how many yards for my new kilt

[Jock Scot]

My word you are opening a whole can of worms here! However, in my humble opinon go for the very best you can afford and if that means 8/9 yards of a 16oz wool cloth of your tartan of choice(family if you can),handstitched,knife pleated and made by the best kiltmaker you can find, then go for it.You will not regret it.

[Pleater]

If you are going for a heavyweight material then a box pleated kilt from 4 yarns will look well - though I think you need to take the set size into consideration as that might make the forming of the pleats awkward in some circumstances. You can them use a shorter length - though the double box pleat is well worth considering if the ones I have seen are anything to go by.

With a standard knife pleat 5 yards is a bit skimpy - I make my own kilts so I have the luxury of not having to be too frugal, and tend not to use less than 6 metres, 6.5 yards for my 40 inch waist.

I must confess though that the top of the stack is 8 yards of 16 oz tartan, 8 yards of 13 oz tartan, 5 metres of 54 inch wide heavy black wool, 5 metres of 60 inch wide desert camo DPM - so quite a few generously sized kilts could be made from that.

I can't judge hand versus machine really, as I rejected a totally machine stitched kilt as I could not get it perfect enough. I use a machine for putting on the waistband and belt loops where the machine can cope with the thickness of folds, and for hems and edges when I am in a hurry. Given time enough, I would sew a whole kilt by hand.

I suspect that more pleats make for a better swing, once they are larger than a certain size which would depend on the weight and surface finish of the fabric used.

Anne the Pleater

[David Dubh]

Sorry I've left it a bit too open. I have a magnificent MacDonald of the Isle Hunting ancient colours. I was thinking of something that I would wear more frequently. If I go 4-5 yards is 16oz a must? What is a double box pleat??