Kilt Progress: More Guts!

I put in three pieces (underapron, pleats, and apron) of hair canvas. This is not your typical interfacing. It is very a stiff, woven fabric made from goat hair and synthetic fibers. Basting is done in white thread and will come out later. It’s hard to see against the light-colored canvas. Permanent tailor stitches are done in black “carpet” thread. Yes, they are messy, but they will be covered up by the lining later on. None of the permanent stitches show on the outside. The kilt is wider at the hips than at the waist, so the canvas over the pleats has folds in it that accommodate the change in width.

Kilt Progress: Putting in the Guts

Inside of a kilt, showing stabilizer

Kilt progress: I put in the strip of fabric that serves as a stabilizer for the waist. Seriously, it is just a scrap of cotton. I don’t know why it needs to be sewn using an X pattern of stitches. That’s what I was trained to do, so that’s what I do. And it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out the puzzle of making the Xs without having to overstitch spots, so I have to do it to show off.

There’s a lot that goes into the guts of the kilt. If you look below the gold-colored stripe under the pleat cut outs, you’ll see a line of stitching called steeking. It reinforces the bottom of the pleats. More guts to come!