Mil.Box Pleat ?Baste? ?Iron? Tutorial Needed

[BobsYourUncle]

Matt & Barb, and other kiltmakers, how do you baste and iron a military box pleated kilt?

And @box pleated kilt wearers on XMarks, how do you maintain your box pleated kilts? Do you all baste and iron your kilts following a wash? Must the pleats be basted before ironing?

I have seen tutorials on basting and ironing knife pleated kilts, but none on basting and ironing Box pleated kilts. Barbs book doesn't seem to address this.
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Can someone tell the full story?

I reenact the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders as they fought in WWII, 1939-1946. In contrast to some units, the Argylls wore box pleated kilts, not knife pleated, in the Government Sett [Black Watch tartan to some]. I am interested in learning how to wash and iron my box pleated kilts.

Here is a "new" one with the basting stiches still in, ex military surplus [MOD contractor]. It looks like a complex procedure was used, in which the pleats were compacted for purposes of putting the stiches in each pleat, and there is a bit of thread run through the center of the "box" in the pleat.

Can someone demonstrate and describe how to do this? I know that there are some folks on here who have some experience with military kilt making.

Here are some photos showing what I am referring to in order to get the discussion started:

Pleat Overview with Basting Stiches



Closer Rear View Basted Box Pleats



Close Up of the Underside, Showing Pleat Compaction

[piperdbh]

I've never had a need to wash my box-pleats. I just hang them up when I'm done wearing them and let any wrinkles fall out on their own. I have ironed my knife-pleat, but I didn't baste it beforehand.

[Geoff Withnell]

I like box pleated kilts and have three at this point. It is a good question. Also, is it me, or are the creases not as sharp on the box pleat as on a knife pleat?

Geoff Withnell

[bonnie heather]

About a year ago, a man sent me a military box pleated kilt that had been rumpled and stuffed in a bag in a closet for a long time. It was very heavy weight Black Watch. I pressed out the pleats below the fell, down to the bottom of the kilt. Then I carefully aligned, positioned and pinned each of the new pleats. Instead of basting across the pleats as in your photo, I basted each pleat vertically down the length. As in your cross section of the bottom, each pleat involved 4 layers of heavy wool, plus the thickness of the pleat underneath. To press the pleats, I left more wetness in my press cloth than usual. I make no claims at all to be an expert on military box pleated kilts, but this system worked and the customer was happy with the results.