advice on pleating / yardage

[Barb T]

Yeh, I realize yours are different stripes on different backgrounds, and that would likely not look good. I just wanted to show that it's not impossible to have a nice pleating with different backgrounds. But, different stripes on different backgrounds would be unconventional enough that, even if I tried it and liked it, I would OK it with the customer before I did it.

I agree that 2" deep pleats are pretty skimpy. You have a big guy, and I agree with Steve that more tartan is a better answer than trying to get a kilt around him with only 8 yards.

One good solution to the weight of tartan on a big guy is to suggest a box pleated kilt. I've made a couple of box pleated kilts for a guy with 65" hips, and it takes about 6 yards. Not as heavy as a trad knife pleated kilt, and it looks good on a big guy because the pleats are wide and more proportional to his size than a lot of little ones.

[Dutch piper]

Thanks for you clear answer.

I allready decided to pleat to 1 stripe and I ordered enough tartan for the job.
I never thought about the box-pleated kilt. And I like the idea but my customer absolutely won't go for that.
He's a piper (although the kilt is not for band-use), and I'm sure (read: I know) he wants his kilt in the traditional knife-pleat-version.