SWK:Pipers plaid and economy kilt review

[NorCalPiper]

Hey Y'all-
After months of seeing it listed on the website without a picture, and a cheap price to boot-I went ahead and ordered the Pipers Plaid listed on the SWK website.

Right off the bat, I was weary when I read the description and noted the subtext that it would make a great picnic blanket. I emailed JErry to see if it was pleated, and was responded to with a no.....hmmmmm. Then is this really a piper's plaid?

I also went ahead and ordered an economy BW kilt (I guess you can never have too many economy kilts).

So, as usual, the package arrived within 2 days. The piper's plaid was indeed a long fringed piece of material of extremely light weight. I think it mentions 8X4 as the measurement, but the width was more around 3 foot. I began doing just a quick hand pleat and wrap and realized that this plaid was not entirely suitable as a full wrap around piper's plaid. More on that in a minute.

The economy kilt was much different than the first economy kilt I bought from SWK. This new one was MUCH lighter, no inside apron, inch deep pleats....Not very sturdy as compared to the first one that I got that had more weight, deeper pleats, lining....But it fit perfectly, so no complaints there....I would guess that it is the exact same as the thrifty, but with buckles...Jerry must have a new maker, because the 2 kilts are VERY different as far as make and quality, with the older being much better.

Back to the piper's plaid. Last week while taking my dry cleaning to my local cleaners, I saw Mr.Nguyens mother altering pleats for a school uniform a little ways off in the back.....This got me thinking. I printed a picture of a piper's plaid and took the material back to see if something could be done. Translating Vietnamese to his mother and then back to English, she said she'd give it a go. She noticed the way I was wrapping the knot made it a little too short (keen eye) and had an idea about that.. So she pleated the material and left a 10 inch flap that she folded under all the pleats. She ran a quick sew done the edges of the pleats, pressed them and then sewed a single run vertically from edge to edge where the pleats start and stop. She wrapped it from my shoulder , under to the top, and marked the fabric, then sewed velcro to hold the material instead of doing a wrap around fold (Which takes up about 8-12 inches believe it or not). i couldn't believe it...Within 30 minutes, this older seamstress had pulled off something that looked....Man, it looked great!! 25$ was all I paid.

Upon getting home, I put on a doublet and fitted it properly. Because there is not a wrap knot at the shoulder, it took a minute to figure out how to pin it and have the broach stand up, but I was able to figure something out, and I must admit that it looks great. The only problem is that the width is too small to really have that swoop of material that hangs down your back, but it'll pass.
I spent all-n-all 75$ on this and it works...Not bad and pictures coming soon!!

So my final review is great for the piper's plaid after having it finished. I don't think in its an actual "piper's plaid" as advertised. Maybe Jerry can refer people to me if they buy one to have it transformed properly!

The Kilt......probably just better off getting a thrifty....Buckles on this weight of material aren't necessary (All 3 probably weigh as much as the whole kilt itself). But it fits nicely and will be handy to kick around in. -Josh