"Excess" material removal question

[James MacMillan]

I am getting ready to head out for a week in Mexico, but I thought I'd post a question that has been bugging me.

Do some kilt makers remove "excess" material in the fell area, after the pleats are sewn down.

I looked at my three tanks and, without tearing them apart, I can't really tell. -But two of the three seem to have an appreciably less amount of thickness in the rear (behind the sewn down pleats) area.

Is this removal of material standard? -Or is it something only done on "high-end" kilts, or are there other factors that I haven't got the knowledge to ask.

I don't make kilts, I haven't read Barb's book. Maybe these questions & answers would be in her book?

[pdcorlis]

Yes - in fact I would consider it a reqired feature on any quality hand sewn eight yard knife pleated tank. It really is a necessary step to reduce the bulk of all those pleats and make the kilt a bit cooler to wear. One word of caution - once the fabric is removed additional stabilizing steps are necessary to keep the pleats hanging right - so its not as simple as "just" removing the excess fabric. You are correct - its ALL in Barb's book.

This step is almost always skipped on a knife pleated five yard machine sewn kilt - unless you are sewing it yourself.

To be honest, I don't know about box pleated kilts - but I suspect this step is not required since they are generally about four yarders.

[James MacMillan]

Thanks - I guess I need to get Barb's book, or borrow one, to educate myself.

Of course there might also be other variables.... If the material is thin, it might not be required? If it is a "traditional" kilt, but not sewn out of heavy wool?

Of course I can hear it now - "A traditional kilt MUST be made of wool!"

[pdcorlis]

Kilts can be made out of all sorts of material. Traditional may describe the materials used or it may describe the construction methods. One of the real values of Barb's book is - it helps you understand the how's and why's of kilt construction. Once you know how a quality kilt should be constructed you can start looking for those features in any kilt you are thinking about buying.

I have long said that the Art of Kiltmaking is an essential resource for anyone buying kilts. It can help you buy a kilt that can last a lifetime and... if you keep reading it one day you may start thinking about making a kilt yourself.

[James MacMillan]

OK - I understand that it is waiting for a new printing?

[ChromeScholar]

I just put in a request for it via interlibrary loan.

[Kiltman]

When I was in Victoria at the Kilt Kamp there was much discussion of the military pleat. One of the things that was said was that they did not cut out the excess fabric. Kilts seem to have been made of standard width fabric and when one part wore out they took it apart and resewed it. That way they got four usages out of the same piece of fabric. Sounds very Scottish to me.
But, I agree with Barb and Phil, etc. Cut it out of the knife pleaded kilt. By the way, you don't remove it from a four/five yard box pleated kilt.

[Tattoo Bradley]

Are you perhaps noticing the "pillow butt" in an SWK heavyweight? They're known for that, which is probably the main reason I don't wear my Irish Saffron all that often.

[Ozman1944]

Probably depends on the size of one's butt??

[way2fractious]

The answers you've gotten so far are good. Yes, a traditional 8-yd knife pleat kilt, made from any of the heavier wool fabrics, has the many overlapping layers removed. That is replaced with special non-stretching canvas that protects from failure the delicate pleat stitching in the fell. The same applies to an 8-yd military box pleat kilt.

The word "traditional" is a slippery one, and has been discussed at length in earlier threads. If you were to ask any tartan kiltmaker outside of XMTS what kind of kilt they make, they would answer "traditional", meaning their materials and methods are the overwhelmingly predominant ones in use today - and for the last century or so.

However, the old military kilts of WWI and earlier were merely a few yards of single width wool (which felt like a horse blanket) issued to each man. Each foot soldier's training included sewing and maintaining his own kilt. The pleats were necessarily shallow, preventing excessive overlapping in the small of the back, although extra insulation in extreme conditions was always welcome. Those kilts were often undone, fabric turned, and remade - which could not be done if excess material was cut out.

A 4-yd box pleat has so little overlap in the fell that no excess needs be removed.

I imagine few kilts of modern styles, made from non-wool materials, have the overlaps removed. I do not remove any from my cotton or poly/cotton kilts.