I would argue this was the second most time-consuming part of my kilt journey so far, the first being ironing a king-sized sheet, cutting, marking, and pinning it.
Having run out of pins, I decided the most logical step was to hand sew and baste stitch my eighteen pleats before sewing with my good old and highly missed sewing machine to add more fabric for the second fold and the additional eight pleats.
I started by researching more about hand stitching and techniques. I began by measuring 7.5" down from the top of my kilt, down to where my second pins were mostly located.
Let the stitching commence! To get started, I found a good series to put on and double-threaded my needle. It was a rhythmic process: stitch, stitch, stab my own finger, question my life choices, stitch, repeat. Turns out, pushing a needle through multiple layers of 'kilt folds'
Once I had got to fold ten, I rewarded myself with a Penguin chocolate bar and soldiered on. After completing the mammoth task of hand stitching eighteen pleats, I got to baste stitching. Once completed, it was back to my new best friend, the iron. I won't lie, the great joy I got from steaming my third-of-a-complete-sheet kilt! Leaving it to fall into place overnight, I called it a night, ready for the same cutting, measuring, pinning, stitching, and steaming for my next kilt-making session
