Knee length- what is perfect?

[adempsey10]

I like mine mid knee or slightly lower. Below the knee and I feel like I'm wearing a dress. Above and I feel like I'm wearing a girl's skirt.

I think most people on here are top of the knee type of folks. I have never been able to get used to the top of the knee. When I sit down the kilt rides up a few more inches, this exposure makes me feel uncomfortable.

That being said, I once had a discussion with a drunken piper at the Dominion Tavern in Ottawa who claimed that the kilt should be 4 finger widths from the TOP of the knee cap.... ...and I've also seen guys wearing them down to mid calf. I think they were new to kilt wearing and didnt know any better...

I would say, and maybe others can yay or nay me on this, but if you're roughly 3 finger widths from the middle of the knee cap, above or below, you're in the safe zone.

[Peter Lowe]

I am not sure that there is a definitive answer to this. So I say that whatever you are comfortable with is good.

What is good for me? When kneeling the apron should not quite touch the floor.

[andycwb]

Top of the knee feels right to me. You'll get it right on your second kilt!

[JohntheBiker]

Top of the kneecap until it slides down to mid knee, then hitch it up again and smile.

This just about nails it.

[mookien]

Top of the kneecap until it slides down to mid knee, then hitch it up again and smile.

That may very well be why some folks (like me) don't mind the kilt falling as much as an inch above the knee.

If you are engaged in some activity and not even thinking about your kilt, it can slip down an inch and you are "top of knee", and if Heaven forbid it should slip another inch, you are only about "mid knee". That gives you multiple chances to make mid-course corrections.

[artificer]

I'm a top-o-the-kneecap chap myself (with the aforementioned slippage to mid-knee and hitching back up).

ith:

[Stan]

I'm a mid to bottom of the knee cap kiltie. Among others, I take my cue from the photos on the web sited, MacGregor and MacDuff, as Scotweb.

[mookien]

I'm a mid to bottom of the knee cap kiltie. Among others, I take my cue from the photos on the web sited, MacGregor and MacDuff, as Scotweb.

Stan: Be careful judging the length of a kilt from photos. If the camera is at eye level, as is often the case, it will make the kilt appear longer than it really is.

Also, quoting from the Scotweb site itself ...

"The bottom hem of your kilt can fall anywhere from the middle of your knee cap to an inch or so above the knee. A third of the way down the knee cap is about ideal. Certainly do not cover the knee entirely. That looks a little daft."

For the reference see page 38 of the "Free Gift" entitled "Kilts and Tartans Made Easy" available on the Scotweb home page .

I'm not citing that as a definitive rule. Folks can establish their kilt hems wherever they please. I think it is designed to be a rule of thumb for the kilt novice.

John

[TheOfficialBren]

I am a top-of-the-knee sort pf chap. Bottom and below the knee looks odd to me. To each their own, though. Mid-knee doesn't look bad in my book, either, but I hate feeling fabric flip against the back of my knee. Amazingly that slight hitch higher makes a world of difference in terms of comfort.

Plus one about photographs. They can be very deceptive.

[Jock Scot]

Somewhere around the top of the knee seems to be where we in this part of Scotland try for and no lower than the centre of the knee cap seems to be where the younger generation aim for. This seems to be a normal state of affairs with youngsters, my sons used to and in the dim and distant past I used to and can well remember the somewhat cutting remarks from the elder generation of the time. So plenty of scope.

There is also a practical reason for wearing the kilt on the high side and that is that when the kilt(wool, I cannot speak of other material) is damp, wet even, as they often are in Scotland then the selvedge does not rub a sore patch on the back of the knee. It can get very uncomfortable if the kilt is worn too low.

One does need to be very careful with taking guidance from pictures, yes the camera angle is a major culprit in leading one to draw the wrong conclusion, another culprit is that often the kilt moves south over time and so it depends when the picture was taken. So for example, was it taken 10 minutes after the kilt was put on, or, four hours later when the kilt has started its journey south? Pictures can actually be unhelpful at times.