Length of material for a great kilt?

[AlisterMacAlister]

So the amount of yardage takes into consideration whether or not you have to convert a single into a double width? Sorry, it's still early here, and the coffee hasn't quite kicked in yet

[Luke MacGillie]

So the amount of yardage takes into consideration whether or not you have to convert a single into a double width? Sorry, it's still early here, and the coffee hasn't quite kicked in yet

Yes, when we are talking about great kilts in the historic period.

There are some videos out there on the net that show making a great kilt out of single width fabric, take them with a huge grain of salt, as what you end up wearing is not something that is seen in period images, descriptions or the one surviving example. But they do replicate what Hollywood put on the silver screen....

[davidlpope]

So the amount of yardage takes into consideration whether or not you have to convert a single into a double width? Sorry, it's still early here, and the coffee hasn't quite kicked in yet

Single width material is about 27" to 30" wide. It isn't wide enough to make a great kilt out of without joining two pieces of single width fabric to make a "doublewidth" size (~54 to 60" wide).

Modern doublewidth material removes the need to sew two pieces together for a great kilt (feilidh mor).

So, in other words, you need a piece of tartan ~60" wide by about 3 yards long. If you were making that out of single-width material you would buy 6 yards and sew.




Also, just for clarity:

These are great kilts:



This is not a great kilt. This is made-up junk:

[Hondo]

Greetings to all,

I think, due to your grand writeup David, I finally understand how much tartan I need. Your wee pics have helped.

I am 188cm or 6'2", have a 32 inch waist. Everything I read stated only 'double width' and 6-8 meters or yards long. Buying from Lochcarron, where the tartan is 138cm or 54inches wide, I was in the constant mindset of having 6 yards double width, or 6yards by 108inches - hense the need to order 12 yards of material. So, I am only in need of 4 or 5 yards, depending upon how I choose to wear the kilt.

Am I correct in me thinking?

Cheers!

Single width material is about 27" to 30" wide. It isn't wide enough to make a great kilt out of without joining two pieces of single width fabric to make a "doublewidth" size (~54 to 60" wide).

Modern doublewidth material removes the need to sew two pieces together for a great kilt (feilidh mor).

So, in other words, you need a piece of tartan ~60" wide by about 3 yards long. If you were making that out of single-width material you would buy 6 yards and sew.




Also, just for clarity:

These are great kilts:



This is not a great kilt. This is made-up junk:

[lschwartz]

Greetings to all,

I think, due to your grand writeup David, I finally understand how much tartan I need. Your wee pics have helped.

I am 188cm or 6'2", have a 32 inch waist. Everything I read stated only 'double width' and 6-8 meters or yards long. Buying from Lochcarron, where the tartan is 138cm or 54inches wide, I was in the constant mindset of having 6 yards double width, or 6yards by 108inches - hense the need to order 12 yards of material. So, I am only in need of 4 or 5 yards, depending upon how I choose to wear the kilt.

Am I correct in me thinking?

Cheers!

Hondo,

Since you are six feet tall you may want to order six yards of material instead of just 4 or 5. If it it too long you can always cut it off and maybe make a vest or something with it. But, if you only get 4 or 5 feet you might not have enough to wear it up over your shoulders as a cape/cloak, which is one of the nice things you can do with a great kilt in cold or nasty weather.

Larry

[jthk]

For reference, I'm 5 ft 9 in tall at 165 lb and all of my belted plaids are 4 yards long, double-width. I have several from Lochcarron and I find it works very well for me, at about 54 in wide. I did have a 4.5 yard-long belted plaid that I cut down to 4 yards because even at 4.5 yards, it was simply too much stuff behind me.

As someone suggested, you can always cut it down if it's too much stuff. But as others have said, historically, 3-4 yards would've been common.

Best,
Jonathan

Greetings to all,

I think, due to your grand writeup David, I finally understand how much tartan I need. Your wee pics have helped.

I am 188cm or 6'2", have a 32 inch waist. Everything I read stated only 'double width' and 6-8 meters or yards long. Buying from Lochcarron, where the tartan is 138cm or 54inches wide, I was in the constant mindset of having 6 yards double width, or 6yards by 108inches - hense the need to order 12 yards of material. So, I am only in need of 4 or 5 yards, depending upon how I choose to wear the kilt.

Am I correct in me thinking?

Cheers!

[jhockin]

Re: fabric doubled: some have referenced the painting of the Laird. of Grant's piper (1732), to support the idea that ( at least some people, maybe only those that could afford to, or perhaps only those who could afford to, in colder times of the year?) wore a doubled length of fabric, for the great kilt. If you look closely, one can clearly see two layers, on the sides.

image.jpg

[Damion]

Re: fabric doubled: some have referenced the painting of the Laird. of Grant's piper (1732), to support the idea that ( at least some people, maybe only those that could afford to, or perhaps only those who could afford to, in colder times of the year?) wore a doubled length of fabric, for the great kilt. If you look closely, one can clearly see two layers, on the sides.

There's some quote about highlanders wearing plaids folded in two but whether that means this or is referring to how the upper half was sometimes allowed to fall down like a long skirt is unsure. It would certainly make the plaid easier to put on if you only had to deal with half the length.

This portrait possibly shows a plaid folded in two too: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s...jpg?1383133246

[jhockin]

There's some quote about highlanders wearing plaids folded in two but whether that means this or is referring to how the upper half was sometimes allowed to fall down like a long skirt is unsure. It would certainly make the plaid easier to put on if you only had to deal with half the length.

This portrait possibly shows a plaid folded in two too: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s...jpg?1383133246

I agree that in both paintings, we can see two layers, only on the upper ( above the belt) portion, but, I also believe that (at least for the piper's portrait) this was before the small kilt, so it would make sense that the portion below the belt would also have been doubled. ..we can only speculate ; but, it would certainly make for a warmer garment.

[javankrona]

Single width material is about 27" to 30" wide. It isn't wide enough to make a great kilt out of without joining two pieces of single width fabric to make a "doublewidth" size (~54 to 60" wide).

Modern doublewidth material removes the need to sew two pieces together for a great kilt (feilidh mor).




Also, just for clarity:

These are great kilts:

In this video demonstration, the Scotsman appears to be using a goodly bit of length. He appears to be using at least 6 yards of length; perhaps 8. A trained eye might say better.

https://youtu.be/CglGKvutjjo

And another demo with a bit more explanation along with.

https://youtu.be/vEmES4-7kvc