Where to purchase a day plaid

[Tobus]

What climate do you find that it works in?

I pretty much reserve it for wearing when I'm going to be out-of-doors all day at a Highland Games in cool weather, say, below 45 degrees F. And especially if the wind is blowing. I've been known to skip going to the Games if it's too cold for me, so I made this to take away my excuse. Of course, every person's internal thermometer is different, but I tend to get cold very easily so I would probably use it when others wouldn't. It's a bit of a beast to carry around all day, too, so it needs to be worth it. But even for a warmer day, it is handy as a picnic blanket if you want to plop down on the grass to eat fair food, watch the games, etc.

[gsmacleod]

I just read through your thread, and with your tutorial and Steve's comments, now I want to make one!

What climate do you find that it works in?

Works well in snow

I made this mostly following Tobus's tutorial and decided, despite lots of flurries, I needed to try it out.

Thanks for the tutorial Tobus!



Shane

[Jock Scot]

Dual post. Post deleted.

Sorry. J.S..

[KennethSime]

I posted a tutorial on making a day plaid here. That was my first go at it, and I started with just a length of tartan which I fringed and purled. I'll be making another one soon to go with a different kilt, and this one will be plaited rather than purled. Anyway, some other members added some tips and tricks in their replies to my tutorial. Trust me, you can do this yourself. All you need is the tartan material.

Hmm... I've read through this, but I think I'll read through again. I may follow this to go ahead and purl the fringe myself. I do think I'll be happy to let the folks at USA Kilts fringe for me. I think I'd spend near the same amount of money on the cloth + tax & shipping if I bought direct anyway.

[OC Richard]

So the "day plaids" are ordinary kilting cloth? I had imagined they might be heavier fabric.

I wonder when the fashion of folding your plaid into a neat rectangle and putting it over one shoulder started.

In Victorian photos one very rarely sees that. (I say "rarely" but in fact I don't have a 19th century photo showing it.)

What one sees are plaids wrapped around the body like this







I think the closest photo I have to a modern "day plaid" is this one



Then in the 20th century one sees this



There could be a simple reason: the Victorian photos are posed indoor photos.

[Boomer]

I'm a fan of the day plaid, I find the practicality appealing and the warmth welcome on the colder days

[Tobus]

So the "day plaids" are ordinary kilting cloth? I had imagined they might be heavier fabric.

I wonder when the fashion of folding your plaid into a neat rectangle and putting it over one shoulder started.

Day plaid material is like any other plaid (all the way back to great kilts), made from the same tartan material as the kilt.

It's wild conjecture on my part, but I would think that the wearing of plaids changed as roads got better and automobiles reduced the distances that people had to travel by foot. Exposure to the elements was no longer such a concern, and plaids changed from essential functional garb to more of a fashion accessory (though still very useful in certain circumstances).

To my knowledge, there really isn't any physical (dimensional) difference between the plaids worn in the 19th century and modern day plaids. Just the style of wearing it has changed. As I showed in my day plaid tutorial, it can certainly be wrapped around the chest and worn like they did in the 1860s, either with a brooch or loosely flipped over the shoulder.

[gsmacleod]

I wonder when the fashion of folding your plaid into a neat rectangle and putting it over one shoulder started.

In Victorian photos one very rarely sees that. (I say "rarely" but in fact I don't have a 19th century photo showing it.)

What one sees are plaids wrapped around the body like this

In my limited experience of wearing my day plaid (precisely twice so far) I definitely prefer wrapping it to just over the shoulder. I was wearing it on a snowy day for a walk through the woods. Thrown over the shoulder required constant attention while wrapped stayed put and let me just enjoy the stroll.



Shane

[OC Richard]

In my limited experience of wearing my day plaid (precisely twice so far) I definitely prefer wrapping it to just over the shoulder. I was wearing it on a snowy day for a walk through the woods. Thrown over the shoulder required constant attention while wrapped stayed put and let me just enjoy the stroll.

Thanks for that insight, it probably explains why the plaid was worn that way for so long.

I happen to have rather sloping shoulders so I can't imagine a plaid folded in a rectangle staying in place there.

[KennethSime]

So the "day plaids" are ordinary kilting cloth? I had imagined they might be heavier fabric.

I have heard from at least one Scot either here, or perhaps one of the Facebook groups, that his day plaids are made of a looser-weave, woolen fabric, which is more of a thicker blanket material. They're a bit warmer that way.