I've been having Matt Newsome make 5 and 6 yard knife pleats for me for several years. To my way of thinking they are the best of all worlds-balanced and comfortable while retainig the advantages of traditional kilt look and heavyweight tartan. There will be fewer pleats and the pleats will be wider, but the effect is not displeasing, particularly if pleating to a stripe that is a little wider than average. There should be a thread on lower yardage kilts, I'll see if I can dig it up. In terms of construction, I think that things are the same, although you may not need to cut out the pleats for a 5 yarder, or put in canvas. These are handsewn kilts, though, and not machine top-stitched "casual" kilts. You can see a representative photo of my Leatherneck kilt if you go to the photos portion of Matt'e kilt website.