Preparing to make my first kilt.

[Steve Ashton]

Pleating to Sett is a bit different than pleating to Stripe.

You will need to plan to allow one full Sett - plus - the width of a pleat for each pleat.
So if your pleats have a .75 inch reveal, and your Sett is 7.5 inches, each pleat to Sett will require 8.25 inches of fabric.

[Steve Ashton]

Not everyone grasps the concept of how to lay out pleats for display to Sett from the first reading of TAoK. It can be so confusing that when Barb teaches kiltmaking she needs at least one full day just to explain it. And then the next full day answering questions about it to each person individually.

May I offer an alternative method.

You begin by using a method from High School Geometry class that allows you to divide any line into (a close approximation) of any number of equal spaces.

This is called A Magic Starburst. A set of lines that start at the top, at a single point and radiate out to any number of equally spaced divisions at the bottom.




Notice please, the arrows in the center. The bottom arrow points to where the spacing equals 1.25" The next higher arrow is at spacing of 1". Then .525". The top arrow is the width of the pleats at the waist just for visual reference to check the Tartan at the top of the taper.


You then cut a small section of the center of your Tartan from the top band. This should be long enough to reach around your hips in the back with your chosen center stripe in the middle.



Iron on a piece of non roll waistband interfacing to keep the strip stable.

You can then lay the fabric strip directly onto the magic starburst. Move the strip side to side until one pivot point is on one line and the next pivot point on any other line. You have just divided your Tartan Sett into an equal number of divisions.



But these divisions may not be ideal in the tapered section of the Fell. The idea is that you retain the look of the full Tartan. No element should be cut off when the pleats taper smaller.

You do this by moving the fabric strip side to side until it looks good.

You should be able to see that in this example the red lines may be cut off when tapered.




If you do not find a suitable set of division lines you repeat this process with more or fewer divisions per Sett. Move the fabric up and down to align pivot points and then side to side to compare the Tartan pattern to the tapered width.

The width of each individual pleat should be no wider at the hip line than about 1.25 inches and no narrower than .625 inches. How much each pleat tapers depends on your shape.
At some place on the starburst you will find a set of divisions that meet the width you want and will pleat up and taper nicely.

All you need to do now is mark the interfacing so that your tartan strip is divided into a number of equally spaced division, Mark and count the number of pleats from end to end of the strip that is long enough to reach across the width of your butt.



You can now lay your tartan strip directly onto your kilt fabric and mark the pleats.



When you are all done and your kilt is sewn, you will be able to lay your fabric strip right onto the pleats of your kilt - and everything will line up perfectly.








Now, I will include a caution - Barb Tewksbury does not like my Magic Starburst method of laying out pleats.
I guess it is too mechanical, too much of the thinking of an engineer. I suspect that she prefers to keep the "art" in "The Art of Kiltmaking".

But I used this method in my kilt shop for almost 20 years. I also taught it to my students at my half of Kilt Kamps. In fact it is one of my students, who had taken Barb's course the previous year, who took my class the next and exclaimed, "That just makes too much sense. It's almost like magic. A Magic Starburst."

When I retired I found that I had a collection of over 450 Tartan strips all marked out to pleat to Sett. (this is just a very small sample) I never found a single Tartan that this method did not work with.
a starburst permanently on my layout table I could lay out and mark an entire kilt in about 2-3 hours.

[Fyrbrd]

Thank you Steve,

I remember reading about your method before my original post. Thank you for explaining it a little further. It does look like a good method for maintaining consistency in the pleating process.

Thank you again,

Fyrbrd

[Fyrbrd]

Following up on my preparations; let me preface my question with, I have ordered heavyweight Hymo Canvas as recommended in TAoK.

As to my question, while picking up supplies at my local Joann's I looked to see what they had for canvas. Pickings were slim, but I was able to find a few bolts of natural cotton Duck Canvas. With Duck Canvas being a fairly firm cloth, would it be an acceptable substitute for Hymo Canvas?


Thanks,

Fyrbrd

[Steve Ashton]

One of the reasons that we use the interfacing known by the brand name "Hymo" among others is that it has some properties that canvas does not.

While canvas is strong and stiff at first, after a few washings it will be just as soft and flexible as any other.
And canvas is usually made from Cotton or Hemp which have been known to rot over time.

The interfacing recommended is primarily a synthetic. And is stiffer in one direction than the other. So we install it with the stiffness in the vertical direction. This gives body and rigidity to the back of the kilt. It will stand up all on its own.




We do not install the interfacing as a single piece but create folds that allow it to take the curved shape and further enhance the vertical stiffness.



We then use a broadcloth fabric that is strong and has no stretch for the stabilizer. This forms a belt built inside the kilt. The straps and buckles are sewn completely though the outer Tartan fabric and are anchored to the stabilizer.



Can you use canvas? Well yes, it has been used in other kilts and it can often be found in older military kilts.

But here is what canvas can look like if not cared for.



And the result if it does fail.

[DunRovinStation]

JoAnns does not carry Hymo, nor Tailor's Cloth, which would be perfect. At least mine doesn't.
I order Pellon #HC110 Sew-In Hair Canvas Interfacing.

[Fyrbrd]

First I want to express my great appreciation for all the advice I've received.

Now to the meat and potatoes. After all the prior planning I started to lay out my pleats. I've gone over them three or four times to make sure I'm not missing anything. Everything seemed to be working according to plan so far. I started with 29 pleats which is what I expected. After laying out the aprons and the pleats I found that there was only six inches of material between the first pleat and the left edge of the front apron at the hip. That is on the small side of the scale of 6" - 9" mentioned in TAoK. Additionally, I found that the sett doesn't carry over smoothly from the front apron to the first pleat. The same occurred with the under apron and the reverse pleat material on that side.

So I tried reducing the the number of pleats from 29 to 27. The sett carries over nicely from the front apron to the pleated section. Great! However, I now have 15" of material between the first pleat and the left edge of the front apron at the hip. On the under apron side the material is at the top side of the scale for the last pleat and reverse pleat. And the sett carries over nicely on this side too.

So I guess my question is, at what point do I consider a hidden pleat on the front apron deep pleat? With 15" of material there for the deep pleat, that pleat will only be slightly more than one third, by .5 inches, of the width of the apron. Is that to big for a deep pleat?

Thanks,

Fyrbrd

[DaughterOfMacal]

Hi there! Just read through this thread and lots of helpful nuggets as I prepare my grandpas kilt. One big question though: what is the TAoK? And where can I find it?

I am sure after reading that all of my questions that arose from this thread will be answered. Thanks!