pleat size?

[playalad]

OK I want to make a new RevK kilt, my waist, so to speak actually where I wear my kilt is 34 inch. I normally put 14 pleats of 5cm x 12 cm. However, I wish to put more pleats in, any suggestions on how many I could get away with.

[ratspike]

My kilts are not made in a traditional way so I don't do waist and hip splits. I calculate the number of pleats based on hip size, apron width, and pleat width.

5cm is not quite 2 inches, so a fairly wide pleat. For most of my kilts I make the pleats roughly 1.5" wide, which IMO is a nice width for a casual, every day kind of kilt. If I'm making a fancy dress up kilt with a wider, more traditional apron width, I make the pleats roughly 1" wide.

[playalad]

Hi Bob, thanks for the reply. Sorry if I used cm typical for us Brits. OK, you say use 1.5" pleats so what is the under pleat reveal size?

Cheers
ADAM

[Jock Scot]

Hi Bob, thanks for the reply. Sorry if I used cm typical for us Brits. OK, you say use 1.5" pleats so what is the under pleat reveal size?

Cheers
ADAM

Speak for yourself! This Brit cannot relate to things metric, I cannot relate to centigrade, metres, hectares, litres etc, etc.. I still convert prices to Pounds, shillings and pence. A problem that many here have that were born too soon, I think.

[OC Richard]

I took Elsie Stuehmeyer's kiltmaking class, and it was interesting that everything was done in inches. Then again, she learned her trade in the 1940s. When did Britain go metric?

Anyhow in The Art Of Kiltmaking the authors say "Pleats are typically no less than 1/2 inch at the waist and no more than 1 1/4 inch at the hips."

The kilt I made in the class, having virtually no taper, has the pleats a hair over 1/2 inch wide... it makes for a load of pleats! I have a couple kilts with 1 inch pleats and they use less fabric and are lighter to wear.

[WillowEstate]

Speak for yourself! This Brit cannot relate to things metric, I cannot relate to centigrade, metres, hectares, litres etc, etc.. I still convert prices to Pounds, shillings and pence. A problem that many here have that were born too soon, I think.

Exactly, Rods, Poles and Perches rule, OK! Metrics are the preserve of Europhiles and others unfamiliar withe their 8, 12, 14, 16, 20, 22 and 112 times multiplication tables!

[playalad]

Ok I have just added photos to My Albums of the new RevK Camouflage Kilt

[artificer]

Speak for yourself! This Brit cannot relate to things metric, I cannot relate to centigrade, metres, hectares, litres etc, etc.. I still convert prices to Pounds, shillings and pence. A problem that many here have that were born too soon, I think.

Sorry for drifting off-topic-

But I grew up at a time when the US was planning to go "dual measurement", so we learned all of it in grade school (grades 2-5) and then the rest of America heaved a sigh of relief as the government gave up on metric measurements.
To this day Metric still make so much more sense to me than Imperial measurements.

It really shined through when I was technical scuba diving-

Rather than converting PSI to Cu Ft/min (for breathing rate) and then applying a division of 34' (freshwater) per atmosphere (14.7psi) - ALL for gas consumption at a given depth! There was a simple-

tank pressure in BAR, gas consumption in BAR/min, for depth 10m = 1 Bar = each 10m/1 your surface breathing consumption. All you had to do was divide your surface rate by your depth in 10m increments.

Things like gas absorption/saturation/off-gassing were when things got REALLY hairy in Imperial! Doubly & Trebly so if something went all pear-shaped and your first 3 gas-plans had to be scrapped so you had to do calculations on the fly.

ith:

[ratspike]

I typically put 6" of fabric in each pleat, so a depth of about 3". It's enough to have nice swing in the rear without being so much that the pleats need to be cut out and all that. For a kilt with cargo pockets and a narrower apron it's also an aesthetic thing. To me, wider pleats just look better for that application.

There isn't a hard and fast rule for this, it's just what I've found works for me. I'd try pleating a few sections with different widths and see which one appeals to you the most.

[playalad]

Cheers Bob, that's what I have decided on. I am going to make in in just a light weigh black cotton drill with a contrasting apron. If I am happy with it then I shall make my white denim using the measurements.

Regards
Adam