Greatkilt Question

[Riverkilt]

This may seem kinda basic...but it just sorta hit me...

Can I just buy enough yards of a tartan material...lay it on the bed...pleat it up...flop down onto it....belt it up...do something with the extra...and have a greatkilt?

No sewing?

Ron

[Yaish]

Yup. Pretty much not seen outside of Renfairs though. It doesnt come across as a 'neat' garment.

[Mike1]

Ron, that's pretty much it. Other than the fact that you will probably want to lay your plaid out on a floor to pleat it.

When I attended the commemoration at Balquhidder, back in late December, there were probably 30-35 of us that were kilted. Of that number, only 2-3 of us were not in belted plaids.

I've seen some fellows that can pleat up a plaid and look sharp after an entire day. I've seen others that look as if they are wearing a blanket held up by a belt within 30 minutes.

Some people will 'cheat' a bit, by stitching in the pleats, to eliminate that blanket look. One thing is certain, once a belted plaid starts to lose it's look, you are not going to simply step into a washroom and give it a quick repair job. It's a matter of laying out the plaid and starting all over again.

My significant other was wearing an arisaid, the day of the commemoration. I think we finally got it pleated to her liking on the third try.

[Piper]

As a Piper and a Reenactor/rendezvouser I wear both the modern and period style kilts. The fileadh mohr looks a bit intimidating to put on, but once you get used to it, it's fairly easy, and doesn't take that long. It's a procedure much more easily demonstrated than explained, but this website, http://www.theweebsite.com/greatkilt/index.html is about the best set of instructions I've found on the internet.
While the activity involved in a battle reenactment can put the kilt in disarray, I don't think normal activity messes things up too much. If the belt comes undone though, all is lost.
As I recently mentioned on another forum, one of the better definitions of the Great Kilt I've heard is that it's a way to keep warm by wrapping 5 or 6 yards of wool around you, without looking like a bag of rags from the front.

[Nick]

I've only pleated on a bed once, and I much prefer the floor/ground. If you are meticulous enough about your pleats (for me, count in three yellow stripes, then up two for every pleat), and careful about what you do with the extra, a great kilt is a very sharp garment. But it's one of those that requires a lot of practice to do it right.

[furrycelt]

I gotta just chime in on this thread, as I have worn a great kilt (breacan freile) more often than any other type (though that will change now that I have a UK and cannot do much historical re-enacting anymore).

It does take some practice putting it on. It is easier to start on the floor or a large bed. After a time, I have gotten to where I can put it on standing up. It does make things easier to sew down the pleats in the back. I am very anal so I never have a problem with it looking like a pile of rags as I wear it. The keystone is the belt; if it goes, you will be naked in seconds (which has its advantages;) ).

I love how you can change the configuration of it all. I can drop the upper section and tuck it in the back of the belt for hot weather. I can wrap it up like a coat in cold weather. I can arrange it into a sash and thus it becomes a "backpack" where I can carry stuff.

All my great kilts are made of wool that is 60" wide. For my build this is perfect. So the fabric can go from the mid knee (or top) and give me enough up top to cover my head in brisk weather.

-ian

[fhpdo]

Try www.garbtheworld.com they have great kilt fabric and other renfaire type stuff.
John

[Josh_E]

This may seem kinda basic...but it just sorta hit me...

Can I just buy enough yards of a tartan material...lay it on the bed...pleat it up...flop down onto it....belt it up...do something with the extra...and have a greatkilt?

No sewing?

Ron

i'm pretty sure that thats how they were worn in the midevil ages

[GlassMan]

i'm pretty sure that thats how they were worn in the midevil ages

Sorry to pick, but that is properly spelled medieval (literally the latin for middle ages). Even as I child I was fascinated by the middle ages and I remember in horror when an uneducated public school teacher tried to tell our class that it was the "midevil" period because it was full of sin, catholicism and witch burnings and so it was named to show everyone that the period was in the middle of all that was evil. Needless to say I was one of those students who had no qualms about challenging my teacher and we got into a long squabble that wound up with me in the principle's office pointing to the entry in Webster's as a part of my defence.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Good for you Glassman, for correcting yoru misinformed teacher! I actually had a professor in college that (during a reading of Beowulf) tried to tell the class that round about the eighth century (or whenever the story was set) they wore plate armor that weighted 400 lbs, and in her next breath told us that their textile technology was very primitive so they wore mostly animal skins for clothes. I didn't have the patience at the time to get into it with her, so I just shook my head in disbelief.

Anyway, to further the point about the Middle Ages, the earliest documentation we have for the great kilt being worn is in 1594, so that's well past the medieval period. It is incorrect to call the kilt, in any form, a medieval garment.

Aye,
Matt