How to make box pleats!

[I M Kilted!]

I am making a kilt outfit...

I have decided to make a box-pleated kilt with 16oz tartan. I have chosen box-pleats because they're cheaper and I love the 'clean' look.

Does anyone have instructions to make a box pleated kilt?

I would do a test run with some cheap material just to practice and adjust stuff...That way I can make the kilt really nice using the tartan!

Thanks

[Pleater]

I find box pleats a little mystifying, but basically the width of sett of the tartan is the width of each panel and a sett is folded under on each side of each panel so from hem to hip there are three layers of fabric, and the inner folds meet behind the centre of each panel

You can have either an odd or even number of panels - depending on how many you need to go just over half way around.

At each side I would have a large pleat under the apron of one whole sett, then I assume you create a flare at the inner edges of the aprons and on the outer edge of the upper apron, as for a traditional knite pleated kilt.

What puzzles me is creating the narrowing to the waist - is the extra material cut out or just overlapped at the back of the centre of the panels so there are strips where there are 5 layers of fabric, or are the panels made so they do not meet at the edges at the hips and accomodate the extra width that way.

I have started out to make a box pleated kilt and chickened out unable to achieve the required shaping in a way I was happy with. I shall have to dig it out and have another think about it.

[chasem]

. . .What puzzles me is creating the narrowing to the waist - is the extra material cut out or just overlapped at the back of the centre of the panels. . .

Matt's box-pleated kilts are not cut out. I remember him mentioning that as one of the strong points of his 4yd box pleated kilts as they could be opened back up and re-sewn if they need to be adjusted very much.

[O'Neille]

Having just completed and test hiked one today I think I can add some to this. First I layed out the front apron, It is centered to the stripe. Tapered 1.5 inches up from the hips and flared 2 inches at the hem. There are six pleats of 4" each (each a full pattern set) and full set under apron pleats for both aprons. The finished size in a box pleated kilt needs to be a bit larger than a knife pleated kilt because there is less give, given the fewer # of total pleats (about an inch over true measurements). Mine is machine sewn down 8" with an overall size of 34 waist, 42 hips, 24 length. This is my second box pleat and I can heartily recommend using wool as nothing else seems to lie quite right. I think cotton in the form of a box pleat takes on an engineered quality and doesn't have any freedom to move. I recommend sticking with knife pleats for cotton. As for the 5 layers of material, it is till much less than the 7 layers on a deep pleated knife pleat kilt. All I do that I don't have to do with a knife pleated kilt is to finish laying it all out and then fold over the tapered top pleats and line all the layers up in a logical fashion, otherwise then tend to overlap in any old way and sewing the waistband can get tricky. O'Neille

[way2fractious]

I did a box-pleat in January. Here's an album with some pics.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shann...hHhqVEBhkyQbDWY

[bubba]

I did a box-pleat in January. Here's an album with some pics.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shann...hHhqVEBhkyQbDWY

Requires a Yahoo membership login

[Alan H]

I did a box-pleat in January. Here's an album with some pics.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shann...hHhqVEBhkyQbDWY

I've seen it at one of our SF Bay Area kilt nights, and it's flippin' gorgeous.

[Seaforth Piper]

"Box pleats are cheaper"? Howja reckon that? I've been doing them for a while now (which loosely translates as "Far too #@*** long...) and it's only this week that I've managed to do-up a military box-pleat in the same time that I can do a knife-pleat (12 hours, in 3 x 4-hour sessions). I lay out the aprons and apron pleats and do the usual calculation of number/size of pleats. I then chalk the width of each pleat at seat, hip and rise. then I baste and press each box pleat before sewing them up. This works for pleating to the stripe - I wouldn't want to box-pleat to the sett. this is hard to describe without demonstration or photos, but I hope it makes sense to you.

A Guid New Year tae one and A'

[Tattoo Bradley]

"Box pleats are cheaper"? Howja reckon that? I've been doing them for a while now (which loosely translates as "Far too #@*** long...)

I think the "cheaper" is in reference to a 4 yard box-pleat like Mike Newsome tailors. So, half the fabric = less cost. I assume this was what he was getting at...

[Angus]

"Box pleats are cheaper"? Howja reckon that? ...
...and it's only this week that I've managed to do-up a military box-pleat in the same time that I can do a knife-pleat ....This works for pleating to the stripe - I wouldn't want to box-pleat to the sett.

You'll hafta forgive me, I'm not very eloquent and dont do a good job of getting my point across but I'm gonna try anyway so here goes.....

Box pleats and military box pleats are two different animals . The mil-box. will use as much maybe more cloth than a regular knife pleat cuz thats what it is with the last inch of the knife pleat folded backwards in on itself.

Regular box pleated kilts are simply a Z joined by a mirror image of itself to form the box. No extra cloth is needed (or wasted by cutting out the fell). Each box has a full sett of cloth in it and is 1/3 the width of the set. Also only a certain few tartans can be box pleated to the sett, most are impossible. Read Mr. Newsomes site to get all the good info on the box pleat, he explains it alot better than I.