Military Count

[Barb T]

One thing to keep in mind is that military OR kilt tartan is usually a very large sett size, often 9 inches or so. So there are a lot of narrow pleats and each pleat is very deep.

Actually, 9" isn't that big a sett.

While big sett does mean deep pleats (unless you have more than one pleat per sett), deep pleats actually mean _fewer and wider_ pleats, not lots of narrow ones. Having a deep pleat takes up more tartan than a shallow pleat would, so, for the same amount of tartan, you can't get as many pleats out of the tartan with the bigger sett. So, you'll have fewer pleats, and each one will have to be wider in order to cover the back side of the kilt with fewer pleats.

Since they're pleated to the line they MUST have a full repeat of the tartan for each pleat.

Not true. If the stripe occurs more than once per sett, you can have more than one pleat per sett. Here's an example from Weathered Stewart Old Sett, which has a sett size of 15" (_that's_ a big sett). If you tried to pleat this to the sett, you'd get only about 13 really wide, really deep pleats into the kilt. On the other hand, if you pleat to the red stripe, which occurs twice per sett, you can get a normal number of normal size pleats into the kilt:





In the case of your Black Watch kilt, it looks like it was pleated to the black stripe in green, which occurs twice per sett, so I'd be willing to bet that it has two pleats per sett. That's one of the reasons that the BW is pleated that way. I just did one for an XMarker in BW Regimental weight pleated that way.

[OC Richard]

Not true. If the stripe occurs more than once per sett, you can have more than one pleat per sett.

Yes but we're talking military kilts and Gordon and Black Watch for example only has one line per sett. Every actual MOD military kilt I've owned or examined had very deep pleats.

What made them not absurdly heavy was their small waist size, 29". (They were the heaviest kilts I've ever owned in any case. One was so stiff that I could buckle it and stand it up on its own. It was a Canadian military issue Black Watch kilt.)

[xman]

Yes but we're talking military kilts and Gordon and Black Watch for example only has one line per sett.

In both these instances the line which is pleated to is repeated in the sett, so two pleats per sett actually, nice deep ones.

[Barb T]

Yes but we're talking military kilts and Gordon and Black Watch for example only has one line per sett.

Sorry - this isn't true. The black stripe in green in the Black Watch occurs TWICE per sett, which is why the Black Watch is commonly pleated to that stripe, so that the kiltmaker can get two pleats per sett.



Oops - sorry - I posted this before I saw XMan's post. Both Gordon and BW can be pleated to the stripe with two pleats per sett.

[McElmurry]

Actually, 9" isn't that big a sett.

While big sett does mean deep pleats (unless you have more than one pleat per sett), deep pleats actually mean _fewer and wider_ pleats, not lots of narrow ones. Having a deep pleat takes up more tartan than a shallow pleat would, so, for the same amount of tartan, you can't get as many pleats out of the tartan with the bigger sett. So, you'll have fewer pleats, and each one will have to be wider in order to cover the back side of the kilt with fewer pleats.



Not true. If the stripe occurs more than once per sett, you can have more than one pleat per sett. Here's an example from Weathered Stewart Old Sett, which has a sett size of 15" (_that's_ a big sett). If you tried to pleat this to the sett, you'd get only about 13 really wide, really deep pleats into the kilt. On the other hand, if you pleat to the red stripe, which occurs twice per sett, you can get a normal number of normal size pleats into the kilt:





In the case of your Black Watch kilt, it looks like it was pleated to the black stripe in green, which occurs twice per sett, so I'd be willing to bet that it has two pleats per sett. That's one of the reasons that the BW is pleated that way. I just did one for an XMarker in BW Regimental weight pleated that way.

Great looking kilt. Is that the springweight shown here?

http://www.scotweb.co.uk/buy/tartan-...material/16027