Length of material for a great kilt?

[AlisterMacAlister]

Hey all,

I have a close friend who was the one who actually got me into going to the Highland Games years back. He's made several great kilts himself, and recommends a full 9 yards and nothing less. He also has a 44-inch waist. I have a 36-inch waist, and I've seen some threads here that recommend at least 6 yards for people UP TO a 44-inch waist.

So.. what would be your recommendation? Is a full 9 yards really necessary?

Specifics about me:
Height: 5'10"
Natural waist: 36"
Seat: 40"
Length from waist to kneecap: 21"

Thanks for the help!
-Mark

[Steve Ashton]

Etymologists are those who study the meanings and origins of words and phrases.

Not one has ever been able to determine the origins of "The whole 9 yards".
One story is that it is the amount of fabric in a kilt. Sorry, a full traditional kilt is made from 8 yards.
One story is that it is the length of the belt of bullets used in a WWI fighter. Sorry, bullets are counted by the number or rounds per belt, not the length of the belt.
One story is that it is the amount of fabric needed to make a man's custom suit. Sorry, a Saville Row Tailor need no more than anyone else. About 2 to 4 yards.
No one knows where the phrase "The whole nine yards" comes from but it is not kilts.

[AlisterMacAlister]

Etymologists are those who study the meanings and origins of words and phrases.

Not one has ever been able to determine the origins of "The whole 9 yards".
One story is that it is the amount of fabric in a kilt. Sorry, a full traditional kilt is made from 8 yards.
One story is that it is the length of the belt of bullets used in a WWI fighter. Sorry, bullets are counted by the number or rounds per belt, not the length of the belt.
One story is that it is the amount of fabric needed to make a man's custom suit. Sorry, a Saville Row Tailor need no more than anyone else. About 2 to 4 yards.
No one knows where the phrase "The whole nine yards" comes from but it is not kilts.

I understand that much, but what I'm asking is this: is a full 9 yards of fabric actually necessary in order to make my own great kilt given the measurements I listed up above? I suppose my main point in asking is that MacAlister of Glenbarr Hunting Modern is not the cheapest tartan in the world..

Thanks!
-Mark

[Steve Ashton]

Nope.
The amount of fabric needed for a kilt varies.

And there is still some debate over what a Great Kilt actually was.

Some like myself believe that it was much more like a blanket you may have seen around the shoulders of N. American Indians. An adaption of the Irish Brat.

Others point to one or two old samples of single width fabric that have been sewn together to give double-width.

Both are about the same size - around 2 yards wide by between 2 and 4 yards long.

[Luke MacGillie]

Welcome!

You and I are not much different in size, I wear a great kilt almost exclusively, abeit while doing 18th Century reenacting. Mine is made from 3 yards of double width fabric, I could probably get away with 2 and a half yards, but its nice to have the extra.

Like Steve alluded to above, historically there is a whole lot of evidence that in the military, soliders were issued single width plaiding which was butted together to make something akin to todays double width tartan cloth. When the 77th Regiment of Foot was raised for service here in North America each solider received 12 yards of plaiding every 2 years. My feeling, and only a feeling, I cant document it, is that they were making either 1 great kilt out of 6 yards, and one kilt out of the other 6 yards.

Later when the great kilt fell out of favor a slightly narrower type of fabric became common, this was referred to in documents as kilting.

In many military documents the word tartan is very often used in reference to the red and white check material used to make hose.





In case you have not seen these write ups, they are worth the look:

https://albanach.org/did-the-early-b...ce9#.p9zr5cp4h

http://www.scottishtartans.co.uk/A_H..._MacGregor.pdf

Hope this helps!

[Tarheel]

Luke, your knowledge base (like OC Richard) on military issues always helps in the understanding of kilting. I am also the same size as you and think 6 yards would be more than enough fabric for a great kilt. Thanks for the input.

[AlisterMacAlister]

So the amount of yardage takes into consideration whether or not you have to convert a single into a double width? Sorry, it's still early here, and the coffee hasn't quite kicked in yet

[Luke MacGillie]

So the amount of yardage takes into consideration whether or not you have to convert a single into a double width? Sorry, it's still early here, and the coffee hasn't quite kicked in yet

Yes, when we are talking about great kilts in the historic period.

There are some videos out there on the net that show making a great kilt out of single width fabric, take them with a huge grain of salt, as what you end up wearing is not something that is seen in period images, descriptions or the one surviving example. But they do replicate what Hollywood put on the silver screen....

[davidlpope]

So the amount of yardage takes into consideration whether or not you have to convert a single into a double width? Sorry, it's still early here, and the coffee hasn't quite kicked in yet

Single width material is about 27" to 30" wide. It isn't wide enough to make a great kilt out of without joining two pieces of single width fabric to make a "doublewidth" size (~54 to 60" wide).

Modern doublewidth material removes the need to sew two pieces together for a great kilt (feilidh mor).

So, in other words, you need a piece of tartan ~60" wide by about 3 yards long. If you were making that out of single-width material you would buy 6 yards and sew.




Also, just for clarity:

These are great kilts:



This is not a great kilt. This is made-up junk:

[jthk]

Hello!

I have two belted plaids ("great kilts"): one 10 oz Lochcarron wool, weathered Ulster tartan. That one is 4 yards long (double-width) and is perfect for my 34.5" waist, 5 ft 9 in, 165 lb frame. I also have a 16 oz Lochcarron wool, Canadian Maple Leaf tartan. That one is 4.5 yards and is too long. It's also lovely and heavy so I'm wondering if I should cut it down to 3.5 yards (again, it's double-width fabric).

Best,
Jonathan

Hey all,

I have a close friend who was the one who actually got me into going to the Highland Games years back. He's made several great kilts himself, and recommends a full 9 yards and nothing less. He also has a 44-inch waist. I have a 36-inch waist, and I've seen some threads here that recommend at least 6 yards for people UP TO a 44-inch waist.

So.. what would be your recommendation? Is a full 9 yards really necessary?

Specifics about me:
Height: 5'10"
Natural waist: 36"
Seat: 40"
Length from waist to kneecap: 21"

Thanks for the help!
-Mark