Tips on making a Fly Plaid

[Arlen]

Hi there.
My father and I both have some lovely and unusual Macdonald Modern dress kilts that we really like. They were bought cheaply on Ebay to wear at my cousin's wedding. (All of her male guests were wearing the pride of Scotland tartan, but my Dad and I wanted to go with our family tartan and found that this one looked similar enough that it wouldn't be out of place in the photographs.)
A short while ago, we decided to make fly-plaids to go as we have them for our other kilts, but couldn't find them anywhere.
I managed to buy another of the kilts from Ebay and have picked it appart and pressed it and found that there is more than enough material to make two fly plaids.

Now, I'm terrible at hand-sewing, but my Mum has decided to help me out and let me use her sewing machine to make them.


So, does anyone have a few instructions on how to make a decent fly-plaid that will hang well?


Many thanks.

[slohairt]

Dia Dhuit, Arlen!

Fly Plaids typically come in two different sizes: 39" (99 cm) square or 54" (137 cm) square.

They are fringed on all four sides in one of two ways:

Standard fringe: involves pulling out threads to achieve the desired length of fringe (not too long, else it will get ratty quickly).

Purled fringe: This requires much more effort, as you must pull out more threads than the standard method. Then, you must twist the threads together and tie them in an overhand knot at the end. Much like the finished end of some blankets.

As for sewing, it's really your choice. Some kilt makers sew one corner into folds/pleats. This is the corner which passes under your epaulette. Other kilt makers, like myself, don't bother. By leaving it square it can be ironed in the future and it can still be used as a shawl or wrap if need be.

Uh . . . I just re-read you post and realised you had dismantled a kilt for the material. Unless it was made for an extremely tall person (8' + tall ) it won't yield a sufficiently wide enough piece for a fly plaid. However, you could probably make some sort of day plaid out of it.

Hope this helps!

[Arlen]

Dia Dhuit, Arlen!

Fly Plaids typically come in two different sizes: 39" (99 cm) square or 54" (137 cm) square.

They are fringed on all four sides in one of two ways:

Standard fringe: involves pulling out threads to achieve the desired length of fringe (not too long, else it will get ratty quickly).

Purled fringe: This requires much more effort, as you must pull out more threads than the standard method. Then, you must twist the threads together and tie them in an overhand knot at the end. Much like the finished end of some blankets.

As for sewing, it's really your choice. Some kilt makers sew one corner into folds/pleats. This is the corner which passes under your epaulette. Other kilt makers, like myself, don't bother. By leaving it square it can be ironed in the future and it can still be used as a shawl or wrap if need be.

Uh . . . I just re-read you post and realised you had dismantled a kilt for the material. Unless it was made for an extremely tall person (8' + tall ) it won't yield a sufficiently wide enough piece for a fly plaid. However, you could probably make some sort of day plaid out of it.

Hope this helps!

Well, I might not be able to make a proper fly plaid, but hopefully I can at least make a passable day plaid.
Thanks for the really good advice. If nothing else, it's a project to learn from.

[PiobBear]

Mine are both 54" X 54", with a 1" fringe. The store-boght one has a corner that's been pleated and stitched, the one that I made does not.
Having worn them both, I really can't say that the stitched-in pleat at one corner is important to me, and I wanted to be able to fold it flat, as an Irish brat (or a day plaid), so no sewing's involved.
I marked 1" in on the blade of a pair of shears, and made a series of 1" deep cuts along an edge; mybe 4" - 6" or so. Then I spent a loong time on the couch with a sailmakers needle tatting out the threads. I've been quite happy with the result; wore it yesterday, and will again tonight (I'm wearing it in my avatar).

[Arlen]

I marked 1" in on the blade of a pair of shears, and made a series of 1" deep cuts along an edge; mybe 4" - 6" or so. Then I spent a loong time on the couch with a sailmakers needle tatting out the threads. I've been quite happy with the result; wore it yesterday, and will again tonight (I'm wearing it in my avatar).

Sounds like a lot of work, but from what I can see it looks really good.

The amount of material I've got is very narrow, so it'll be a daywear thing at best, but it's practice.

Thanks for the info.

[PiobBear]

Sounds like a lot of work, but from what I can see it looks really good.

It's not hard to do, but it is tedious. However, a fringe less than 1" just doesn't look right to me, and the result is worth it.

[Arlen]

It's not hard to do, but it is tedious. However, a fringe less than 1" just doesn't look right to me, and the result is worth it.

I concur. Small fringes just look wrong.

[way2fractious]

So, does anyone have a few instructions on how to make a decent fly-plaid that will hang well?

Try this post for intructions on purling.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=16689

I've done it a couple of times now as practice for making a full fly plaid.

w2f

[Arlen]

Try this post for intructions on purling.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=16689

I've done it a couple of times now as practice for making a full fly plaid.

w2f

This is great, thanks. I'm hoping to have it done by the end of the week.