Kyle,

That Hunting MacPherson Harris Tweed was woven with an extremely large sett. If I remember correctly it was something like 12" or more. That's why the pleats look so huge. It's been a long time since I made that kilt, but I'm pretty sure it only had 6 pleats.

One of the (many) beneficial aspects of having cloth woven to order is that you get some say in the sett size. So if you want a Hunting MacPherson with a 12" repeat, you can get it. On the other hand, something between 7" and 9" is usually more manageable for kilt making.

As for the weight of the tweed, all the Harris Tweed kilts I have made (with one exception) have been what the HT folks call "light weight," however I can attest it is plenty heavy enough to make a good kilt. Even though all my Harris Tweed kilts are either 4 or 5 yards, I tend to rarely wear them in the summer months. They get lots of wear in the fall and winter!

The exception is a kilt I own made from old Marion Campbell woven cloth, which is nearly bullet proof. It is easily twice as thick, and twice as dense, as the modern Harris Tweed I get. That one is a four yard box pleated kilt and I really only get to wear it in the dead of winter. It's just too warm otherwise!