and machine sew the join. I'm getting quite experienced in sewing any other garment than kilts, and have sewn other traditional style garments by hand and machine, and in my opinion, a properly operated sewing machine beats my hand stitches every time (even invisible hems and such, but then my hand stitching might be sub standard and I've invested as much in my sewing machine as some would pay for a hit job). Make sure you have a new needle that works for your fabric, use a GOOD thread of a brand you trust and keep tension moderate, but adequate. Baste well (tiny stitches), on both sides of the seam if you don't have a double-transporter sewing machine, pins will distort the fabric and make it difficult to match the tartan.

Speaking from experience with pleated skirts: Make sure the join is exactly where the inside fold would be in a pleat. Saves on swearing when you do the waist band. For the same reason, I'd do the bottom hem before joining (if you're hemming).

Then again, if it's an important issue to keep traditional, hand stitching is the only way to travel.

[Alan H]

Personally, I cut out the two halves and join the halves before stitching the pleats. That way I can do a fold-up dry run of the entire pleating scheme on the table and check for goofs. However you decide to join the halves, and I do it by machine, it will be buried in a pleat and won't be seen.

[Barb T]

If you're making a trad kilt by hand, you should stitch all the pleats _before_ stitching the join. Unless you have a lot of experience sewing kilts, you can't predict where the join will fall in the pleat until the tartan is pleated. And, unlike in the pleated skirt described by Heming above, you _don't_ want the join to fall on the fold, because the flat felled seam that you'll use for the join doesn't fold well. You _do_ want it on the flat part of the inside back of the pleat. It's just easier to wait until you can see exactly where it will fall.

And there's really no reason to sew the pieces together ahead of time. If you're following the directions in the book, you'll be folding and stitching only one pleat at a time anyway. Once you've sewn the last pleat on the first half, you just pick up the second half, fold the next pleat, and continue on as if there were not two pieces.

[Mipi]

I've tried both methods and they work fine for me. Each has pros and cons. For hand stitched (tartan) use what Barb is suggesting and for machine (non tartan) you can basically use both.

[Heming]

And, unlike in the pleated skirt described by Heming above, you _don't_ want the join to fall on the fold, because the flat felled seam that you'll use for the join doesn't fold well. You _do_ want it on the flat part of the inside back of the pleat.

I'm sure the above is absolutely correct, but I need to have explained to me what a "flat felled seam" looks like (as I will have this exact challenge next month when I start pleating my next kilt). What I do for pleated skirts is a straight seam through two layers right side to right, so that the joining seam is right where the fold would have been, i.e. nothing to fold in that (back) pleat. Since a kilt and a pleated skirt are two different matters, I want to try Barb T.'s method, only I don't know what the seam should look like. I want it to look good, and I'll do it by hand if I have to, but need a teacher.

Also I'm worried how the join will show up at the bottom of the kilt, as my particular tartan needs to be hemmed. Help me...

Heming

[attworth]

I'm sure the above is absolutely correct, but I need to have explained to me what a "flat felled seam" looks like (as I will have this exact challenge next month when I start pleating my next kilt). What I do for pleated skirts is a straight seam through two layers right side to right, so that the joining seam is right where the fold would have been, i.e. nothing to fold in that (back) pleat. Since a kilt and a pleated skirt are two different matters, I want to try Barb T.'s method, only I don't know what the seam should look like. I want it to look good, and I'll do it by hand if I have to, but need a teacher.

Also I'm worried how the join will show up at the bottom of the kilt, as my particular tartan needs to be hemmed. Help me...

Heming

I believe what you are describing is correct. What Barb was saying was not to put the join seam right at a fold. This will create a potentially un-sightful bulge. Rather, hide it in the pleat. If you have a 3/4" pleat, with say, 5" of fabric until the next pleat, hide it somewhere in there, but try not to do it at a fold.

I'm experiencing this right now with a solid color kilt. I did the seam right on a fold, and ended up having to move the pleat over exactly 1/2" (the width of the turned over join.) There was just too much material there to have it look right. Now, the edge of the turned over join is at the start of the inner fold.

I hope that makes some sense.