Why is a kilt today 8 yards

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Very good point, Richard. This could be a factor, as early nineteenth century sett sizes were smaller.

I cannot seem to locate my copy of Bob Martin's All About Your Kilt at the moment, but in there he documents the details of the oldest known tailored kilt, which is a Gordon Highlander's kilt c. 1796. It contains just barely more than 3 yards of cloth, and is box pleated to the stripe. But the number of pleats is fairly high. I don't recall precisely how many pleats, but it was in the neighborhood of 18 or 20 if I recall. But the sett size of the tartan was also extremely small, compared to how the Gordon tartan is woven today.

Of course one could also argue that an equally valid response to an increase in sett size would have been to simply make the kilt with fewer pleats - and indeed we have examples of early box pleated kilts which did just that. (Oh, where is my copy of Bob's book!?)

This also raises the question, why did the average sett size increase? Most likely simply a change in aesthetics.

[Blackwolf]

I also have a pretty good summary here, that does specifically talk a bit about the yardage issue:
http://www.newhousehighland.com/history.html

Preston, you are correct that in the early 1800s, most kilts (civilian and military) were made with a nominal 4 yards of cloth. Over the course of the nineteenth century that gradually increased. It was not a jump from 4 to 8, but rather a gradual change in fashion that increased the yardage used over a period of several decades.

Even when you get to the year 1900 you still see regimental kilts made with 6 yards of cloth. Even today, I, personally, don't use any more than 6 yards in any kilt (unless required for a larger man).

Pleating to sett or stripe really has minimal impact on the amount of cloth used, so that is not the issue. Nor is it some conspiracy by the woolen mills to sell more cloth. :-)

In the early 1800s when the kilt was made with an average of 4 yards of cloth, the kilt was being worn more often as a daily garment by the Highland male. A 4 yard kilt is more economical and more comfortable. Fast forward 100 years and the kilt is being worn mostly for ceremonial wear. This tends to cause a garment to become more stylized and exaggerated, and this is what we see happening to the kilt, today made from 8 yards of cloth.

A well made 8 yard kilt is a thing of beauty, to be sure. But certainly not all kilts are required to be made from 8 yards. All kilts I make contain between 4 and 6 yards, no more, and I find them much more convenient for regular wear.

So I'm thinking that the gradual change in fashion that resulted in the increased yardage might not have been immediatly noticeable (until you looked back at it over a period). So have any of you kiltmakers had any customers asking for an increase in yardage in their kilts? Or have we reached the limit of what is practical for yardage in a kilt?

[warrior]

Let me toss this out and see what y'all think. Could the sett size been purposely increased on military kilts as a means of increasing the distance a commander could identify a unit on the battlefield. Pleating to the stripe would achieve that effect with a predominant color on the rear of the kilt.

[creagdhubh]

For the superb swing, I say!








Cheers,

[opositive]

do you think the industrial revolution in the 1800's and britain's burgeoning textile trade played a role in wanting to add more cloth to clothing items, especially to the military? this would not be the first time the government supported domestic production through military procurement, and the trend i see in newsome's writing is that civilian kilts followed the style of military--so increasing yardage in military kilts would lead to increased yardage in civilian kilts which would result in more work for the textile industry. it's the military industrial kilt complex at work!

[opositive]

oh come on--sarcasm aside--does anyone think that the industrial revolution and the textile industry influenced the increase in yards?

in my brief kilting time, i wholeheartedly agree that i love the look, feel, swish of my single 8 yard wool kilt more than my budgets.

i really think that economics played a role in the 8 yard, knife pleat kilt evolution [though i also really want to have a box pleat someday]. economics and politics in the colonial era were even more hand in glove and overt than today.

discussing the "why" something happened is the next step after knowing the "what" happened. i might be completely wrong, but i am trying to foment a discussion, especially from those who know more than i.

[Ryan Ross]

Mine's 8 yards (not wool thought) and I recently tried on a 5 yard modern kilt (with pockets) and felt disappointed in the lack of weight especially in the back and it lacked that swingy feel in the back ... guess I prefer the 8 yard kilt to be honest.

So maybe it's mostly for feel and swoosh-ness

Don't be shocked, my friend, if after you've spent more time in a kilt, you start to get other ideas. It's been known to happen.

[Bagpipes48]

For those of you who might be interested, "All About Your Kilt" by Bob Martin is at the following link at Amazon.com for $10, as of this writing.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/155...F8&me=&seller=

[OC Richard]

by the way, the huge sett size seen in this MacKenzie kilt



is also to be seen in the civilian MacKenzie kilt seen in The Highlanders Of Scotland



showing it was already in use, at least by civilians, in the 1860s.

But sett sizes at that time were all over the map: witness these MacDonalds. Is Clan Donald woven that large nowadays (what is it, a 12" sett?) nor have I seen that red MacDonald woven that small in kilting fabric.



Now why would that red MacDonald tartan be worn in so tiny a sett size, when the painting it's derived from shows a larger size (the jacket on the boy on the left... though obviously it wasn't considered "the" MacDonald tartan at that time!)



and nowadays it's woven large too. I love this band's kit, as they wear both versions of that tartan, the plaids with and the kilts without the central black line

[opositive]

For those of you who might be interested, "All About Your Kilt" by Bob Martin is at the following link at Amazon.com for $10, as of this writing.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/155...F8&me=&seller=

done. thank you.