Knife pleated kilts: 4 yds vs 5 yds

[billmcc]

Some retailers offer a 4-yard knife pleated kilt while others offer a 5-yard knife pleated kilt. Is there a difference in the construction of the kilts? Or is this just a matter of salesmenship?

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

Bill, I am sure one of our resident experts will chime in, but I think that the actual amount of material used is determined by:

A: size of the gentleman
B: size of the sett
C: type of pleating, sett or stripe
D: and depth of pleats

I think that some of it might be advertising, but the terms 4 yd, 5yd, 8yd, etc. are really more averages than actual specific lengths of fabric. At least I think that is the case. And if not, I need to re-read Barb's book!

[billmcc]

I think that some of it might be advertising, but the terms 4 yd, 5yd, 8yd, etc. are really more averages than actual specific lengths of fabric. At least I think that is the case. And if not, I need to re-read Barb's book!

I understand the yardage of a kilt is based on averages. I am wondering if a 4-yard kilt lacks something that is present on a 5-yard kilt.

[UmAnOnion]

I understand the yardage of a kilt is based on averages. I am wondering if a 4-yard kilt lacks something that is present on a 5-yard kilt.

a yard of fabric, perhaps????

sorry couldnt resist - you can kill me later

[RockyR]

FOr us, it was a balancing act... how much material is enough without being too expensive.

When we started making our "5 yard wool" kilt, we were trying different lengths of fabric on a guy my size (39" waist). We wanted to give the best kilt for the money. We had a pricepoint in mind ($350... between our Semi Trad and Premier) and wanted to have a "good kilt at that price". 4 yards seemed to be (IMHO) OK for me, but our average customer's waist is a 44 (actually 43.8 if you take the average of our custom orders). They'd probably need a little more fabric.

Since 4 yards was a bit too little and 6 yards would push the price up a bit, we made our kilts 5 yards. It's still not as nice of a swing or pleat depth as our Premiers (7.5 to 9 yards), but for $350, it's a pretty solid wool kilt.

I hope that sheds some light on the situation from the USAK angle.

[GlassMan]

Rocky, I gotta tell you. Even though I've been feeling rather blah lately (caught a cold) and a bit down that I haven't been to the pool in a while to exercise, hearing that I am well below the average customer's waist size makes me feel so good right now.

[Pleater]

If you are fairly thin then it is possible to make a kilt from 4 yarns of material which might look alright in a fairly heavy cloth. It will not be very traditional unless you go for a box pleat

The more material the better, though, if you are aiming for a quality knife pleated garment. With extra cloth there is the posibility of deeper pleats at the edge of the apron, apron shaping, and deeper pleats all across the back. Even 5 yards might look a bit skimpy on some figures.

The amount of material required for an adequately pleated kilt is rather surprising - the first kilt I made I just could not believe that all that fabric was going to be necessary - and then I had to add in a bit to extend the under apron.

Buy yourself a pack of safety pins and tear up an old sheet into 2 ft wide strips, either across or along should not matter, and see if you can fold 4, 5 or whatever yards into a kilt for yourself. Pin top and bottom, iron to smooth the pleats then remove the pins from the bottom and wrap it around yourself.

A kilt maker can give it sharp creases, and shape the waist, but they can't magic in extra length.