How to fix kilt pleats for permanent?

[amy]

I wonder if you super smart genious type folks can help me...  (yes YOU... I am talking to YOU!)     I made this kilt for a friend at TNRF who said he already had the fabric and wanted something he could use for several different purposes.   He wants to do and Irish Warrior character for faire and is crafting his own leather armour which should be great... But then he thought it would be a good piece for just wearing with a loose shirt and belt for casual faire wear... (I agree) and mentioned that he was the kind of guy who would wear it with a tee shirt and boots too!  More the better I say!    So I use the linen blend, twill fabric he has and make the kilt.   There is a little stretch to this fabric too.  (yikes)

So I deliver the kilt... he likes it   Then he texts that maybe he wants a hem in it.   I know kilts are made with the selvedge as hem so for our fabric I ran a serged/rolled hem...  I think a turned hem will make it flare funny..  but maybe not.   AND he said he really doesn't iron, so I say that if he wants pleats it is off the the drycleaner.   He asked if there was some kind of way to stitch it down.   So here is my question:  Will the pleats stay in through the washing machine if I actually stitch down every crease right on the fold?   And what is the liklihood that it will still hang straight after I try it?  Remember I didn't have a straight weave fabric to follow.. and I have stretch.   If I am off by a couple treads on the grain will it twist?     Suggestions? 



Sorry for the marathon description, but I was not sure how to explain it.

[CenturiesSewing]

I would not try to make the kilt machine washable. What he wants vs what is humanly possible are two different things. He is going to need to learn to iron and enjoy it (that is the nature of linen), just spot clean and shake the dust out, or trust the dry cleaners.

You could stitch down the top few inches of each pleat to give him a guide to pleat by but if you sew down all the way you are going to lose the flow of the garment. Kilts look so neat because they move with the wearer, the pleats take up the excess fabric but also expand as needed around the body.

[Kate XXXXXX]

Kilt pleats are stitched down for the first 7" or so anyway (almost down to the hip line), so there is a built in guide.  You could top-stitch the edges of every pleat down, which might help, but NOTHING is going to make a linen mix permanently crease free.

If he wants it a little shorter, the best way to do that is to shorten it from the waist and stitch the pleats down a little further to compensate.

[DonaCatalina]

I don't think I can help you. I use the bathtub method of kilt washing out of sheer terror.


(His lordships kilts are all wool.)

[escherblacksmith]

stitching all the way down would not work well, and look silly. as the pleats wouldn't move.

Depending on the linen blend, it will wrinkle something fierce.  I'd recommend dry-cleaning, as ironing that is annoying as heck.

[amy]

I see your points and agree on all counts.

If there is any real linen in this fabric I would put it at about 1%.  I suspect it is mostly synthetic, but never saw the bolt information on it.   The kilt already does have the top 6 inches of each pleat sewn into place.   Makes for a beautiful swish... worked just perfectly.   There is no selvedge edge at the bottom because the twill weave had an ugly raw edge with some white threads mixed in for the textile company's use.  So it is serged edge and can easily be shortened from the bottom if he wants... I think he was just unfamiliar and looking to see a turned up edge like on a skirt.

Kate.... like you said it could be treated like a utility kilt by top stitching each crease, but if I am off by even a smidge won't they schwing out in strange angles?    I am almost afraid to try because that would be torture to pick out if they didn't stay straight.

[operafantomet]

If you have a pleated skirt from the 60s or 70s at hand, have a look at it. The pleats in these skirts often had vertical seams, one or two on each and single pleat, to lock the shape. There is an own technique to it, one I'm not familiar with at all. But I remember having seen it in my grandmother's skirt and thought "Aaaah, that's how the pleats stay in place". Even on highly synthetic 1960s fabrics. I seem to remember the fold was sewn down right where it's actual folded? The memory is too unclear. Does anyone know what I mean?

As others have mentioned, adding horizontal seams will ruin the flow of the garment. Avoid that.

[CenturiesSewing]

Also just recalled I have a wool "kilt" that was made for the tourist trade that my grandmother brought me back from Scotland in.. 1990 something.. I was 7 or 8 at the time.

I can take a look at it this weekend and report back if there are any interesting construction details.

[Merlin the Elder]

If you have a pleated skirt from the 60s or 70s at hand, have a look at it. The pleats in these skirts often had vertical seams, one or two on each and single pleat, to lock the shape. There is an own technique to it, one I'm not familiar with at all. But I remember having seen it in my grandmother's skirt and thought "Aaaah, that's how the pleats stay in place". ...

OW! That hurt! LOL! 60s & 70s... your GRANDMOTHER'S SKIRTS?!?    Thanks... I really needed to feel old this week...  LOL!

[operafantomet]

If you have a pleated skirt from the 60s or 70s at hand, have a look at it. The pleats in these skirts often had vertical seams, one or two on each and single pleat, to lock the shape. There is an own technique to it, one I'm not familiar with at all. But I remember having seen it in my grandmother's skirt and thought "Aaaah, that's how the pleats stay in place". ...

OW! That hurt! LOL! 60s & 70s... your GRANDMOTHER'S SKIRTS?!?    Thanks... I really needed to feel old this week...  LOL!

Still in use, love, still in use... She's kept some vintage stuff in her wardrobe.

[Kate XXXXXX]

Kate.... like you said it could be treated like a utility kilt by top stitching each crease, but if I am off by even a smidge won't they schwing out in strange angles?    I am almost afraid to try because that would be torture to pick out if they didn't stay straight.

Press the hell out of them first, and hand baste with a silk thread...  THEN edge stitch using an edge-stitch type foot with a guide.

[CenturiesSewing]

Kate.... like you said it could be treated like a utility kilt by top stitching each crease, but if I am off by even a smidge won't they schwing out in strange angles?    I am almost afraid to try because that would be torture to pick out if they didn't stay straight.

Press the hell out of them first, and hand baste with a silk thread...  THEN edge stitch using an edge-stitch type foot with a guide.

And if you do that, make sure you get paid for it. 

[amy]

Holy Smoke!    I know exactly what she is talking about but it sure wasn't my Grandmothers skirt!  It was mine!!!    I remember that type of pleating on skirts when I was "younger"  and lets leave it at that.   I guess that is what I was trying to describe when I said top stitching the crease.  That is still done on little boys khaki pants.

It sure does sound like an arduous task... this is a big kilt and there are 37 sets and they would definitely need to be basted and pressed then stitched.  and I am assuming that means both turns of the pleat, inside and out so that is 74 chances to screw it up!    I don't think it would be worth the time.  If I charged him the actual time... he could afford to get it dry cleaned for the next 50 years!

Thanks all for your 2 cents.   I always appreciate the input and the laugh!