I decided late last year to tackle making my own belted plaid. Of course with the new baby here, it took a while to be completed. I sort of cheated a little, tacking down the pleats by hand and adding three belt loops.
I tried to use as generic a tartan as possible, which also means it was much less expensive! I used Richlin Fabrics' 100% wool "Worsted Tartan Plaid Red," 4.5 yards of which just cost $40 at Mary Jo's, our big fabric store in town.
Despite how lightweight the cloth is (I'm not sure how many ounces it is), it sure is warm when you put it on! I pleated to the stripe (I love that distinctive look of close stripes in the back) but you really can't tell in the photo.
Back in November, I also made my own targe, as least for display. A 3/4" precut pine circle covered with pebble-grained upholstery leather and decorated with upholstery tacks. The raised circles on the front are real leather, though. The back is covered in rabbit skin with a leather strap and upholstery leather handle wrapped with thin leather thong. I might come back to this project and stamp the leather circles with some knotwork designs and maybe add a center boss, if I could ever find something that would work.
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