Paulhenry has given you the best answer.

If the kilt didn't have the upper portion of the pleats cut out, and if it could be "unsewn" without damaging the fabric, you'd still have the aprons to work with, which would shift either left or right, depending on how you repleated the kilt.
It might be sort of fun to print a tartan on a couple of sheets of paper, then tape them together and fold some pleats, making a paper model kilt, then unfold it and repleat it to a different stripe, and see just what happens.