Centre stripes

[Bobby Gordon]

Hello gang.

I'm about to embark on making another kilt, this time a MacDonald Clan Ancient pleated to the set. The last kilt I made was a Gordon Clan Weathered, but a professional kiltmaker pointed out that the stripe I chose for the centre of the apron and the centre of the pleats was incorrect. So before I start on the MacDonald I'd like to do my research

I chose a stripe that was not only a line of symmetry, but also, because the fabric was double width, this stripe was running down the centre of the folded line. So I assumed it was the what i think is called the 'A' block.

image.jpg

Well anyway, the kilt is perfectly symmetrical front and back and I am very pleased with it. But I don't know if this kiltmaker is right or wrong but she has worked at one of the most prestigious kiltmakers in Edinburgh and has about 30 years experience, but the stripe she pointed out didn't appear to be a line of symmetry.

So I would like to know how do you know which stripe is supposed to be used for the centre? is there any general rule of thumb when selecting one? what can you find information on centre stripes? or is it just a matter of personal preference and was this woman just trying to be the kilt police?

Regards
Bobby

[Paul Henry]

There are so many ways of making a kilt, but providing it fits, the pleats sit well , and things line up , there isn't anything "incorrect" Each kiltmaker has ways that they like to make a kilt, and not everyone is the same, but it sounds like the kiltmaker you know was being a little proprietorial!
I usually try and centre the front apron with the same stripe that I have used if I've pleated to stripe, but sometimes it isn't possible if there isn't alot of spare fabric, I have framed the centre with the stripes when I've had that problem.
When I work to the sett I have the same "sett" front and back , even if that means that the sides appear to double up, but I've worked and altered many kilts where there have been very creative solutions - and not all that I would have been happy with!
When I've worked with an asymetric tartan , I simply use the one that I like best!
So there isn't any real answer as to what is "correct" but I do try and match then front and back if I can!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Your kilt looks good to me! I'm sorry you were told you did it incorrectly. As Paul has said, there really is no "correct" or "incorrect" stripe to center on the apron. They key is just to have it centered symmetrically, which you have done. Most all tartans will have two points of symmetry. When you see a kilt made where the apron is not centered, that's usually a sign that it has been altered by letting the apron out at the end but not at the side where it joins with the pleats.

The only time you could ever do a "wrong" stripe is if you were making a kilt for a member of a band or other group that wears the kilt as a uniform and you have the kilt made so the apron is centered on a stripe different than the band wears. But that was obviously not the case here.

[TheOfficialBren]

By no means am I a kiltmaker but given my druthers I think that I would have chosen the same that you did. It looks awesome, mate!

[Barb T]

I can't say that I've ever had so little tartan that I had to pick a center stripe that wasn't a "pivot" (unless the tartan is asymmetric, in which case it doesn't have one). As Matt and Paul Henry point out, the thing you're aiming for is to have the apron be a mirror image on each side of the center line (again, except for asymmetric tartans). If you had picked the yellow stripe in brown, that wouldn't have been the case, and it would have looked odd to a kiltmaker. But you didn't, so I don't know either why you were told that you'd picked the "wrong" stripe.

[O'Searcaigh]

I am NOT a professional kilt maker either but have made a few for myself -- and getting a bit better with each one -- and have had two made for me. Unless you are part of a band (where all the kilts are supposed to be the same) there is no "correct stripe" to center either on the apron or the pleats. Any one you choose is the right one and as long as the apron is symmetrical side to side, that's all you need. Like many others have already said, whoever told you that yours was not the right one, well........

[OC Richard]

While it's true that there's no single "correct" way- heck in the Gordon Highlanders the Officers' kilts and Other Ranks' kilts were different (Other Ranks' to the yellow line, Officers' to the middle of the blue area)- to my eye a given tartan looks better centred a certain way, I suppose a function of the tartan, the sett size, and where the sett sits vis-à-vis the selvedge and waistband.

A couple of my kilts were made centred on a different spot than I had imagined. Oh well. With one of them I mentioned it to the maker, and she said that she used the same centre as the uncut fabric. To my mind where the entire width of fabric is centred on the bolt doesn't have any relevance, because in the finished kilt you're not seeing that, but rather where the tartan is centred on the finished kilt.

This photo was just taken yesterday; you can see how different spots of Isle of Skye were chosen for the centerline

[Barb T]

With one of them I mentioned it to the maker, and she said that she used the same centre as the uncut fabric.

Huh - not sure why this would even be relevant. The center of the uncut fabric would be parallel to the warp (the length) of the fabric, but the center stripe of a kilt is parallel to the weft (the width) of the fabric....

[Bobby Gordon]

Oh well, thank you everyone for those comments, I feel very reassured that I've not none anything wrong. Maybe this lady felt a bit threatened by me?

[Tobus]

I wonder if this kiltmaker was simply expressing an opinion on her preference to center a dominant stripe on the apron rather than a non-dominant one.

I've noticed that there's no universal rule on this. As OC Richard's photo shows, you can have two kilts made from the same tartan, with one centered on the dominant colour stripe and the other one centered on the background stripe (that's how I think of it anyway), and they'll look very different. It could be that this woman you spoke to is of the school that prefers to center the dominant one, and so she sees your choice as 'wrong'. When in fact it's just a difference in taste.

If that explanation made no sense, maybe some photos will clear it up. These are photos of two kilts in the same tartan (albeit different colour schemes; one is ancient and the other is reproduction). As you can see, the ancient one is centered on the blue field (which I see as a background stripe), and the other is centered on the dominant stripe. Personally, I prefer the latter. But it's just an opinion, and neither one is 'wrong'.

I can see how in your case, with the very wide sett pattern of the government-sett based tartans which are not symmetrical about the dominant colours, it seems wisest to center it on the non-dominant colour (which centers it on the sett pattern, regardless of colour). I think you made the right choice there, but I don't think the kiltmaker you spoke to was thinking in those terms.