How Do You Fasten the Fly Plaid?

[cacunn]

I have only worn a fly plaid once and then not for long. I have available a strong rare earth magnet that I salvaged out of a computer hard drive. I took the magnet and folded the fly plaid around the magnet. The magnet was position along the plaid so that is would sit on my shoulder and place the brooch where I wanted it. I then place a small strip of steel inside the jacket shoulder under the magnet. This held fine for the evening and did not put a hole in the PC jacket.

If I were to use this method long term I would sew a pocket inside the jacket shoulder for the metal strip and probably tack the magnet to the plaid.

[Jack Daw]

Thanks, everyone for the great advice!

PiobBear!!

I'm glad you responded as a fellow piper. The first time I piped in my formals, the drones kept sliding off my brooch. So, I moved ther brooch over to my right shoulder. How do you keep the drones from sliding off your shoulder from the brooch??

[PiobBear]

How do you keep the drones from sliding off your shoulder from the brooch??

My brooch always ends up framed between my bass & middle tenor. It's never presented a problem for me.

[Jack Daw]

My brooch always ends up framed between my bass & middle tenor. It's never presented a problem for me.

Looks like I will have to have a dress rehearsal before next weekend to make sure I can situate my drones and brooch as you.

Thanks, PiobBear

[PiobBear]

In the picture, you'll see that my brooch is placed high on my shoulder, where it should be if pinning a traditional piper's plaid, not low on my chest (there's probably a very practical reason for why they're pinned up high like that). Dress regulations of the Regimental Drum Major's Association specifies the emblem squared away and the top edge even with the top of the shoulder.
As a piper, I choose brooches that are relatively flat and snag-free that can't interfere with or scratch my drones, very similar to most military brooches (again, probably made that way for a very practical reason, and it's not economy, for many of them aren't cheap), unlike those civilian ones that most Highland wear shops sell with that big cut-glass stone in a prong setting sticking out of them.
Also, I tie in my drones so the bass drone is raked aft and the blowstick points naturally towards my mouth. The way modern synthetic bags with their plastic stock collars make everything stick out at a right angle I find unnatural, awkward, and uncomfortable.

[Jack Daw]

Last night for Burns Supper, I wore the brooch a bit higher on the shoulder pinning it only to the fly plaid, then pinning the fly plaid to the pc (NOT, the lapel). It all worked fine. Thanks for the advice, everyone.

[gairloch]

This may help:

http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articl...rs_plaid.shtml

or this

http://www.kiltmen.com/forums/cgi-bi...ames;read=8128

or this

http://www.eyrewaves.co.uk/pipingpages/plaid.htm

TC

Dirk

[Jack Daw]

Thanks gairloch! I only have the fly plaid for the now. I may purchase the much more complex piper's plaid after I get a piper's doublet for more formal (pseudo) military wear for piping. Right now for such, I'm content with my Patrol Tunic, which I got from a vendor in Canada.

BTW, "High Road to Gairloch" is a piper's march tune that dates back to about 1547 and also goes by the names, "The MacIntyre March" and "We Will Take the Good Old Way." MacIntyre is my primary clan affiliation.

[SFCRick]

I pin mine to my PC, I had never thought of just pinning to the plaid- I will try it

[Daaaaang]

I tore off the pin and epoxy'd on a magnet. Works fine, looks the same, and I don't put any holes in anything ever anymore.