4yd Box Pleated Kilt -- to the sett

[M. A. C. Newsome]

On another thread, recently the topic came up about having a four yard box pleated kilt pleated to the sett, and I mentioned that this was possible for some tartans whose sett size is smaller than the norm.

A couple of folks have asked for more details about this, and since that original thread was meant as a review of another kiltmaker's product (Keltoi) I didn't want to hijack the thread by going into too much detail about that. I also didn't want this topic to get lost in another thread, so I thought I'd start a thread specifically about this. John (Keltoi), please feel free to chime in if you like -- same to Barb and anyone else who has experience making 4yd box pleated kilts.

So, the question is, what sett sizes work best if you want to make a box pleated kilt to the stripe?

Well, before I answer that directly, it would be helpful to give some general principles. I base my box pleated kilts as much as I can on the historic examples. The original military box pleated kilts from the 1790s were all pleated to stripe. Civilian kilts were pleated to no pattern at all but soon followed the military example and by the 1820s pleating to stripe was the norm for civilian kilts, as well. Pleating to the stripe remained the norm till the 20th century. So most of the box pleated kilts I make will be pleated to stripe by default.

When I make a box pleated kilt, I ideally want the visible "reveal" of the pleat to be about 1/3 of the size of the sett. This way, when I pleat the kilt to the stripe, the depth of each pleat is about half of the width of the pleat reveal, meaning the opposing pleats will just meet in the center of each "box." This cannot always be done perfectly, depending on the exact measurements I am making the kilt to, and the sett size, but I like to get as close to this as possible. A little bit of a gap or a little bit of an overlap is no real problem. But this is the ideal I always aim for.

As for the size of the pleats themselves, I find that 2.25" at the hips is a good minimum. I've done them as narrow as 2" but I find the pleats don't hang as nicely. The depth of the pleats gets too narrow and they don't want to lie as flat. So I like the pleats to be at least 2.25" wide. This means that the sett repeat would need to be at least 6.75". And for most tartans, this is not a problem. I find sett repeats from 7" to 9" to be very common.

What do I do when I get a sett repeat that is smaller than that? One option is to pleat to alternate stripes by skipping every other pivot point. For example, if a tartan pivots on a yellow stripe and a red stripe, I'd put the yellow stripe on the center of one pleat, then I'd skip past that pivot and center the next pleat on the other (red) pivot. Essentially, I am treating the sett size as if it were 50% larger than it is. So if a tartan has a 6" sett repeat, I would be treating it like it had a 9" sett repeat.

Using my 1/3 rule, that would make the pleats approximately 3" wide at the hips. And if each pleat is designed to show 1/3 of the sett, and I am pretending like my sett is 1.5 times larger than it actually is, then in reality each pleat shows 1/2 the true sett.

The visual effect is the same as pleating to the sett.

Here is an example. This is a kilt I made for myself in the weathered Armstrong tartan.

The sett repeat on this kilt is 6". Each pleat measures 3" across at the hips and is 1.5" deep.

I'm sure there are other ways to achieve pleating to the sett in a 4yd box pleated kilt, but this is how I commonly do it, and I find it works out very well for those tartans with a somewhat smaller than normal sett repeat.

[Nighthawk]

Here's a picture of my new one:



It's MacLeod hunting. I haven't gotten any pictures of it on me yet, but I will soon. (Truth is that it's an 8 yard double box- I don't know if that matters or not.)

[BoldHighlander]

Thanks Matt

[BroosterB1]

Is that basting stiches still there or are you sheading again? what's it hunting Roses?

Just giving ya a hard time, fine looking kilt!

I'm still jonesing for my Pride of Scotland 4 yard box. Someday.

[dfmacliam]

I guess I should show my new kilt... the one that started this thread... I do appreciate Matt coming forward and educating us, about pleating to the line, sett, and whatever that makes a nice kilt.

My kilt is made by John Hart (slohairt) and his Keltoi Gaelic Clothing. It is an O'Saffron, made by Lochcarron in 16oz.

[Nighthawk]

Is that basting stiches still there or are you sheading again? what's it hunting Roses?

Just giving ya a hard time, fine looking kilt!

I'm still jonesing for my Pride of Scotland 4 yard box. Someday.

Har har. It's hunting three legged haggis.

[slohairt]

The method Matt described is exactly what I did. The O'Saffron tartan has a sett of 5 inches exactly, so a pleat facing of 1.66" isn't going to work. (Unless you're a toddler!) So, I added 2.5 inches to the sett for a total of 7.5 inches. Much easier to work with, producing a facing of 2.5 inches.

Another good thing to remember is that, like a "tank" pleated to the sett, when box-pleating to the sett, you must come up with an odd number of pleats as there needs to be a centre pleat. (Which should be the same stripe centred on the apron.)

[Farlander]

Thanks Matt for the detailed description. I now see that what started off as a seemingly simple question on my part was a bit more complex than I realized.

I now find myself curious about a tailored kilt "pleated to no pattern at all". Does anyone know where I can find examples of such?

[chasem]

http://kilts.albanach.org/pics.html

bottom of the page

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I made a Matheson kilt once pleated to no pattern. It had an extremely large sett (something like 14" if I recall), and the gentleman was very narrow in the waist. Try as I might I just couldn't work out a regular pattern to pleat that too. So I did the late eighteenth century thing and pleated to no pattern at all!

I have pics of it on my laptop I'll try and upload later today and post here.

In the meantime here are a few other kilts I have pleated to the sett.


County Kerry


Wallace Hunting


MacKinnon Hunting. (I really like this one. If you look closely every other pleat is a different size. I did this to make the pleats the same width as the green and brown portions of the tartan, respectively).


County Fermanagh


MacGregor ancient


MacMedic (hmmm.... is this one pleated to the sett or to the stripe? You decide!)


Rose muted


St. Patrick


Texas Bluebonnet

If the sett size is just right, it is sometimes possible to pleat the kilt either way. Here are two Watson tartan kilts, made from the exact same cloth (16 oz Lochcarron), made for a father and son. One to the sett, one to the stripe.