Sett vs. Stripe

**Barb T** · 18th December 06, 01:11 PM

Hi folks

Every once in awhile, someone posts a thread asking about kilts pleated to the stripe vs. those pleated to the sett. I know we've had pics of various kinds, but I recently finished two kilts in the same tartan (Modern MacCallum), one pleated to the stripe and one to the sett. I thought it might be useful to post the pics in the general kilt talk thread, because it's not often you get to see side by side a whole kilt pleated both ways. Hope it was OK to put it into this topic. Anyway, the two kilts look _really_ different from one another!

Barb

**sjrapid** · 18th December 06, 01:27 PM

Thanks for this helpful photo, Barb T.

What would you call the third possible style of pleating as seen on the Isle of Skye photos you recently posted? IIRC it was like pleating to the stripe, but selecting an area of tartan with only horizontal lines.

Best regards

**Barb T** · 18th December 06, 01:34 PM

The Isle of Skye kilt is actually pleated to the stripe. It's just that the stripe is a wide solid color (the wide brown stripe in the center of the kilt below), as opposed to a narrow stripe in a wider stripe of a different color. Because the wide brown stripe has no vertical elements in, the main geometric element in the pleated kilt is a horizontal stripe.

**Splash_4** · 18th December 06, 01:36 PM

WOW. Thanks so much Barb as I have to make this type of decision in Jan!

**pdcorlis** · 18th December 06, 01:38 PM

Wonderful illustrations Barb - as usual your work is stunning.

**sjrapid** · 18th December 06, 01:57 PM

Thanks, Barb.

The Isle of Skye really is a beautiful tartan, and your skill is outstanding in those photos. Makes me want to own a kilt like that very much indeed!

Best regards

**beloitpiper** · 18th December 06, 03:06 PM

So I've been wondering this for awhile. Does one take more fabric than the other to make? And which style, in your opinion, is more difficult to make?

**Barb T** · 18th December 06, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by beloitpiper

So I've been wondering this for awhile. Does one take more fabric than the other to make?

Each pleat in a kilt pleated to the stripe uses exactly one repeat of tartan. Each pleat in a kilt pleated to the sett uses a bit more than one repeat. So 27 pleats take more tartan for a kilt pleated to the sett than to the stripe. It's not a lot more (a couple of repeats). Typically, the same length of tartan pleated to the stripe can give you 2, sometimes 3 more pleats. The two kilts shown in the pics each have 27 pleats, but the kilt pleated to the sett is for a smaller person, so it worked out about the same in terms of overall material used.

And which style, in your opinion, is more difficult to make?

It's infinitely easier for a beginning kiltmaker to lay out a kilt pleated to the stripe. Me, I like the fun of laying out a kilt pleated to the sett, but many people find it difficult the first few times. I think it's trickier to make a kilt pleated to the stripe look absolutely perfect, because any wiggle really shows, as does any pleat that doesn't have the stripe dead center all the way to the top. It takes me a bit more time to sew the pleats when I pleat to the stripe, because I'm really anal about making the pleats perfect.

Cheers!

Barb

**GallowHill** · 19th December 06, 05:26 AM

Originally Posted by Barb T.

It takes me a bit more time to sew the pleats when I pleat to the stripe, because I'm really anal about making the pleats perfect.

It shows...because they look absolutely fabulous!

Scott

**Dreadbelly** · 18th December 06, 04:43 PM

In tartans that have a white stripe, like the one in the photos or a Douglas tartan, I think that pleating to the stripe makes the kilt look... Well, I don't know. Busy. Or off balance. I have a kilt in the Douglas tartan pleated to the stripe. All of the white in the back is a minor sore spot with me.

Other colours are not so bad... It is just the white striping.