5 Yard Ramble

[xman]

Always intrigued and recently enthralled with the idea of shorter yard kilts I've been developing this fascination with shorter yardage kilts for a while now. Not very happy with how my clan tartan pleats to the stripe, on a whim I started pleating to the reverse sett with the graphic tartan images and quite like how it can come out.

Could those of you who own reverse pleated kilts please weigh in here and tell me what you think of them please? How do they feel? How do they function compared to longer yardage kilts? etc. I would much appreciate learning more from those 'in the know'.

X

[MacMillan's son]

X, I'm not familiar with the terms "reverse sett" or "reverse pleated". Can you elaborate, or better yet, show an example of what these are?

Thanks,
Brooke

[xman]

X, I'm not familiar with the terms "reverse sett" or "reverse pleated". Can you elaborate, or better yet, show an example of what these are?

Rocky's Cameron of Erracht Muted 5 Yard Wool Kilt is an excellent example and I suspect that most anyone who weighs in here will have theirs from USAK.



Neither pleating to the length of the sett plus the width of the pleat to achieve a pleating to the sett appearance nor pleating to the exact length of the sett and achieving pleating to the stripe, the depth of each pleat is instead shortened as the next pleat face is found somewhere just shy of a full repeat of the sett. Look closely at the pleats in Rocky's kilt. The sett is altered across the pleats (compare to along them) to reveal different qualities in the pattern.

I should say that it is not the artistic merit of the short yardage kilt which concerns me. That is a matter for the kilt maker and the wearer to work out aesthetically. I'm more wondering about the weight and the sway of the pleats, how the open, etc.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I wouldn't call that pleated to "reverse sett" as there really is no such thing. Given that most tartans are symmetrical, if you reversed the sett you'd end up with the exact same thing. If the sett is ABCBA then reversing that would give you ABCBA still.

What you see in Rocky's kilt above is a kilt pleated to a regular, made up pattern. It looks very close to pleating to the sett, but a careful eye will discover that certain elements of the sett are missing in the pleats. And so while it is pleated to a regular pattern, it is not the entire sett. It's a pattern the kilt maker created.

This is quite often done even in eight yard kilts with a tartan that has an especially large repeat (Ogilvie of Airlie springs to mind). However, if one is making a kilt with less yardage, it might have to also be done with tartans with more standard size setts.

The term "reverse pleats" would indicate to me pleats that run in the opposite direction as normal, but that's not the case with this kilt. So I'm not sure what it meant there.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

On the subject of lower yardage kilts in general, there is absolutely nothing wrong with them. As a general rule of thumb, the more yardage used in the kilt, the more pleats you will have, the deeper the pleats will be, and the more narrow the visible reveal of the pleat will be. There are ways around this -- a creative pleating style, as Rocky exhibits, may allow you to have more pleats with less yardage, but the trade off is that the pleats won't be as deep.

An upside to a lower yardage kilt (besides the obvious one of costing less) is that it is a lighter weight garment, making it more comfortable to wear. The trade off there is that additional weight in an eight yard kilt contributes to the "swish and swing" factor of the kilt, so a lower yardage kilt will have less of that somewhat.

I, personally, really love lower yardage kilts. My favorite kilts use lower yardages and are made from heavy weight worsted wool. Best of both worlds, if you ask me. It's a great way of having a kilt made from good, heavy weight wool, but still having a light weight kilt.

This is a five yard knife pleated kilt I recently made for myself from Harris Tweed.


Here is a six yard knife pleated kilt I made for myself in the Highland Granite tartan from Lochcarron.


I don't know if you are limiting yourself to knife pleats or not, but here's a five yard Kingussie pleated kilt I have made for a fellow forum member here.


And of course the box pleated kilts, which are my specialty, made with four yards.


For anyone interested in lower yardage kilts, I suggest you browse through my web site at:
http://www.newhousehighland.com

[artificer]

Great info Matt! That Harris Tweed kilt in your first pic is a stunner!

[Mipi]

Maybe instead of "reverse sett" it should be called "mirrored sett"?

Matt, all your creations are great!

Mipi

[Woodsheal]

I don't quite grasp the pleating chat, but my 5-yd. knife-pleated (to the stripe) US Army kilt in 16 oz. tartan is a joy to wear - so well balanced and comfortable. I own an 8-yd. kilt but I doubt I'll ever buy another one...!

[Nighthawk]

I have one of Rocky's five yarders, and have been nothing short of thrilled with it. It's nice and comfortable, breathes really well, and I can wear it in the Colorado summer heat! I've worn it on days that were 100+ degrees, and it's been great. The pleats don't have the same heavy swing, but other than that, it's really nice. I highly recomend them.

[xman]

Thank-you Matt for the great info and fantastic pics on some of your lower yardage kilts. I agree with Artificer that that tweed is very beautiful. A tweed kilt may be in my future.

Thanks as well, Nighthawk and Woodsheal. It is the comfort factor that I am primarily concerned with achieving.

Maybe instead of "reverse sett" it should be called "mirrored sett"?

I like that.