4.5 inch sett isn't big enough, so I want your opinion

[davedove]

Alan,

It seems to me you're either going to have to pleat with multiple setts or go for iddy biddy pleats, even with a box pleat.

[Angus]

Huh....I'm liking this idea......

Hey Alan, go for it

[CameronTaylor]

Thumbs up to the second, but that's cuz I like stripes.
I'm glad Steve is doing my X Marks (if I ever escape from the nether world of his computer's files ...)


CT - echo ? echo ? :confused:

[HeathBar]

assuming you have 3yds DW = 6yds.
2 yds for the inner and outer aprons, leaving 4yds for pleats
4yds = 144 inches.
if you double the sett you get 9 inches per sett
so 144 in / 9 in = 16 pleats
16 pleats across 24 inches gives 1.5 inch reveal at the hip.
I'll let you figure out the taper to the waist.

I hope I figured that right. I've been working on a setup for my own kilt.

Its not going to have the number of pleats a traditional would have,
but it would give you practice before you hit the real thing.

[Alan H]

I'm a ditz. DITZ, I tell you.

When you pleat to sett, you pleat the width of the sett PLUS the reveal. When you pleat to stripe you pleat the width of the sett MINUS the reveal. Thus, as a very general rule, for a given amount of tartan you get more pleats, but shallower ones, pleating to stripe.

I think. *ahem*

So I'm gonna go ahead and proceed as planned. I got out the ruler again and re-measured and the sett is 4.5 inches "tall" but just a hair shy of 5 inches "wide".

GRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrr......

OK, so if I use just-under 1 inch reveals, which is probably what I'll do now that I look closely at the tartan, I'll have 25 pleats 'round me bum....perfect. The pleat depth will be more like 2.4 - 2.5 inches. That's acceptable. I'll get my "pleat to sett" practice AND I will probably have enough material left over for a tartan vest if I feel like making one.

Much ado about nothing....Carry on.

[Barb T]

Alan has pointed out something that came up in one of the other threads, and that is that tartan sett isn't quite the same in the warp direction as it is in the weft direction (even tho' theoretically it ought to be identical). In general, the size of the sett along the warp (which, as he points out, is the relevant one for pleating), is generally larger than the sett along the weft (the direction from the top to the bottom of the kilt). So! If you're measuring the sett, be sure to check parallel to the warp. If all you have is a cut square of tartan, find the larger dimension if you're trying to figure out the sett.

I agree with Alan that a sett of 4.5" is too small to give satisfactory pleat depth. If I knew that I had a sett that small, I'd want to have enough tartan to double the sett (and, as he said, he didn't discover it until his remnant had arrived). It's actually rare to find kilting tartan with setts this small, but some of the dancer's tartans I've used are like this. Lighter weight tartan with small setts is most commonly used for trousers, ties, kilt skirts, and shirts, because you don't want a gawdawful huge set across your bum in a set of trews or in a shirt. Generally it's not meant for a kilt, so no one worries about it.

Well, gotta run. Have finished Robin's X Marks kilt and am almost done with Blu's. Next comes Jay's Project Iraqi Freedom tartan kilt. Can't wait to do that one!!

Cheers,

Barb

[Alan H]

Just a note for anyone considering buying this tartan. It's nice stuff, but it's has a very "silky" feel to it. It's a bit on the sheer side. I mean, it's OK, nothing wrong with it, and you can make a kilt out of it but it's not got a "woolen" feel to it. It would make a really nice heavier-weight scarf, for example. It's nominally 11 ounces (not 13, like I wrote up above) and it does feel about the same as the PV in my Bear Kilt and USA Kilt. This kilt will be a summer-weight garment.

One of the reasons I decided to not go with the Box Pleat idea is this feel, and the weight. Since box-pleat kilt uses less material (I calculated exactly 4 yards to make an 8-pleat, 3-inch deep pleat box pleat kilt) it's good to use heavier-weight stuff. This is on the light side, so I figured I should use up as much material as I could. So we'll see how it comes out. I cut it out last night. I haven't pleated anything yet, so maybe I'll change my mind, yet again, eh?