Good day Gents,

Since I rediscovered its existence about a year ago, I've been wanting a kilt made from the Polaris Military tartan. I want this particular tartan because it is the only one that I can claim as mine. My mother's father is supposed to be of Scots descent - his surname is Scotten which I'm told means "of the Scots" though the family is purportedly from Northern England. I have some work to do there.

At the time I began my quest for the Polaris I was not kilted, and though I quickly discovered you all here at XMTS, I did not join nor spend much time here. I was a man on a mission. In retrospect, I'd have done better to join and spend more time here.

Through misunderstandings and misinterpretations I was foiled in my search. The Polaris is not a popular tartan so is not woven much. It was reputed to be a restricted tartan owned by the US Government so to weave the cloth would therefore, have required some sort of Congressional approval. That the US Naval Academy Pipes & Drums are apparently the only wearers seemed to support the fact that the tartan is restricted. Emails to the Pipes & Drums inquiring about the tartan and their kiltmaker were not answered. This then seemed to be a dead end road.

But, it turns out to be a bunch of whooey. An outfitter in Dunoon, Argyle, was, apparently, - except for the Navy exchange - the only place one could get the tartan. Since Site 1 Holy Loch closed several years ago, they may now be the only place where one might get the tartan at retail. This outfitter though, doesn't carry the tartan in appropriate weight for a kilt. Still a dead end road.

Why I didn't find Alexis Malcolm during my original search remains a mystery. Had I joined XMTS at the beginning and spent more time reading past posts, all of this long tale wouldn't have happened and I'd now be wearing my Polaris kilt. But, that is all in the past. Now I have in my hot little hand an actual swatch of the Polaris so all that needs done is to send in my measurements and a pocket full o' bucks and to choose whether to pleat to the sett or to the stripe. This is where you all come in.

Here is a computer generated image of the Polaris (colors are more or less right - at least on my monitor, thread counts and colors are from the original STS sindex card):



I get pleating to the sett. It's pleating to the stripe that I'm a bit unclear about. And I need to ask because it is a military tartan - I know, just because it's a military tartan, that doesn't mean it must be pleated to the stripe.

When pleating to the stripe,

1 - do the pleats crease at the same stripe in every sett or is it every other sett? [there are two setts in this tartan]
2 - do the dimensions of the sett make a difference? [sett dimensions of my swatch are approx. 4.5" x 5.25" - not sure why it isn't square]
3 - does the outer edge of the pleat align to a stripe on the underlying pleat? [this seems improbable simply because when the kilt lies flat on a table the pleats are tapered - but I need to ask anyway]
4 - does the kilt wear differently from one pleated to the sett? [I very much enjoy feeling the kilt move as I move]

Any and all opinions welcome.