A Military box pleat kilt

[JohnH]

The end of a long-running saga, or, “By George, I think he’s got it!”

I have been on a quest for the last 23 years, on and off, namely, to find out how to construct a Military Box Pleat kilt. For reasons that escape me, the information does not appear to be out there, although there are a few kiltmakers who offer the option on their kilts. (For an extra $200. [It is justified, as each pleat is sewn down twice, plus a lot of extra basting.]) (And many more who say that they no longer have, or never did have the required skills.) I got the impression that this was a State secret that must NOT be revealed, as the information might, somehow, help the Kaiser win the war. (If it is a BIG secret, my next visit to the UK may end with a one way trip to the Tower!)

When I did find THE SECRET, it turned out to be a major anticlimax. One of those moments when you say, “That’s just SO obvious. What was all the fuss about and why did it take me so long to figure it out?” A true cartoon light-bulb moment.

The F.H.C.A.G. set such a perfect precedent with the recent saga on her “Cheerleading skirt” (So many pieces of fabric! Such patience! Such a good job!), that I must follow her excellent example & keep you all waiting for the next instalment!

[David Dalglish]

Interesting-Keep us posted on progress

[Tattoo Bradley]

Kathy Lare offers military box-pleating...

[Alan H]

Our very own way2fractious has knocked out two military box pleat kilts and I believe is working on a third.

[Sean_the_Kilted]

I've seen the diagrams of what makes a Military box pleat, but what makes it so special? They seem like they would be a lot heavier.

[McMurdo]

Can not wait to see it John, I must say that I was very impressed with the kilt you were wearing when we met at Fionn McCools.

[The Wizard of BC]

Robert MacDonald of "West Coast Kilts" is a retired military kiltmaker that has quite a bit of experience with the Military Box Pleat.
He is a member here and goes by the nic of kiltykiltycauldbum.

[Panache]

Our very own way2fractious has knocked out two military box pleat kilts and I believe is working on a third.

And when the latest run of X Marks the Scot Tartan he can start another after that

Cheers

Jamie

[JohnH]

Kathy Lare offers military box-pleating...
__________________
Bradley Henderson
"Tattoos and Tartan"

As does Robert McDonald of "West Coast Kilts. (Thanks for that info. Steve. I'm sorry that I will miss his expose at KiltKamp.) It is also possible that Burnett's & Struth offer it. But, most do not.

Our very own way2fractious has knocked out two military box pleat kilts and I believe is working on a third.(AlanH)

I know that now. Panache is quite right, there is so much talent on this board that it is difficult to follow it all. I had arrived at the pleat cutting stage when I semi-remembered something about it. So I went looking for it. He & I arrived at the same destination by following different paths.

I've seen the diagrams of what makes a Military box pleat, but what makes it so special? They seem like they would be a lot heavier. (Sean the Kilted)

That's really what is at the heart of the mystery! There are 2 extra layers, but only one layer is actually stitched, which means that the top should actually end up thinner!!

Can not wait to see it John, I must say that I was very impressed with the kilt you were wearing when we met at Fionn McCools. (McMurdo)

Thanks Glen. We forgot to take photos then, so here are front & back views.



I'll post the next section later tonight after I have sorted the photos.

[JohnH]

OK that’s enough suspense. If you buy, beg, borrow, steal (Just kidding!) an ex-military box pleat kilt*, open the stitching at the bottom of the lining and poke your way through all the layers, you will, eventually, find a single layer that is the back side of the pleat reveal stitched on both left and right edges. The 2 edges of the pleat reveal are just stitched to their neighbouring edges and NOT through 4 layers.









* Mine is an un-issued, still basted, Queen’s Own Highlanders (Mackenzie Seaforth Tartan) kilt made by Thomas Gordon & Sons.**, bought off eBay for a really silly price. (Maybe it is sometimes good to be smaller, less demand!)



[** Hmmm….. the regiment was formed in early 1961, by amalgamating the Seaforth Highlanders with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders and Elsie apprenticed with Thomas Gordon……]

So, to make one for yourself, get a copy of “The Art of Kiltmaking” and read it several times. (DON’T do what I did. I read all I that could find on kiltmaking and managed to get some of the other instructions mixed up with (Barb and Elsie)’s. My first, hand sewn, kilt, (18oz. ex-MOD Hunting Rose. [As worn by the Pipes & Drums of the 1st. Battallion, Royal Tank Regiment, which was originally formed as a Naval unit. Think Landships.]) therefore, came out slightly too big. When I have time, I will correct that.)

I decided that, this time, I was going to make a military box pleat kilt to what appears to be a Government Specification: 31 pleats. For a 30” waist, that breaks one of Barb’s rules, i.e. the width of a pleat at the waist must be ½”, or more. (It does, however, allow you to put 8 yards of cloth into a smaller kilt!) Mine came out at just over 3/8” (10.6mm.). (About the same as my QOH and exactly the same as my knife pleat ex-Black Watch (Hector Russell). That’s why I think it’s a Government Spec., (Can anybody verify this?) as all of the military kilts I have examined have 31 pleats (knife or box) and, for the smaller kilts, the pleat width MUST be less than ½”.)



Please note that I did not just copy my QOH kilt. It is a tad on the small side, though perfectly usable by not reefing (Naval expression!) the straps to the last hole. So, I measured it and my Black Watch kilt and then compared the results with the table of splits in Appendix B and the information on pp. 50-1. The result is a kilt that fits perfectly and looks good. (IMHO!)

Since I don’t, yet, have the confidence to tackle my “horribly expensive”™ 8m. of Lochcarron, Maple Leaf, 16oz. single-width Strome, (I’ve been sitting on it for almost a year, but, it’s very comfortable!) I bought 8m. of Douglas remnant (11oz. Poly/wool) from Fraser and Kirkbright, so I have 2 pieces to practice with and no centre join to worry about. (I made sure to rip it length-wise as soon as it arrived. Otherwise, I might have, accidentally, cut it in half width-wise and ended up with two 4m. pieces.) Incidentally, the Douglas tartan is also Government Pattern number 6. (Cameronians and Canada’s Perth Regiment.) [OK, there are two versions of the Douglas: 3 ½” sett and 7” sett. The F & K version is the 3 ½”. So, double up on the sett measurements unless you like really shallow pleats.]

For those who want to know more about military tartans, here is a link to an index of Military tartans, with further links to the regiments that wore them: http://www.regiments.org/tradition/tartansx.htm

They don’t show the Maple Leaf tartan as that is uniquely Canadian rather than Commonwealth.

Stay tuned for the next instalment.