Folding the Great Kilt

[Derekc5555]

How do you pleat to the set?

[Steve Ashton]

The forerunner of the kilt was the Leine and Brat.



Some suggest that the Belted Plaid was the brat with the belt from the Leine worn on the outside.

This is known today as a matchcoat.



This sure makes a lot more sense to me than this idea that you see all the time at Ren Faires without a shred of historical evidence behind it.



The guys who lay all this fabric out on the ground are usually using modern kilt fabric. They go on and one about how practical this is. Would you really want to go through this whole process every day?
These same guys will say how you roll up in this to sleep at night. Would it just make more sense to sleep in your blanket?

[Luke MacGillie]

Well, I hate to have a disagreement with you Steve.

First off, Im of the opinion that matchcoats are a form of ethnic dress, as matchcoat is a Anglicized version of an Algonquin word that more or less translates into "wearing robe" Also as much as I admire the work of Mark Baker and company, they did admit they were far from perfect, and their matchcoat wearing, by Longhunters actually is pretty slim on historical accounts.

Secondly, if you pick up a copy of "A Bard of Wolfe's Army", by Chapman and McCulloch, which is the annotated diary of Volunteer Sgt Thompson of the 78th, on service here in the Americas during the F&I war, there are a couple references to both rolling on the floor to put on the great kilt, and also using it as a blanket.

https://www.amazon.com/Bard-Wolfes-A.../dp/189694163X


But I do agree that trying to turn single width cloth into a great kilt is only going to lead to making something that never was in history! :-)

[figheadair]

But I do agree that trying to turn single width cloth into a great kilt is only going to lead to making something that never was in history! :-)

Luke, I know what you mean but that's not what you said. Just to avoid confusion, all 18th and early 19th century plaids were made from single width cloth which was joined to make double width material.

[Luke MacGillie]

Great!, now I feel like a politician :-) arguing over the definition of it, or it's......





Yes, cut your single width in half, but the ends together, and then you are on the right track.

Taking 8 or 12 yards of single width and make it look like Braveheart, AKA Lethal Claymore and your on the wrong track!

Now I hope that this photo is doctored enough to not run afoul, but I think it makes a good point as to why pleating to the set, or the stripe in a great kilt is a moot point.....

While I could have pulled the top of the plaid up a bit more, I needed it to be functional vice fashionable, and most if not all of the pleating is hidden by the drape of the top of the cloth. Hopefully no one gets triggered by the censored out "Bad Stuff"

[w7mgr]

I have recently moved from a sedentary to a semi-active lifestyle and am losing weight. I didn't want to buy a kilt, just to have it fall to my ankles in a month. That said, I purchased 6 meters of 13oz. tartan fabric from Strathmore Woollens this week, to use for a great kilt. I am very much a newbie to the kilt, but look forward to experiencing this wonderful garment. I appreciate the comments and humor that I have found here. Thanks again!