When pressing I use a couple of layers of thick card to suport the pleat - so there is no imprint from the pleat edge beneath. Work on a little at a time - don't try to do the whole pleat in one go unless you have the edge basted - I tried and then spent four times longer getting it onto the correct line.

I roll the pleat onto the correct line then cover with a damp cloth if there is wool in the fabric - otherwise it will become polished. Use only smooth fabric and surfaces for pressing - a towel, for instance, will make the surface uneven.

I have only made a few kilts, but some fabric really does seem to dictate just what it can and can't be sewn into. Perhaps my failures as a beginner will be useful?

When calculating the pleating to the set - which I tried and gave up on with a plaid rather than a true tartan, I found that the thickness of the cloth and the place in the pattern have to be allowed for. I found that I needed to make the visible part of the pleat slightly wider than I calculated because the bends actually take a measurable amount of fabric - obvious when you think about it.

The maths was easy enough - just find the number of sets equivalent to the back width, the number of sets in the cloth, divide and that is how many pleats there can be in each set, if other factors work out.

Unfortunately when I tried it there were not the places where the fabric could be folded and stitched down to get the waist supression in the fabric I had. Well - it could be but it looked dreadfull

I was forced into pleating to the third red column, placing the stitches between two lines of yellow on the edge of the pleat, sewing down onto a fairly wide area of very dark blue which is part of the under pleat.

The ideal with tartan is to have the set centred on the front apron and the centre back - though how that is achieved if the set does not 'want' to do that is as yet a mystery.

Also bothering me is how to use a piece of the fabric as a waist band when the pattern will not match due to the waist supression - or am I being to persnickerty wanting it to match?

If you have a central strip of fabric from cutting a double width piece of cloth, I suggest using it and a lot of pins and something to stick them into - a piece of polystyrene packing maybe - or lots of safety pins and fold the fabric various ways to see what is going to work best in the way of pleating.