Instructions for Kilt Pleats
The kilt has been a traditional article of clothing for centuries and yet scholars still debate on how it was originally worn. Luckily, pleating one is a bit simpler. The pleats of a modern kilt are similar to the knife pleats used in skirts, meaning that each pleat faces the same direction. The tricky part for many is in handling the sheer amount of fabric required to create these pleats and drape the kilt -- without dropping the whole thing before it is on. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Lay the fabric out on a large, smooth, flat surface. If you will be sewing the pleats into place, you can lay it on a table. If you are buckling your kilt on, it may be easier to do this on a floor so you can buckle it on while lying down, reducing the chance of dropping your pleated kilt before it is secured. The fabric of a kilt is usually a plaid patterned wool, resistant to wrinkling. If the wool has somehow gotten wrinkled enough to interfere with laying it smooth on a flat surface, iron it.
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Measure your waist in the front from one hip to the other. The front of a kilt is not pleated, so leave this amount of fabric flat. Mark where your pleats will begin with a pin, if you will be sewing them in. If you will be securing your kilt with a belt instead, mark it by placing something, such as your belt, on or peeking from underneath that spot.
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Begin pleating by drawing the fabric into a fold, and then folding it back over itself. This double-folded section is a pleat. The width of each pleat will be roughly the width of one of squares in the pattern of the plaid. As you pleat, these rows will overlap, leaving some of the last pleat visible from underneath. These visible sections come together to create an image of the plaid pattern. For example, if the squares in the plaid are two inches (5.1cm), the pleats will create two inch squares in appearance.
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Continue pleating until you have enough pleats to cover your back. This is roughly equal to the measurement you began with for the front. If you will be sewing the pleats, pin them in place. Leave at least enough fabric at the end to wrap over your front again, since kilts overlap in the front. This is called the front apron.
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Fasten or sew the kilt to keep the pleats in place. If you are sewing the kilt, finish pinning the pleats and then baste them in place, by hand or with a machine, before completing the garment. It is possible to secure a pleated kilt without sewing it. You can lie on the pleated section and wrap the front apron flaps around your, and fasten your belt around it to keep it from falling when you get up.
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References
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- Photo Credit kilt image by lino beltrame from Fotolia.com
