Quote Originally Posted by xman View Post
What limitations do you find in working with the lower yardage, but creating a more traditional looking garment? Can and 6-9" sett be pleated either to sett or stripe for example? Is the last, reversed pleat not possible? ...
The limitations are on the pleating... Without trying to sound 'snotty', you have to at least have an 'artistic eye' to pleat a kilt to a DIFFERENT pattern than the stripe or sett. You're making up your OWN pattern (as the kiltmaker), but it should still look 'respectable' when finished.

Case in point... I wear my Cameron of Erracht 5 Yarder on a regular basis. It's pleated to a Pattern, but not the sett. It still looks nice, even though it's not truly to the sett. You can tell the front and the back are different if you look close:




When someone orders one of our 5 yarders, we DO NOT give the option of stripe or sett as we're limited by the size of the individual and the length of cloth as to how we can pleat it. On the VERY RARE instance when someone demands it be pleated to stripe, we explain that the pleats may be 1.5" wide in order to pleat it to the stripe (and there may only be 12 pleats vs. 20) and make them sign off on it before starting.

We always give a kilt a reverse pleat at the last pleat whether it's Semi Traditional, 5 yard or 8 yard. Casuals we do not for different reasons (how it's constructed, so it doesn't need it).