Non tartan knife pleat help

[Bearded Man Brew]

I was wondering how deep knife pleats should be in a non tartan kilt. I have used 2 inch pleats with a 2 inch depth before but they seem to open up a bit. I just tried 2 in pleats with a 4 inch pleat depth and it looks ok. I was wondering if anyone has used a 1 inch pleat and how deep they made the pleats.

[The Wizard of BC]

OK, please excuse my engineer mind.

When I was designing the FK I wanted swish similar to Wool. so I took a yarn from 16oz wool and held it in a pair of forceps. I measured how far it would deflect from gravity at a known length.

I then cut another yarn from the Poly/Cotton fabric I was going to use for the kilt and held it in forceps too. I could then adjust the length of the yarn till it deflected the same amount as the wool yarn.

The result is that the pleats on my Dress Model kilts have an 8 inch Sett.

Sorry this is not more help but I have never made a kilt with a 2 inch reveal to the pleats.

[Pleater]

I think that the smallest pleats I have used were a total of 7 inches of fabric for each one, with a reveal of 1 and 1/4inches at the hip - they are tapered to fit the back of the waist.

I don't really differentiate between tartan and non tartan fabric.

Are you tapering the top of the pleats? Without some shaping either sewn or pressed into the pleats they will naturally open out to accommodate the curve of your rump.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Bearded Man Brew]

I only said non tartan because I would have the opportunity to adjust the pleating without regards to any setts. I do measure the rump and taper to the waist.

[Barb T]

If you were making a trad knife-pleated kilt in wool kilting tartan, it would be typical to have pleats that are about 3/4-7/8" (i.e., the reveal would be 3/4-7/8"), with a depth of 3.5-4" (reflecting a typical sett size of 7-8" or so. That way, you can get enough tartan into a kilt to give it enough weight to swing well.

Barb