What's all the hubub about hand stiching?

[Slowburn]

Being a newbie to the fashion world, it has surprised me how fast you get the itch. I am finding the jones to be an all consuming itch and now I just want to put my sewing skill to work for myself whist I await the pro-jobber. What am I needing to know when someone says they have a hand stiched or machine stiched kilt? Are we talking a completely hand stiched or just some good locking stiches at the beging of the pleat. Or have I really missed some crucial instruction in home education classes from school?ith:
I understand the crucial difference between hand and machine But am wondering whether or not it is a whole or parcial technique we are concerned with.

[Standard]

There are a couple of combinations of the two, ranging from nearly no hand stitching at all to absolutely no machine stitching. A lot of the difference falls to personal preference, but a really skilled kilt maker such as Barb Tewksbury can make the hand stitching disappear and not be noticable at all. I beleive that the Tweed Kilt I purchased from Rocky was mostly machine stitched, the kilt I got from Celtic Croft was a mixture, being mostly hand stiched, and my new Tewksbury is completely hand stitched. As for durability I see no difference at this time, but will defer to those with kilts that are older than mine. For the money I'd prefer hand stitching if it is done neatly and properly.

[79thReproductions]

I study mid 19th century clothing more then kilts. Kilts are interesting in that unlike most all other garments, they just...didnt start using the machine. Personally, I believe that a machine done kilt is not less of a kilt. Its just that the kilt cutlure has built up that perception. All clothes were made by hand at one time....that doesnt make the quality better..just took longer to make in some cases.

[Riverkilt]

Hand stitching seems practical to me because it seems to produce a better swing to the kilt and to give the klit a bit more flexibility under stress than machine stitching.

And don't overlook the VITAL importance of quality thread designed to withstand the stress we put on the stitches in the kilt. Without quality thread that holds well - machine or hand sewn - we'll soon have a blanket instead of a kilt.

[MacMillans son]

For me, there is something about a craftsperson working with their hands to create something specifically for me that gives the product more of a value to me. It may last the same, function the same, and look the same, but to me it is not the same.

All of my clan tartan kilts (modern, weathered, hunting) will be hand made. Any fashion tartan kilts that I have made will not need to be. Obviously, it's more of romantic notion for me than a rational one. But, I've always been willing to pay a little extra for some romance

[Oddern]

I sew my kilts completely by hand. There are two main reasons for this. One reason is that I have no idea how a sewing machine works. The second is that I do not want any seams to be visible. Without really knowing it, I believe that blind stitches is difficult to make with a sewing machine. I also think that a hand-made kilt is more durable than a machine stitched. I speak now of course the classic kilt wool. Contemporary kilts in other materials is a totally different deal.
Skål!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I'd actually say machine stitching is more durable than hand stitching. Having taken apart all the pleats (for rebuilding the kilt) in both hand and machine stitched kilts, I can say that it's no problem ripping out the hand stitched seams -- but ripping out those machine stitched pleats is a real pain in the you know what! I truly hate altering machine stitched kilts for that reason.

To answer the original question, though, there is a spectrum. My kilts are almost entirely hand sewn. There is one line of sewing on my kilts that I will often (though not always) sew on a machine. It's not a visible stitch at all. Other than that, it's all by hand. I even sew my labels on by hand.

For me, it's both because that's how I learned, and as a matter of pride. People buy kilts from me because they want a traditional garment, and sewing the kilt by hand is a way of preserving that tradition. I find that people value the fact that an individual artisan's hand guided the needle and thread for every stitch in their kilt. They value the fact that this is a hand crafted item, even though a machine-stitched version would have cost them less.

I also think that, generally speaking, hand stitching looks better than machine stitching in the pleats. There are exceptions to this, of course. An amateur kilt maker who is just starting out may have really visible and uneven stitching. And I've seen really skilled professional tailors make nearly invisible stitching with a machine. But, in general, most machine sewn kilts available out there are top-stitched which means you will have a visible line of stitching on every pleat; whereas most hand sewn kilts, done by a skilled professional, will have near-invisible stitching.

This is why some kilt makers will hand sew the pleats, but use a machine on other parts of the kilt's construction. You'll sometimes see kilts advertised as having all "visible stitching" done by hand.

So there is a spectrum, and people should be able to find a kilt somewhere in that spectrum that fits their needs and their budget.

[Paul Henry]

I make traditional and contemporary styled kilts, on the 8 yard tradional wool ones generally they all hand sewn with the possible exception on the waistband.Sewing by hand is easier for certain things for exmple it would be very difficult to sew the fell by machine invisibly, and sewing by hand allows very small adjustments as you go.
On my modern kilts where I am using canvas/denim fabrics it would be so very hard to sew by hand, and the machine is just a much better option.
It's not always an issue of hand sewn equals better or machine sewn equals worse.I actually enjoy the process of hand sewing,for me it is very much part of the craftsman/tailoring process. To be honest I'm not always sure that completely invisible stitching is all that critical, sometimes being able to see small neat stitches is the mark of good tailoring,infacr many top quality tailors make a point of hand sewn stitches being seen , just to show that the garment has been hand sewn.
Of course there is a cost and time issue as well, but I imagine that many of us could sew a fell by hand just as quickly as by machine!

[thescot]

I have both inexpensive, machine sewn kilts and fully hand sewn kilts. I won't purchase a machine sewn again unless it's for mud wrestling or something that will ruin a good kilt. I don't mean to be disparaging the machine sewn varieties so much as expressing my strong preference for the fine craftmanship of traditional hand sewing.

All three of my fine kilts are works of art from three different craftsmen: House of Edgar, William MacIntosh (now retired), and Barb Tewksbury. I love the look, the sway, and the overall quality of them. The other two--and Leatherneck wool from SWK and a Gordon heavy weight from WPG--are good kilts, but not of the superior quality of the others.

I know you can purchase very good machine sewn kilts, but to me it's similar to good suits: you can buy a functional, fairly good suit from J. C. Penney--and I have--or you can buy a fine suit from Hickey Freeman. Both cover your body, but there is no comparison to the total end product. Nor are they intended to be the same.

I would encourage you to hold out for a good, hand made kilt from a really good kilt maker. It will last forever (metaphorically speaking) if you take good care of it.

[Barb T]

In a trad kilt, the pleat stitching is not supposed to show. If you machine stitch the pleats from the outside, the line of stitching shows. If you hand stitch carefully, the stitches don't show. That's why trad kilts are hand stitched.

Having said this, Rocky makes his kilts by machine stitching the pleats from the _inside_ so that the stitches don't show. It is really really hard to get the stripes to line up perfectly doing it this way, but Rocky has gotten really really good at it. He does it because he doesn't like hand stitching, not because it's any faster (he says that he rips out about 1 in 6 pleats) or because it's any stronger.

I can stitch 5-6 pleats an hour by hand. I could probably do only about 2 an hour net if I tried to do it Rocky's way!