5 Yard Knife-Pleated Kilt in Braveheart Warrior (Marton Mills Jura)

[TheBrus]

I just pulled the trigger on a 5 yard wool kilt, and the kiltmaker insisted that it would be best to pleat this to the sett. I know that an 8 yard kilt in this tartan would look stunning pleated that way. But I was wondering if, because of the lower yardage, it would be necessary to pleat to the line. I've read Barbara Tewksbury's book, and I understand how kilts are made. My own judgement says to pleat to the line. Is there enough cloth to pleat to the sett? Can anyone help me with a mathematical model?

JDB

[Paul Henry]

Braveheart Warrior Marton Mills
It's always diffcult to say exactly how the pleating will will work, but a key factor is knowing the woven sett size and of course your hip measurements. I've worked with all sorts of tartans and it is usually possible to make them do whatever you want.If you are going for a lower yardage the pleats are likely to be a little wider and a little shallower as well , but it should be possible.
I often sit down withpaper and work out what I need but often when I get the fabric on the table and discuss it with the client, sometimes there is a change of mind!

[Paul Henry]

I've jsut checked with my sample book and the sett is about 7 3/8" , a nice size for most kilts, but for a smaller yardage kilt not so helpful! The red stripe is about 1 3/8" as well so that might help to get a sense of the scale.

[brewerpaul]

One way to approach this, and likely what I would do, is to just pin it up both ways. Figure your pleat to stripe and see how you pleats look and how deep your pleats end up. Be sure to shoot some photos for yourself to refer back to. Next undo all your pinning then repin it to sett. Again you will be able to lay it out, figure your pleat size and see how deep your pleats will be. This all may take time but will be worth it in the long run. You will also get a good idea of what the pleat to stripe will look like, you may change your mind as to what stripe you want to pleat to. Best of luck in this project.

[Spartan Tartan]

I agree that you should see it pinned up several ways and see which you like best. However, in the end it is YOUR kilt and should be pleated in the manner YOU want.

[Barb T]

Well, all other things being equal, you get more pleats (and narrower ones) by pleating to the stripe than to the sett. But whether it makes more sense to pleat to the stripe or the sett depends on the tartan. How big a chunk of the sett would be in each pleat? Does that chunk look good repeated across the back of the kilt? How much taper do the pleats need for the measurements of the person? If you pleated to the stripe, would you lose a prominent edge stripe in the taper of every pleat (which doesn't look good)? Your measurements (which would be necessary to figure out the # of pleats and the size of the pleats), plus the size of the specific elements of the sett, are necessary to answer this question. It's best done with the tartan in hand. If you have hired an experienced kiltmaker who is willing to consider a variety of options, you can trust his/her judgment. But that shouldn't prevent you from asking to see what a variety of options would be like pleated to the stripe.

I'm working on a kilt for someone right now who was quite certain he wanted it pleated to the stripe. With the size of the elements and his measurements, though, I didn't think pleating to the stripe would look good. But I did pin it up and take a pic with my iPad and send it to him for him to make the decision rather than deciding for him.