Kilt Pleats

[KiltFitz]

I think knife pleats personally. Since it is a darker shade of black watch, there won't really be a strong-contrasting dominant stripe in pleating to the stripe such as you see in Tobus' picture of a MacKenzie/Seaforth.

I agree that military pleats are superb. My next planned kilt will be in FitzGerald Military Tartan and will definitely have them (although I also love the look of Lady Chrystal's double box-pleat), however the beauty of line-pleating is in the "reveal" when walking.

With so much material you could have an excellent knife pleated kilt made with dense pleats which will deliver a splendid rear view and a wonderful motion (dependent on weight). What a wonderful quandry to be in however! Be sure and show us pics once it is made!

[Tobus]

I think knife pleats personally. Since it is a darker shade of black watch, there won't really be a strong-contrasting dominant stripe in pleating to the stripe such as you see in Tobus' picture of a MacKenzie/Seaforth.

True, that. Part of the charm of military box pleats is the tight "to the stripe" pleating on a bold colour (usually yellow, red, or white). You're just not going to get that from Blackwatch since it's a fairly homogenous tartan which doesn't have any accent lines. But then again, the same will be true of any pleating style you use for this tartan. So if you want this kilt to have a special feature, it's going to have to be in the pleating style, not in the choice of colour arrangement. Which is why I think the MBP style is the way to go. Especially since you already have a knife-pleated kilt. Why not go for something different?

As I understand it (and as explained in this thread), before the regiments were combined into the RROS, there were two different pleating styles for the Blackwatch tartan. The Blackwatch regiment used knife pleats while the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders used military box pleats. If you go to that thread, you can see photos of how different they look. I think this will go a long way in helping you decide, regardless of which way you go with it.

[David Thorpe]

...the beauty of line-pleating is in the "reveal" when walking.

A high-contrast "flash" is nice, but a high-contrast (exposed) stripe to which to pleat is a separate but also attractive feature.

[GLASGOW]

OK folks, been away for a while but appreciated everyone's comments & input.
Since pictures are worth a thousand words, I thought I'd share a photo of the cloth I have (with a couple of yardsticks for reference).

Enough material for a kilt?

Black Watch.jpg

[Tobus]

Assuming this is the same piece you were speaking of earlier (79"x56"), yep, it should be enough for a low-yardage kilt once it's ripped in half and joined into a single length.

[Barb T]

Enough material for a kilt?
Black Watch.jpg

Not sure what you're asking. The piece looks like it's double width and a bit more than two yards long, which sounds like the fabric you mentioned in the original post. Lots of people weighed in earlier and suggested box pleat or Kingussie, either of which would be dandy. Is there a different question that you have?