Great Kilt Assistance

[Malcolm MacWilliam]

Ken...wish you lived closer to me. Actually, we do have a member of our regiment in Blanco, TX...John could show you how to do this. I've been pleating great kilts on the ground/floor/tent, etc. for 15 years.....I can pleat that kilt in.....5 minutes! To me, the draw string is more difficult and gets it all fluxomed!! And, you don't have to pleat to sett....but once you do it 25 times, you can and it still doesn't take more than 5 mins. AND, you only pleat the bottom half....when you lay on it and fold the aprons over then belt it, and stand up the top half will fall around your legs, that's why it doesn't need pleated on the top. Then, you tuck both corners of that around your legs on the opposite side of your waist, which makes a tail in back....that is the part that can be worn several different ways on the shoulder (and makes a dandy hood for your head or a place to keep a wee sheepie!). AND, even though your waist is 31, you should have 4 yards. My waist is about 44 and I use 4 1/2 to 5 yards....you must have enough to get those lovely pleats in the back and to bring up to tuck in the waist. i know this sounds confusing, but it is very easy after doing it a few times AND looks great. Malcolm

[Bugbear]

You'll have to ask RiverKilt for a Maroon Kilt Club card.

[RadioKen]

Ken...wish you lived closer to me. Actually, we do have a member of our regiment in Blanco, TX...

Blanco's not that far away, really. About 280 miles or so.

I've been pleating great kilts on the ground/floor/tent, etc. for 15 years.....I can pleat that kilt in.....5 minutes!

Holy moly! I usually end up futzing around with it for about 15 or 20 minutes at least.

AND, even though your waist is 31, you should have 4 yards. ...but it is very easy after doing it a few times AND looks great. Malcolm

I wanted to get four yards, but this remnant was only three AND it was only 3 bucks a yard. The next cheapest (wool) material was about 10 bucks a yard. I figured that for my first go I could make do with a bit less yardage and then convince my wife (Keeper of Ye Olde Pursestrings) of the need for more (and in a different color) afterwards.
~Ken

Edit: Oh, and I forgot to say, "Regiment?"

[Malcolm MacWilliam]

Ken...you are a wise man.....then 3 yards is good as a first attempt......there are several sites out there as to how to pleat a great kilt, belt it and then tuck the ends, etc. I can search if you want and send them, but hands on with someone who knows the little tricks is always best. Three dollars a yard is excellent.....wish I could instruct you in pleating it.....I enjoy doing mine (I have about 10 great kilts, unpleated, 4 1/2 yard ones to 6 yard ones and they must be 55 to 60 inches wide). 6 yards is really too much. Malcolm

[Ryan Ross]

I've never really liked the draw-string idea for a feileadh-mor (although I like it quite a bit for the feileadh-beg). I've just never been happy with it, for my own purposes, as it seems to give me more trouble than it's worth. On the other hand, with a (very) little bit of practice, you can learn to put on a completely untailored feileadh-mor in about 2-4 minutes, without even having to sit or lay down on the ground. That will give you a great deal of historical accuracy, as well as a pretty time efficient way of getting dressed- you might find yourself spending more time putting on cadadh and tying garter knots than you do putting on your plaid!

Also, for a smaller waist size, three yards should be plenty and we have primary resources that verify that little more that three yards was often used (at least in the slightly later periods). I probably have about a 44-46 kilt waist, at the moment, and I find that 4 yards works just fine, for me (though I do like 5 yards better, due to my "magnanimous" size).

I guess all of these points come down to personal preference. We just need to find what works for us, individually.

[Malcolm MacWilliam]

Ryan.....great video.....and, from my experiences, you are correct in your statements!! Malcolm

[RadioKen]

I've never really liked the draw-string idea for a feileadh-mor (although I like it quite a bit for the feileadh-beg)....with a (very) little bit of practice, you can learn to put on a completely untailored feileadh-mor in about 2-4 minutes, without even having to sit or lay down on the ground.

Okay, now THAT I would be interested in learning! The whole point (well, MOST of the point) of a drawstring for me is to be able to don the great kilt in a short amount of time. We'll be working this fair with two small children in tow (whom yours truly will be in charge of wrangling), so the less time I have to spend getting dressed, the better. Is there a particular technique to master to get the kilt on without laying down?

[As a side note, I considered making a feileadh-beg for this, even though there isn't any definite record of them until the 18th century (if memory serves). My thinking is that if the great kilt was two lengths of fabric stitched together to make an upper and a lower part, then surely SOMEone during a particularly hot summer MUST have decided that it would be cooler to wear just the one lower. Who knows? I may still do that once the season wears on and I get another length of fabric to play with.]

~Ken

[Ryan Ross]

Okay, now THAT I would be interested in learning! The whole point (well, MOST of the point) of a drawstring for me is to be able to don the great kilt in a short amount of time. We'll be working this fair with two small children in tow (whom yours truly will be in charge of wrangling), so the less time I have to spend getting dressed, the better. Is there a particular technique to master to get the kilt on without laying down?

[As a side note, I considered making a feileadh-beg for this, even though there isn't any definite record of them until the 18th century (if memory serves). My thinking is that if the great kilt was two lengths of fabric stitched together to make an upper and a lower part, then surely SOMEone during a particularly hot summer MUST have decided that it would be cooler to wear just the one lower. Who knows? I may still do that once the season wears on and I get another length of fabric to play with.]

~Ken

The technique is really pretty easy. This is how I do it, but after you've practiced it a few times, you'll probably end up making some modifications, to suit your specific needs.

What I do is:

1. Start by holding the cloth in front of you, by it's upper right corner (with the width of it going vertically and the yardage going off to your left, probably in some sort of pile. If you're outside and don't want your plaid on the ground, see if someone will hold the excess for you, as this part should only take about 30 seconds). Now, start gathering the yardage into your right hand, acordion style (don't worry about formal pleats-they didn't in period. If you just take a little care in aranging it, after it's all belted on, it'll look much like box pleats, anyway). Once you've gathered up all the yardage, you should have a neat bundle in your hands that's as long as your plaid is wide (about 60 inches).

2. While keeping a good hold on the top, swing it over your right sholder, so it's hanging straight down your back; at this point, ajust the length by sliding it further onto your shoulder as needed, untill the selvage is just above the back of your knee (or where ever you want the "kilt portion" to come to, once it's belted on).

3. Next, hold the bunching in place by tilting your head sideways and sandwitching it between the side of your head and your shoulder. This will free up your hands, so you can put your belt on. Put it on, around your waist and the bundle, but keep it a couple of notches looser than you would normally wear it.

4. Then, work the "aprons" around to the front, whil keeping as good a grip as you can, on the bundle at your shoulder.

5. Once the aprons are about where you want them, tighten your belt the rest of the way.

6. From there, you can let go of the bundle between your head and shoulder, as the belt should hold things in place.

7. Then, I throw the upper part of the feileadh-mor over my head (just to get it out of the way) and reach behind and re-distribute "pleat portion" of the plaid, such that the bunched material is evenly distributed across the back.

8. At that point, just make everything else look as neat as you'd like it, with a pull here, a yank here, and a tuck there.


It sounds much more complicated than it really is. It's a bit difficult to explain, so if this passage didn't describe the process well enough, let me know, and I'll try and whip up some pictures.

[Ryan Ross]

Ryan.....great video.....and, from my experiences, you are correct in your statements!! Malcolm

Thanks, Malcolm. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

My friend George shot, directed, and edited it and it was his first film project... I think it takes a kilt wearer to fully appreciate a lot of the humor.

[Malcolm MacWilliam]

Ryan: true, very true (it takes a kilt wearer to fully appreciate a lot of the humor). As all of us know on this site, there is, what I call, kilt culture....which only kilt wearers understand. We often say the same about being an 18th century Highland reenactor: most people don't get it (why sleep on the ground, freeze in winter, overheat in summer, carry all that gear, weapons, etc......). Anyway, it's all about kilt culture!! Malcolm