Construction Method/Modern Kilt

[Barb T]

What he's talking about is the fact that what we call a trad kilt has a stitched fell, and he's objecting to the fact that the pleats are stitched from the waist to the bottom of the fell. The "traditional" kilt that he refers to is what we typically call a great kilt.

[ChattanCat]

What he's talking about is the fact that what we call a trad kilt has a stitched fell, and he's objecting to the fact that the pleats are stitched from the waist to the bottom of the fell. The "traditional" kilt that he refers to is what we typically call a great kilt.

If that is the case, then IMHO, the sewing of the pleats down to the fell allows a better fit, less bulk, and looks better. I remove excess material of the pleats between the fell and top of the kilt by cutting the inside of the pleats.

[Carolina Kiltman]

Then there are those of us who could use a bit of extra padding back there I'm still trying to figure how to move excess waist to that part of my anatomy.

[Pleater]

I suspect it is to make a neat outline, removing the bulk of the material and holding it close to the body rather than the sack tied in the middle look of a casually donned great kilt.

It is similar to the alteration in the countryman's smock to make it into the modern shirt.

These days we see lots of people wearing baggy clothing, saggy trousers, so we think little of it, but after Beau Brummel the manly outline was decidedly a smoothly tailored one. Victorian Englishmen even wore corsets to narrow their waists.

The unstructured great kilt simply would not do.

Anne the Pleater