How small is too small-box pleated Black watch

[slohairt]

Your wisdom is requested.

I have some very heavy 18 oz double wide BW which is enough to make a knife pleated kilt or two. I was thinking that, persuaded by Matt Newsome's arguments, a 4 yrd box-pleated kilt would be a good summer wear addition, lighter but enough Substance to Swish (STS parameter). The material is indeed beautiful.

Having never pleated to stripe I was anxious to do that. Splits are 21.5 / 19.5 and 21.5/22.5. The sett is 5 3/8" (136mm) and if I go one a sett (ie strip) then I get 12 pleats but only 45 mm wide (less than 2 inches by 6 mm). If I go to the recommended method: 1.5 setts I get 8 pleats of 2+ inchs per pleat and the pattern "approximates" the sett.

MY QUESTION:
how important is the "no pleating less than 2 inches" rule for the box pleat?
8 large pleats sounds unattractive compared to twelve smaller ones. This is my 3rd kilt.

Are you sure your measuring the sett correctly? 5 3/8" seems incredibly small for 18 oz. Black Watch. Black Watch in that weight is only readily available from two mills: Robert Noble and the House of Edgar. I can't recall the repeat size on Noble's fabric off-hand, but on the House of Edgar's 18 oz. Black Watch it is 34 cm (about 13.4 inches.).

People often make the mistake of measuring Black Watch by measuring from one black line within the green to the next. Is this what you've done? You need to also include the blue sections; the one with a single set of tramlines and the next with the double set. So, the repeat would be green section, single black tramlines set in blue, green section, double black tramlines set in blue, green section. Does this make sense?

[WClarkB]

Are you sure your measuring the sett correctly? 5 3/8" seems incredibly small for 18 oz. Black Watch. Black Watch in that weight is only readily available from two mills: Robert Noble and the House of Edgar. I can't recall the repeat size on Noble's fabric off-hand, but on the House of Edgar's 18 oz. Black Watch it is 34 cm (about 13.4 inches.).

People often make the mistake of measuring Black Watch by measuring from one black line within the green to the next. Is this what you've done? You need to also include the blue sections; the one with a single set of tramlines and the next with the double set. So, the repeat would be green section, single black tramlines set in blue, green section, double black tramlines set in blue, green section. Does this make sense?

ooops huhhhh! (strikes forhead repeatedly after looking for the tramlines) correction 10 7/8 inches. Thank you from the bottom of my (rather dense and unobservant ) heart.

walt