Custom Kilt Advice

[RCAnderson]

I get to have a custom kilt made with our family tartan for a Christmas present, but Im not sure which tartan to use. Once I figured out which tartan to use I have to then decide which way the pleating would look best with that particular tartan.

I can either have it pleated to the sett, or I can have it pleated to one of the stripes, but then I have to choose which stripe I want it pleated to.

I would like to get some input from the rabble to see if they have any ideas to help me decide.

The tartan choices I am choosing between are:

Anderson modern:



Anderson weathered:


Anderson muted:

[MacKenzie]

RC, there are some damn fine kilt craftsmen here that are also proficient at illustrating pleating options digitally. Steve and Barb come to mind. Given the number of tartan options and pleating options you have I think it would be worth your while to offer them a bit of gold dust to work up your options in bits and bytes before you purchase threads.

[James Hood]

Agreed, a hot shot kiltmaker will know which (sett or stripe) best favours the tartan's look and can give you options.

Tossing in, as well, the name of Bonnie Heather Greene (also an X-Mark-er) as one of the best kiltmakers on this faire planet.

[Big Mikey]

I have long considered a kilt in Modern Anderson, my wife's line. If I proceed I would have it done to the sett. It is gorgeous and I think being wrapped in all those colours would look smashing.

[RCAnderson]

Big Mikey,

3 of the wool-blend kilts that I have now are all done to the sett, thats why I was thinking maybe considering the possibility of having this one pleated to one of the lines instead. I have seen several kilts pleated that way and so far everyone that I have seen looks absolutely awesome.

Thats how most pipe band kilts that I have seen are done, the military way. The only band I have seen that uses the modern Anderson tartan is in Canada, and has their done to the sett so I have never seen it pleated to the stripe.

[Downunder Kilt]

Here is a Marton Mills PV in Anderson and pleated to the full red stripe. It is a USA Kilts semi trad. As the pleats are a bit wider than a eight yarder Rocky also caught the edges of the adjoining red boarder guards of the black stripe. An unexpected bonus I discovered when I received the kilt. Cheers.

[OC Richard]

As far as which Anderson to go with, it's not only a matter of which colour scheme (Modern, Muted, Ancient, Weathered, Reproduction) but of which mill.

I know all tartans vary from mill to mill, but it seems to me that Anderson Modern varies more than most.

One mill's Anderson Modern has the background blue a beautiful pure turquoise blue. An old friend always used to wear a kilt made up in that and it was one of the nicest kilts of any tartan I've ever seen.

Another mill's Anderson Modern has the blue closer to a Royal Canadian Air Force blue, more dull and muted.

I really like Anderson in Reproduction/Weathered colours, soft and lovely.

Personally I'm not a fan of the colour Orange so Anderson Ancient, in which all those red lines become orange, doesn't appeal to me.

About pleating to the stripe, an actual kiltmaker will probably chime in with this, but what kiltmakers like, when pleating to the stripe, is to have a stripe surrounded on each side by a wide enough band so that you don't have other stripes invading each pleat. Gordon is an example of what kiltmakers like to see.

Anderson is a rather complex busy tartan and I don't see any stripe that occurs in isolation which would be a good candidate for pleating. I also don't know if the blue bands are wide enough for 'pleating to the block'.

I think every Anderson kilt I've ever seen (until this thread) has been pleated to the sett.

[ForresterModern]

As far as which Anderson to go with, it's not only a matter of which colour scheme (Modern, Muted, Ancient, Weathered, Reproduction) but of which mill.......



Personally I'm not a fan of the colour Orange so Anderson Ancient, in which all those red lines become orange, doesn't appeal to me..........


About pleating to the stripe, an actual kiltmaker will probably chime in with this, but what kiltmakers like, when pleating to the stripe, is to have a stripe surrounded on each side by a wide enough band so that you don't have other stripes invading each pleat. Gordon is an example of what kiltmakers like to see.....................

I agree wholeheartedly with the three sentiments Richard expounds above.

Mill, and tartan weight, can make a huge difference, and even certain tartan "lines" within some weavers can be vastly different. When in doubt, either fork it out for a bunch of samples, or for a trip to a shop or games where you can at least see and feel the differences as in the end several hundred dollars of your "hard-earned" will end up around your waist and you are going to really want to like wearing it. Also remember weight, not just in how it feels and swishes, but in how the lighter weights use narrower yarns and thus narrower overall sett size. Narrow sett size with lots of narrow lines in the sett make it even harder to build as a "pleat to stripe" kilt. In short, if you are thinking pleat to stripe, start thinking heavyweight tartan, 15-16 oz, or regimental weight if you can be lucky enough to find your chosen colorway in that weight.

Regarding Ancients and the reds going orange, I have had the same experience with two kilts, Ancient MacDonald and Ancient Caledonia, both in House of Edgar Nevis 16oz tartan. Both are full of lots of frequent narrow red stripes that do make up a significant percentage of the tartan "real estate". When viewed from a few feet away the red does have a pretty prominent effect on the overall appearance. The above tartans are made in ancient by HOE in 16 oz Nevis line tartan that uses a very, ummmmmm, vibrant (yeah that's the word I was looking for), orange yarns (think traffic cone or hunting hat orange). In the Ancient Caledonia it works well as the whole tartan is made of very bright colors anyway. That one I have in 16 oz pleated to stripe in a 6 yard Kingussie build which uses wider pleats anyway, so less problematic with the "adjacent stripe" issues of the overall sett. But in the Ancient MacDonald in Nevis 16 even pleated to sett was too much bright orange for me. I have subsequently sold that particular kilt and replaced it with a "milder" ancient colorway in 13 oz from Batley Brothers, which I believe may now be defunct. Batley historically had a more dull colorway in general, and in this case it worked well.

Even after deciding on the final tartan choice, give your kiltmaker the chance, using your provided measurements combined with the actual fabric, to "test pleat" some possibilities for your review. Digital is nice but seeing the actual fabric in photos can make a world of difference. Lucky for me, I am visually a pleat to sett kind of guy style wise, just never found the tartan I liked better pleated to stripe. But it is nice to be able to see the options, and maybe one day I will find one I want a kilt in that looks good to my eye in a pleated to stripe build.

Once you've made your decisions, order away, enjoy the crowd "a-jones-ing" for that long cherished kilt. Seeing that your post was just a couple days ago, I hope you are planning on the gift actually being the"ordering" of the kilt, as it is extremely unlikely that anything could be knocked together in the less than three weeks remaining before the big day. With some of the better and busier kiltmakers, it might not even be ready to wear until closer to Christmas 2015. Just saying, be realistic in your expectations.

Once you have it wear it with pride.

[mookien]

RC: I'm with Big Mikey and unixken. I prefer the Anderson in the modern colors and pleated to sett. But, the key word here is "prefer". As suggested by others, get some pictures and decide which combination(s) you prefer. You can see some pretty good pictures via Google Images and by entering the strings "anderson tartan" or "anderson kilt". Good luck on your decision.

John