Factors Affecting Pleat Swing

[AtagahiKC]

I thought that we should have one place that catalogs the factors affecting pleat swing.

For some odd reason, I started pondering it last night and came up with this list.

Factors affecting the swing of a kilt:

1. Weight of tartan or fabric - the heavier the weight, the greater the swing.

2. The depth of the pleat - rule of thumb is pleat depth should be 3-4 times greater than the reveal, per Steve Ashton at Freedom Kilts.

3. Type of pleat - military box pleats have greater swing than knife pleats, which have greater swing than regular box pleats.

4. Construction - elastic inside military box pleat kilts adds control to pleats, but also helps swing.

I'd appreciate a fact check on No. 3 where knife pleats have greater swing than a normal box pleat. I think that is right intuitively, but I don't have one to verify it.

No. 4 was a theoretical discussion that I recall that we had about military box pleats and the elastic. I can't say if it is true or not.

Does anyone know of anything else that should be added?

[Bugbear]

The way you walk.

[The Celtic Gypsy]

I would think your body and your booty also have an effect on the swing.

[The Wizard of BC]

Welllll there are a couple of other things that effect swish.

Yes, the weight of the fabric does have an effect, and in general the heavier the fabric the better the swish but the "drape" of the fabric is more important.
Even a very light ladies skirt will swish if the fabric has good drape. One of the reasons I build more fabric into my Contemporary Kilts is that the Poly/Cotton I use has less drape than Tartan Wool. So I have to compensate.
To gauge between two fabrics which has better drape you can take a yarn from each and hold them horizontal. The one that sags more has more drape.

Depth of pleat has a big influence on swish yes, but don't use my figures as an example or ideal. They are only good for my Poly/Cottons. Other fabrics will have different drape so will require a different depth of pleat.
You may not have control over your pleat depth because when using Tartan fabric the depth is determined by the Tartans Sett.

Yes, Military Box Pleats have incredible swish. But it's not all do to the type of pleating in a kilt. Drape, Weight, and Pleat depth have more to do with it.
It just so happens that, in general Military Box Pleats have exactly the same amount of fabric as a comparable knife pleated kilt. What gives them better swish if the way the pleats catch the air when they move. MBP have edges that go in both directions so catch air on both the left and right step where regular knife pleats swish more on the right than the left.

Whether elastic inside the pleats helps improve swish depends on where the elastic is placed and how much room you give it. The elastic was originally put there to keep the pleats down in the wind and when running. It was a modesty thing. Now it's done to keep all those pleats controlled and moving as a unit instead of haphazardly. Any time you keep everything moving as a single unit the look will be improved.

And yes, box pleats swish less than knife pleats in general. But they have a totally different type of swish. Again there are two edges that can catch air from either direction. The best analogy I can think of is Box Pleat swish like willow leaves in a light breeze where knife pleats move more like waves on the ocean. Both pretty, but different.

The one thing you forgot to add was the wearer. I'm in the business so watching pleat swish is like market research to me. (At least that's what I tell my wife because I love to see a woman in a kilt walk.) The swish of a woman's kilt will outdo that of a mans' any day. Go search for the pics of Barb's daughter and son-in-law walking together. Her kilt is moving twice as much as his.

So my list of swish factors would look like this.

1) The drape of the fabric.
2) The weight of the fabric.
3) The total amount of fabric in the kilt.
4) The depth of the pleats.
5) The pleating style.
6) The swagger of the wearer.

[Barb T]

One of the biggest factors (and perhaps the biggest, actually) for trad kilts that no one has mentioned is the length of the fell. If the fell is too short, the kilt flaps around and doesn't really swing. If the fell is too long, the pleats don't move well enough for good swing.

Barb

[The Wizard of BC]

You know Barb, I'm starting to get a complex. Every time I make a post you come along behind me and make a better one.

I think I'm going to start a petition banning you from posting here. How am I supposed to maintain my rep. as a know-it-all, expert-on-everything if you keep upstaging me?

[Kiltman]

What a loss it would be if we didn't have both of you. I learn a lot from both of you. It's just that Barb has more swish than Steve.

[Chef]

What a loss it would be if we didn't have both of you. I learn a lot from both of you. It's just that Barb has more swish than Steve.

Ouch that's cold.

However reading the above info I am even more convinced that a MBP kilt will need to be one of my new crop in the New Year.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

The biggest factor that I can think of is simply fabric weight. And there is more to it than just the ounces per yard of the fabric. I mean the total fabric weight of the cloth incorporated into the pleats. Simply put, the more fabric used, the heavier it is, the more the pleats will swing. This is why, all other factors being equal, a 6 yard kilt will swish more than a 4 yard kilt, and an 8 yard kilt will swish more than a 6 yard kilt. All that weight in the back acts like a penulum when you walk. The heavier that pendulum, the more movement you will get.

[Barb T]

I agree with Matt. And for the same amount of fabric (we're talking trad kilt here, 8 yard, for example), the pleat depth is not all that important. Lots of shallower pleats will swing as well as somewhat deeper pleats because the weight of the material is the same.

And Steve comments are really relevant, because his Freedom Kilts and the trad kilts that I make behave differently and the controls on behavior are somewhat different. So, Steve, get out from under your complex, you old curmudgeon you!!

Hogs and quiches,

B