Quote Originally Posted by paulhenry View Post
If you look closely you will see they do indeed have a band of a plain fabric, it looks like some sort of satin cloth or ribbon, but because of hte way the kilt are hanging it has sort of folded inside the kilt.
Having a contrasting top band is very traditional ,infact some military kilts can be identified by their green edging.
Paul / X,
Wow...I was about to disagree in part...but in looking very close, I've identified some very unique aspects of these kilts.

They all do appear to have silk satin binding along the top...but ONLY the pleated portion.

Someone in a previous thread had made mention of how they aprons appear to be slightly contoured/curved along the top....it's slight, but if you look at the Royal Stewart kilt in front, you should note that the top edge in the middle of the apron is closer to the horizontal black stripe than at the side where the pleats begin.

Looking at how the ribbon is applied, this now makes absolutely perfect sense! The top of the pleats are not folded over, as they are bound with ribbon. However, in the front of the kilt, the kiltmakers fold over the very top of the apron and then stitch it directly to the lining with no binding...hence, the front of the apron is about 1/2" "lower" (for lack of a better word) than the back pleated portion which is bound in ribbon.

I can see some benefit in this style of construction...
  • With five to six layers of tartan along the top of the kilt, it tends to be a rather bulky edge...the thin bound silk ribbon eliminates that bulk and creates a much smoother and more elegant transition from shirt to kilt (which if you are wearing formal attire is always appreciated.
  • Additionally, a slightly lower cut and less stiff edge along the top of the aprons in the front would likely make bending forward slightly more comfortable and free versus having that doubled up thick ridge on both the apron and under apron there (I've noticed this most particularly on my regimental weight tartan kilt).


I may look at employing this construction style in the next kilt I make.