Half Belted Plaid experiences

**AKScott** · 23rd September 11, 05:50 PM

Please to add yours. I promise to include pictures within two weeks even if I have to put it back on to take fresh ones. Still waiting on the wedding photographer.

Briefly, my bride insisted on me in a flyplaid with my kilt and I chose to go with the larger piece of tartan.

I read Matt Newsome's page about half belted plaids over and over, and finally ordered two meters of double wide.

When I got the fabric in the mail I laid it right out on my bed and climbed in, remembering the edge should hang low enough over the belt at the front for the cloth to be "parted so as to discover the sporran", and drape low enough at the back to be more or less even with the bottom edge of the kilt, and then up over the left shoulder to be pinned in place.

So I put it on "that way" and it turns out I had it turned 90 degrees from the way Matt had it posted on his page. I folded pleats into the cut 55" edge and ran the selvedge edge, 80" out from under my sporran, over the belt, draped to the bottom of the kilt edge and then up to my shoulder.

After purling I wish I had ordered it even longer. I am 5'9" tall, and poking about a bit on the internet I found the average Scot when Erskine was writing (1900ish) was about 5'6" tall. Matt is quite a bit over six feet IIRC.

I can see pleating the selvedge edge and draping the cut edges on someone 5'6" tall and having the plaid drape low enough to wear a jacket, but only barely.

After purling I wish I had ordered about 2.2 meters of double wide, maybe 2.5, a little more cloth\weight on the front side of my jacket would have been welcome, and more length on the front behind the sporran would have been good too. I have been fooling with making purls that look more like the current variety on some swatches and expect to be updating my purling thread in probably two weeks or so.

But Matt's as last pictured looks more like a great kilt around the waist than mine came out. I dunno what to say about that.

I promise to post pictures. Soon.

**The Wizard of BC** · 23rd September 11, 06:14 PM

Just after I designed the Victoria, City of Gardens Tartan I was asked to show it off during our Tartan Day Parade.

To be able to show as much of the Tartan as possible I took a 54" square of fabric and made a Mock Belted Plaid.

I just tucked the ends into the waistband of my kilt, put the jacket on and pulled the fabric up and pinned it just as you would do for a fly plaid.

**piperdbh** · 23rd September 11, 08:22 PM

I just realized I don't have any pictures of meseln in a half-plaid, although I possess three of them.

The easiest way to make one is to fold over 4" on the cut end of the fabric and sew about 1/2" from the edge, creating a really wide hem. Run your belt through this hem, then fasten it about your middle (over the kilt, of course). Pleat the other cut end, pass it through the epaulette on your jacket, pin it to the chest of your jacket and take off down the road.

**piperdbh** · 1st October 11, 05:55 PM

Well, here I am in my Carolina half-plaid, heading down the road:

I came back.

Then I looked for the cat.

Found him. This is the Mrs.'s beastie. He's a full-grown tailless Manx.

**CMcG** · 1st October 11, 10:28 PM

Well done with the plaid piperdbh! Is that an ABF tie that I spy with my little eye?

**piperdbh** · 2nd October 11, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by CMcG

Well done with the plaid piperdbh! Is that an ABF tie that I spy with my little eye?

Aye, quite! Your eye spies the tie alright.

**herminator** · 8th December 11, 07:35 AM

ACHTUNG , THREADJACK!!!

Originally Posted by The Wizard of BC

Just after I designed the Victoria, City of Gardens Tartan I was asked to show it off during our Tartan Day Parade.

To be able to show as much of the Tartan as possible I took a 54" square of fabric and made a Mock Belted Plaid.

I just tucked the ends into the waistband of my kilt, put the jacket on and pulled the fabric up and pinned it just as you would do for a fly plaid.

What are you smoking, Steve?

Shalom
Hermann

**CDNSushi** · 8th December 11, 07:43 AM

Originally Posted by herminator

ACHTUNG , THREADJACK!!!

What are you smoking, Steve?

Shalom
Hermann

Let me just remind everyone that Steve DOES live in B.C.

**herminator** · 8th December 11, 08:16 AM

Originally Posted by CDNSushi

Let me just remind everyone that Steve DOES live in B.C.

Oh, come on - one pipe smoker to another that question is allowed without any strange cultist making insinuations ...

Shalom
Hermann

**AKScott** · 7th December 11, 11:29 PM

Ok. Finally with the pictures. WRT to post one this thread, now that I have the wedding pictures back it looks like the plaid was slipping up from under my belt and hanging lower behind my knees throughout the day.

Earlier in the day:

Later in the day:

If I was going to keep one of these in my wardrobe I would:

1. Sew on belt loops of some kind.

2. Make it hang lower out from under the belt so it would be less likely to be hanging over the sporran. I just know it slipped two inches easy in the few hours I was wearing it.

3. Buy a jacket with epaulettes. I really wanted to pull more of the plaid through the epaulette on my left shoulder, but I really really did not want to send a rented jacket with a torn epaulette back to Matt at the STM.

4. Counterweight either sewn into the left chest area of the plaid, or perhaps just a whiskey flask in the left inner pocket of the jacket. Something. This thing rode fine for about 90 minutes, but once it shifted I was tugging at it constantly.

Overall, I am glad I wore just the one time as the groom, and I am glad I didn't sew any pleats or belt loops or anything else into it. Once the ceremony was over I just took it off, folded it neatly and now my wife has a nice wrap available at a moment's notice.