What Goes with the Great Kilt?

[Jack Daw]

1st off.... lets stop calling it a "Great Kilt."

Please visit :
http://albanach.org/generations.html

2nd..... Not to be mean or anything, but lets point out that those sleeveless kilt shirts are a play on what "Mel Gibson" wore in a certain movie and are not accurate.

To add to that shirt, any so called re-enactment group wearing that just plain makes me laugh. It's even worse when folks refer to them as "Spot on" in the area of historical accuracy. Actually, those groups are part of the problem for continuing the mass confusion on facts that so many people just plain have.

It's actually really sad; to mix an inaccurate movie and/or TV, with fantasy barbarianism, Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque.

The feileadh-mor/breacan-an-feileadh period really lands right in the Baroque period 1600 -1750. Being The Life of Red Hugh O'Donnell (1594) - Act of Proscription (1747) being the main time frame for the belted plaid. Perhaps a knew term should be created.. I suggest "Highland Baroque." Like there is German Baroque, Italian Baroque, English Baroque, etc.....

Yes, I know the belted plaid was worn further into 19th century, the heart of it's period ends with the Act of Proscription.

Yus, yus. You're preachin' to the choir.

[jrmiller]

I wore the outfit to the Ohio Ren faire as planned (I was there last Sunday). I was basically wearing a "blanket" 12' long x 5' high, belted at the waist. The portion above the belt was pulled up the front and rear of my left shoulder and fastened with a very long hat pin (5" or so). I was wearing wooly gray knee-high socks and sandals.

I will post a pic soon, the gal that took pics hasn't sent them to me yet.

Question: since my "blanket" was soooo big, there was a lot of fabric to pin together at the shoulder. The 5" pin worked. I would like something a little nicer and have looked at several metal brooches. Frankly, the "pin" part of most of these are just too light-weight for the job. Hence, do you know of a heavier brooch that is reasonably authentic that is actually made for a kilt of my design?

[vmac3205]

I'm thinking haggis goes very well with the great kilt.

[HeathBar]

Question: since my "blanket" was soooo big, there was a lot of fabric to pin together at the shoulder. The 5" pin worked. I would like something a little nicer and have looked at several metal brooches. Frankly, the "pin" part of most of these are just too light-weight for the job. Hence, do you know of a heavier brooch that is reasonably authentic that is actually made for a kilt of my design?

Look for a pennanular brooch. Its period looking. I just sold one in the for sale section. They can be bought from several places for different amounts. Look for them on Ren Faire clothing sites.

[JRB]

I

Question: since my "blanket" was soooo big, there was a lot of fabric to pin together at the shoulder. The 5" pin worked. I would like something a little nicer and have looked at several metal brooches. Frankly, the "pin" part of most of these are just too light-weight for the job. Hence, do you know of a heavier brooch that is reasonably authentic that is actually made for a kilt of my design?

A bodkin of about 3" long would be the most historically correct way to wear the belted plaid. It holds the plaid very securely.

[Woodsheal]

The pennanular brooches fell out of use in the early Middle Ages, well before the "great kilt" period. Yep, you want a bodkin! These fancy Celtic hair-pins make cool-looking bodkins for your plaid:
http://www.craftycelts.com/hair/lightpins.html

[Panache]

Playing around with the tartan cloth I have came up with a method of folding that seemed to work great but is different than the other methods I have seen online.

I roughly measured out enough cloth for the under apron

Then I gathered enough pleats to use up the majority of the material.

Next I belted the under apron, the pleats and the too long over apron.

Then I slung the rest of the material from the over apron behind my back and over the left shoulder.

It seemed far more manageable to deal and use the extra cloth this way.

I assume this must be wrong, but I wanted the feedback from those who are more knowledgeable about this.

Cheers

Jamie :ootd:

[Woodsheal]

Playing around with the tartan cloth I have came up with a method of folding that seemed to work great but is different than the other methods I have seen online.

I roughly measured out enough cloth for the under apron

Then I gathered enough pleats to use up the majority of the material.

Next I belted the under apron, the pleats and the too long over apron.

Then I slung the rest of the material from the over apron behind my back and over the left shoulder.

It seemed far more manageable to deal and use the extra cloth this way.

I assume this must be wrong, but I wanted the feedback from those who are more knowledgeable about this.

Cheers

Jamie :ootd:

Hmmmm...did you end up with something like this :

[Panache]

Brian,




Well I guess that answered that question!


Seriously though, it went across the front and then just behind my back and then up over the shoulder. The material didn't come all the way to the belt.

Cheers

Jamie

[Woodsheal]

Brian,




Well I guess that answered that question!


Seriously though, it went across the front and then just behind my back and then up over the shoulder. The material didn't come all the way to the belt.

Cheers

Jamie

I think I can visualize what you're doing, Jamie. It works, but does it still allow you to spread out the upper material around your shoulders in cape fashion, or draw it up over your head? That's the beauty of the belted plaid: that it can form a warm upper-body garment....