Attention all Kiltmakers, does anyone have good photos of this specific tartan?

[ChrisRossKin]

Hi Everyone,
Just want to know if anyone has any photos or references of how the Ross Tartan in the Modern Red looks pleated to the stripe (military or box stripe)?
I ordered the book, "The Art of Kiltmaking," and it's great, however I wanted to see the different way's I could create the folds in the pleat visually.
Any help would be great.
Got the fabric from Scotland recently and it looks great.
Thanks
Chris:

[RockyR]

While I don't have any pictures of a kilt pleated that way, one trick I've used is to find a quality image (one that shows the tartan very 'square' to the edges) of the tartan and PHOTOSHOP it. Copy / paste a TALL & THIN box surrounding the predominent stripe and paste, paste, paste. Line them up and you have an approximation of what it will look like pleated to the stripe.

I hope this helps!

[davidlpope]

Red looks pleated to the stripe (military or box stripe)?

I wanted to see the different way's I could create the folds in the pleat visually.


Got the fabric from Scotland recently and it looks great.
Thanks
Chris:

Rocky's suggestion is what I usually do and highly recommended.

One other easy way (since you already have your fabric) is to just lay out folds (as you would do when you are getting ready to pin and sew the pleats) in the fabric that you have. Try centering different elements of the sett on the pleats and then stand back 10-12 feet from the fabric. You'll be able to get a good idea of what the completed kilt would look like.

David

[The Wizard of BC]

David's suggestion is a good one.

Here in my shop we do exactly what he suggests. We take the customers fabric and pin it up three, four or ten different ways.
We then shoot pics and send them to the customer to choose from.

Here is a set of pleating samples for the Isle of Skye Tartan.






If you have a large piece of glass laying around drop that on top of your samples if you wish.

And here is a pleating sample of our own X Marks Tartan.



If you already have the fabric it would be a matter of a few minutes playing around with your fabric to 'get to know' your Tartan. Looking at it this way helps a lot when you get ready to start pleating and stitching as you become real familiar with the elements of the Tartan you are working with.

A note: when laying out your pleating samples make sure you look at how each pleat will be tapered. If you layout with one stripe or element right along one edge of a pleat that stripe may disappear when you taper changing the entire look you spent all that time working on.

[ChrisRossKin]

You guy's are great and thanks for responding so fast. Just as another example, if anyone does find a photo of someone wearing this tartan in a kilt like on the net per se, please let me know asap.

Thank you all again and please keep in touch.
Chris

[ChrisRossKin]

Just have to say, this is fun! I've been laying out the material and it's neat how one color can stand out or two can combine together from a distance to have a great effect.
I'm starting to get a good idea of what I want to do, but still please send any pictures for feedback on some ideas.
Thanks again
Love being a Scottish descendant & look forward to share the results of my Kilt,
Chris

[Ryan Ross]

It's weathered colors and it's a 4 yard box pleat, but this might give you an idea:



A little color correction might make it closer to a modern color scheme:

[Barb T]

Just remember that, if you're going to do the PhotoShop thing (and you don't actually have the tartan in hand to pin it up), that you really need to know what the sett size is. Make sure that the "slices" you take are a realistic size for the pleats relative to the actual sett size (3/4-7/8" is a good average for pleats for a trad knife-pleated kilt) - otherwise, you won't have a test that will show what your kilt will look like.

For instance, in the tartan below, you might grab slices and lay up a test like C. It looks great and could make a handsome pleating to the stripe. However, the sett size is large enough that you could only achieve that look in a box-pleated kilt. The green pivot with the yellow and buff on either side is wide enough that a typical pleat size for a knife-pleated kilt wouldn't show any of the blue, and a kilt pleated to the green stripe would look like A (which you might or might not like, but you certainly wouldn't want to be surprised!!).



And, if you do either the pinning option or the PhotoShop option, remember to taper the pleats a little - if your kilt will have any waist-hip differential, you need to take this into account. If you have lots of stripes, and the pleats taper any, you can "lose" stripes toward the top of the kilt. For example, this would be a poor choice if the pleats tapered much, but you wouldn't know it unless you did a tapered test:



And when I do a PhotoShop test, I always grab *wedges* of tartan so that I can see what the pleats will look like tapered. Here's an example (and you can see, again, why it's so important to know the sett size!!):

[ChrisRossKin]

Barbara
I've got your book on the "Art of Kiltmaking", which by the way is absolutely wonderful. As you may know, the Ross Modern tartan in Red is not represented there and I wanted to know if you have seen it or how I could determine the sett.
I am reading the book as time permits, but for this specific tartan we are a little confused. My wife sews quite a bit, yet we see a place in it where the tartan seems to reverse the pleat stripes. We are looking at it correctly because in the "Art of Kiltmaking," you explain how to view it right.
I do have the fabric and when I get back today from my class I will post a photo of it, if you think you could help me determine the sett.
Thanks so much for all you are doing for the sake of we Scott's, for the tradition and for sharing your expertise.
Chris

[Hothir Ethelnor]

The Ross clan tartan has a huge sett.

I created the following image that shows the pivot points. I put black lines over the place where the tartan repeats itself.