Basting tips?

[orangehaggis]

When I baste a kilt prior to bathing it, I work rather hard ad getting the set to line up horizontally as I go. Would any of our professionals have any tips for making sure everything lines up?

Mark - Ohio

[Hothir Ethelnor]

Measure the pleats at the bottom of the fell and note where the stripes are in relation to the face of the pleat and then use a measuring tape to make the basting hold the pleats uniformly down the length of the kilt.

Most kilts have a standard pleat width (usually around 3/4-1") it's pretty rare to find a kilt with different pleat widths at the hips.

[ChattanCat]

If you are centering a strip, measure the width of the pleat at the bottom of the fell. Then grab the bottom of that pleat and measure from the center of the strip to the edge. Hold the edge and measure back towards the previous pleat so the total is the width of the pleat at the bottom of the fell. Then baste the pleat to the previous pleat. I usually use four rows of basting one at the bottom, a few inches down from the bottom of the fell, and two more in between.

1. Measure pleat width at bottom of fell
2. Measure from center of pleat to edge and hold edge
3. Measure overall width of pleat and baste

Cheers,