Removing the basting IfIhavemailedthekilttoyou,Ihaveleftthewhitebastingthreadsintoholdthepleatsduringshipping.Toremovethem,slipablunt-tippedtoolsuchasaknittingneedle,crochethook,orthehandleendofapairoftweezersunderthethreadsandpullthemout,snippingthethreadwhereneeded.It’seasytosnagthetartan,sobesurenottouseaknifeorapairofpointedscissors.

Donning your kilt Awell-madeandwell-fittingkiltcanlookdreadfulifitisnotwornproperly.Herearesomesuggestionsforputtingonyourkiltcorrectly:– Firstandforemost,rememberthatthepleatsgointheback.Don’tlaugh.Manyafirst-timekilt

wearerhashadtheinitialimpulsetoputthepleatsinthefront.– Puttheunderapronstrapthroughthebuttonholeandthebucklebeforeyouhaulonthestrap

topullthekilttight.Thatway,youwon’ttearthebuttonhole.Pulltheunderapronstrapastightasyoucanbeforebucklingtheapronstrap.Manymendon’tweartheirkiltstightenough,andtheirkiltstendtosag,especiallyintheback.Ifyoucan’tgetyourkiltbuckledtightenoughtokeepitfromslippingdownontoyourhips,letmeknow,andIcaneasilymovethebuckles.

– Wearyourkiltattherightheight.Akiltisa19thcenturygarmentmadetobewornmuchhigherthanapairofjeans.Thetopwillrideabout2”higherthanyourtruewaist,notatyourwaist,andthebottomedgewilljustgrazethetopofyourkneecap.Manymenbuckletheirkiltsontoolow.Ifyouwearyourkiltlooseandlow,yourkiltwillgrazethetopsofyourhose,andtherewon’tbeany“knee”inbetweenthekiltandthehose(anditwilllooklikeaskirtinsteadofakilt!).Inthepicturesabove,thekiltontheleftlooksgood.Thekiltontherightisnotwornproperlyandlooksamessbecauseit’sbuckledbelowthebelly,thewaymanymenweartheirjeans.Kiltsarenottailoredtobewornthatway.

– Checktomakesurethattheunderapronisnothangingbelowtheapron(asitisinthekiltaboveright).Ifitis,justreachbehindyourbeltandpulltheunderapronupalittleatthewaist.

– Ifyourkilthasahipbuckle,wearthehipstrapabitloose.It’sthewaiststrapsandbucklesthatkeepthekiltfromfallingoff-thehipstrapispurelydecorativeandjusthelpskeepsthefringeedgeinplace,sothere’snoneedtopullittight.Andapersonwithatummylooksslimmerinakiltwhentheapronhangsstraightdownfromthewaist,ratherthanbeingpulledinunderthebelly.

– Wearyourkiltwiththecenterfrontstripecentered.Onceyou’vebuckledyourkilt,checkthelocationofthecenterfrontstripe,andgivethekiltatwistonewayortheotherinordertocenterthestripe.Ifthekiltfitsperfectly,thecenterbackstripe(ifthekiltispleatedtothesett)shouldautomaticallycenterwhenthecenterfrontstripeisaligned.

Wearing sporran, belt, hose, flashes, pin, and bonnet Manyfirst-timekiltownersareunsureabouthowtoweartheiraccessories,andmanylong-timekiltowners,infact,wearthemincorrectly.Here’stheproperway:– Sporran.Putthesporranonfirst,becausethesporranstrapiswornunderthebeltattheback

ofthekilt.Thestrapsofthesporrancanberunthroughthesporranloops,ifthekilthasthem.Ifyourkilthasnosporranloops,andyouareworriedaboutyoursporrantakinganunexpectedexcursiontoyourankles,loopthesporranstrapoverthetopofthekiltbucklesbeforeyouputonyourbelt.

– Belt.Thebeltispurelydecorativeandiswornoverthesporranstrap.Thetopofthebeltshouldbealignedwiththetopofthekilt.

Ideally,akiltbeltshouldnotbeputthroughloopsonthebackofthekilt.Overtime,puttingabeltthroughwhatwereoriginallydesignedtobesporranloopsdistortsthebackofthekilt,causingthekilthemtopullupdirectlybelowtheloopsandtonolongerholdastraighthemline.Ifyoudon’tbelievethis,surreptitiouslyexamineanumberofkiltsatthenextHighlandgatheringyouattend.

– Hose.Differenthosearemadetobefoldeddifferentlyatthecuff,but,howeveryoufoldyours,makethecuffdeep–youdon’twanttolooklikeyou’rewearingabagel.Anddon’tpullthemuptoofar.Thetopsofyourhoseshouldcomeonlytothetopofthewidestpartofyourcalves,notallthewaytothebendatyourknee.Agoodruleofthumbisthreefingersbelowtheknee(photo,previouspageontheright).Thehoseinthekiltpiconthepreviouspage,left,arewornattherightheight.Thegrayhosetotherightridetoohigh.

– Flashes.Whenyouputyourflashes(*notflashers*)on,theleadingedgeoftheflashesshouldlineupwiththecenterfrontlineofyourshin,ratherthansittingonthesideofyourleg(photo,previouspageontheright).

– Pin.Akiltpinisadecorativeitemmeanttoweightthecorneroftheaprontokeepitfromflapping.Don’tuseittopintheaprontothekiltunderneath–thiscancausethekilttotearifyoucatchthekiltonsomething.Highlanddancersdonotwearpinsincompetition.

– Bonnet.IfyouwearaGlengarrybonnet,rememberthatitisamilitaryheadcoveringmeanttobeworninmilitaryfashion,whichmeanstippedforwardtonearlycompletelycoveryourforehead.Ifyouputtwofingershorizontallystartingatthedeepestindentinthebridgeofyournose,yourGlenshouldjustcometoyoursecondfinger.Alternatively,youcanmeasureonefingeraboveyoureyebrow.Looksverysharp,eventhoughitfeelsweirdatfirst,butthat'sthewayithastobedone.Ifyouhavebangs,makesurethatyousweepthemtothesideortuckthemundertherimoftheGlen,ratherthanleavingthemstickingoutasafringe.I’veincludedapictureonthepreviouspageofCarolyninherUSAirForcePipeBanduniformwithaproperlywornGlenasviewedfromtheside.Youknowthat,asamilitarygroup,theyhavetohaveitright!

What should I wear under my kilt?Wearwhatyoufeelcomfortablewearingunderyourkilt,anddon’tletanyonebrowbeatyouinto“goingcommando”ifyoudon’twantto.Manypeoplewearunderwearordark-coloredLycraexerciseshortssuchasbicycleshorts.Thisalsokeepsthesomewhatitchytartanoffyourskin.Dancersweardark-coloreddancetrunks,withblousesorshirtstuckedintothetrunks.Wearingsomethingunderyourkiltwillalsokeepitcleaner,andyouwon’truntheriskofinadvertentlyflashingsomeone,butthisis,ofcourse,apersonalchoice.

Keep your kilt looking nice It’seasiertokeepakiltlookingnicethanitistodealwithspotsandwrinklesafterhavingtreateditinshabbyfashion.Hereareafewsuggestions:– IfyouaregoingtoaHighlandgathering,considerwearingsomethingelseinthecar,and

puttingyourkiltonwhenyougetthere.Thepleatswillthankyou.– Whenyousitdown,getintothehabitofslidingbothhandsdownyourbacksideasyousit,

smoothingthepleatsflatbeforeyousit.Thisisahardhabitformentoacquire!– Whenyourkiltissweaty,don’tfolditandhangitupinagarmentbag.Assoonaspossibleafter

wearing,laythekiltouttoairanddrythoroughly.LayingitoutflatontopofotheritemsonthedrivebackfromaHighlandgamesisagoodidea.

– Onceyourkilthasaired,folditinhalfatthewaist,rightsidestogether,andthenfolditagain.Hangitinagoodskirthanger.Foldingitinsideoutkeepsthegoodsideoutofharm’sway.ThisXMarksposthttp://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f139/how-hang-your-kilt-28264/showsadandywaytohangyourkiltwithapairofinexpensiveskirthangers.

– Storeyourkiltinaroomygarmentbag.Don’tjamitinwithsixteenotheritems.Thesamegoesfortravelling.Investinasecondgarmentbag,ratherthanputtingallofyourHighlandclothingintothesamegarmentbag.

– Whenyouarenotwearingyourkilt,keepitinazippedgarmentbagtokeepitsafefromwoolmoths(unlessyouareluckyenoughtohaveacedarcloset!!).

Re-pressing the pleats Unfortunately,mostdrycleanersandpressersdoacrummyjobpressingthepleatsonakilt.Ifpressedimproperly,thepleatswillhangincorrectlyandgivethebackofthekiltawavylookinsteadofthenicestraight,smoothlookakiltshouldhave.Youcantouchuppleatsyourselfwithasteamiron.Ifyouchoosetodoso,laythekiltflatontheironingboardwiththepleatsrunningthelengthoftheboardandthestitchedportionofthepleatsextendingofftheboardtotheleft.Arrangethepleatssothateachpleatisstraightandparalleltoitsneighbor.Besurethateachpleatisthesamewidthallthewaydown(thepleatsshouldnotsplay).Layadamppressclothoverthekilt,andpressfirmly,withoutslidingtheiron.Movethepressclothandrepeat.Then,turnthekiltoverandpressthepleatsfromthebackside.Laythekiltflatuntilitisdry.Ifpleatsneedseriouspressing,thepleatsshouldreallybebastedtogetherfirst.Startattheapronsideofthepleatsandsuccessivelybastepleatstogetheralong3or4linesparalleltothebottomedgeofthekilt.Besurethateachpleatisthesamewidthatthebottomofthekiltasitisatthe

bottomofthestitchedportionofthepleatandthatstripesareabsolutelystraightinthepleats.Thisdoesn’ttakeaslongasyoumightthinkitwould.Pressasindicatedabove.Thisisamuchbettersolutionthanhavingacleanerpressthepleats.

What to do when your kilt gets dirty Don’thaveyourkiltdrycleanedifyoucanavoidit.Drycleaningleavesasubtleresidueonthekilt,andyourkiltwillsoilmoreeasilyafterithasbeendry-cleaned.Andtruly,ifyouairdryyourkiltafterwearingandyoudon’tputitallsweatyintoagarmentbag(andyouwearsomethingunderyourkilt),akiltshouldnotneeddrycleaningformanyyears.Ifyoucan’tavoidhavingitdrycleaned,atleasttellthecleanerNOTtopressyourkilt.Thepleatsareverylikelytocomebackperfectlycreasedbutinthewrongplacesorwithwigglystripes.Whenyougetyourkiltbackunpressedfromthecleaner,bastethepleatsandpressthekiltyourselfaccordingtotheinstructionsabove.Asalternativestodry-cleaning,trythefollowing:Perspiration stains and odor – Tryairingyourkiltfirst,beforeyoumoveontomoredrasticmeasures.Airingyourkilt

periodicallywillhelpkeepyourkiltsmellingnice.Preventionalsohelps–don’tfoldandhangasweatykilt.Airdryitthoroughlyfirst.

– Putalittleammoniainwater,andsoakapressclothinthemixture.Presstheliningsidewiththepressclothbetweenthekiltandtheiron.

– Thecolorsonakiltalsoperkupwhenyoupresswithaclothsoakedinadilutemixtureofammoniaandwater.

Spots– Forsmallspotstains,tryaQ-Tipwithalittleammoniadilutedwithwater.– Forbloodandotherhard-to-removestains,tryaQ-Tipdippedinanenzymedetergentsuchas

Era.Besuretospot-rinsetheareawell.

BarbaraTewksbury,Kiltmaker2948SkylineDrive

Deansboro,NY13328315-525-9761

btewksbu@hamilton.edu