sett vs stripe

**lorilavon** · 16th April 23, 06:48 PM

I'll post pics as the kilt comes to life, in case any one is interested!

**Kitfoxdave** · 19th April 23, 06:19 PM

Originally Posted by lorilavon

I'll post pics as the kilt comes to life, in case any one is interested!

We would LOVE pictures of your efforts!

Reverse kingussie Cheater pleats to the stripe on my great kilt....

20221015_121255.jpg

Did this to help not catch and drop everything I pass by onto the ground!

I did the pleating wife did the sewing-

**OC Richard** · 21st April 23, 05:35 AM

I very much prefer pleating to the stripe for both aesthetic and practical reasons.

Aesthetic:

1) pleating to the stripe gives you two looks for the price of one. The pleated back portion, according to which stripe you choose to be repeated, can strongly contrast with the front apron. It can choose to accent a relatively minor portion of the tartan for striking effect.

2) if you have the visible portion of the pleats show a dark portion of the tartan, but have a bright portion of the tartan just underneath, when the pleats swish when walking a striking effect is created.

3) I suppose more philosophical than aesthetic, but in design there's an ethos "form follows function" which manifests itself over and over in clothing including Highland Dress. The kilt is pleated in back. Why employ trompe l'oeil attempts to make the pleated portion of the kilt look like the unpleated portion? Let pleats look like pleats.

Practical:

4) kilts that are pleated to the sett have the tartan, and the belt loops, conform to an imaginary centre-line, just as the tartan on the front apron does. If your weight goes up or down and you move buckles to keep your kilt well-fitting, the back centre-line will be thrown off. Kilts pleated to the stripe (especially if they lack belt loops) have no rear centre-line and will look smart even when taken in or let out a number of inches.

This is part of the reason most Pipe Bands have kilts pleated to the stripe. A band might wear the same "band set" of kilts for several decades, the kilts being taken in and let out repeatedly for generations of band members.

All this being said, I do believe that there are some tartans which for their full aesthetic effect need to have all the colours of the tartan be seen in their proper proportions. Or perhaps it's just that these tartans have been ill-served by having the wrong portions of the tartan repeated in the pleats, and a better pleating method might exist.

**Patty Logan** · 21st April 23, 09:08 AM

It’s all about personal preference. Set vs Strip and if striped, to wich strip.

I would personally go with the red strip with white guards.(white lines on both sides)

**OC Richard** · 21st April 23, 07:35 PM

Originally Posted by lorilavon

what are your thoughts/opinions about a busy tartan pleated to the stripe vs the sett?

Attachment 42565

It seems to me that once a tartan gets to a certain level of congested complexity the back doesn't look all that much different however it's pleated.

Our band has that! We wear Prince Charles Edward Stuart which is one of the more test-pattern-like tartans.

Half of our band kilts are pleated to the stripe, half to the sett, and honestly the difference doesn't really stand out.

About your tartan, it's important to know the sett repeat size to figure out how it can be pleated. Because that tartan, if having a large enough sett, can be pleated in ways that it couldn't be if it has too small a sett.