Pleating Opinion

[User]

Those both look excellent. You can't make a wrong choice.
At a glance, my initial reaction is that the black/blue looks amazing. But if I sat and stared at them for a week, I don't know which one I'd pick in the end.

[Jock Scot]

I wouldn't worry about it, you won't be the person looking at it! Personally I am a fan of pleating to the sett but, for what it is worth though, your new kilt pleated to the yellow stripe sounds good to me.

[Tomo]

The yellow is the better of these two options - although personally, I would pleat to the set

[OC Richard]

To me pleating to the stripe is always preferred because you get two looks for the price of one.

I very much prefer having the back of the kilt present a different thing than the front.

Certainly pleating to the yellow line is the most striking.

Yet, not being a big fan of yellow in general, I myself would go with the blue line.

There are visual, historical, and philosophical reasons for pleating to a stripe (or block) rather than to the tartan/sett.

The visual has already been said. The historical reason is that pleating to the tartan/sett appears to be a recent innovation.

The philosophical or art-theory reason is the principle of "form follows function".

So in your house it would be possible to paint over a window to look like a continuation of the wall surrounding it, to try to make it disappear.

But a window's function is to see outside, so why not let a window's function dictate what it looks like? Let it look like what it is: a rectangular hole in the wall with a rectangle of glass held in a frame filling the hole.

This principle tells us that we should let a row of pleats look like a row of pleats, not like an imitation of the flat fabric which flanks it.

All this is well and good however there do exist tartans the visual effect of which depends on all the colours being seen in their proper proportions. To me these rare few tartans look best pleated to the sett.

[MHorne39]

To me pleating to the stripe is always preferred because you get two looks for the price of one.

I very much prefer having the back of the kilt present a different thing than the front.

Certainly pleating to the yellow line is the most striking.

Yet, not being a big fan of yellow in general, I myself would go with the blue line.

There are visual, historical, and philosophical reasons for pleating to a stripe (or block) rather than to the tartan/sett.

The visual has already been said. The historical reason is that pleating to the tartan/sett appears to be a recent innovation.

The philosophical or art-theory reason is the principle of "form follows function".

So in your house it would be possible to paint over a window to look like a continuation of the wall surrounding it, to try to make it disappear.

But a window's function is to see outside, so why not let a window's function dictate what it looks like? Let it look like what it is: a rectangular hole in the wall with a rectangle of glass held in a frame filling the hole.

This principle tells us that we should let a row of pleats look like a row of pleats, not like an imitation of the flat fabric which flanks it.

All this is well and good however there do exist tartans the visual effect of which depends on all the colours being seen in their proper proportions. To me these rare few tartans look best pleated to the sett.

Many thanks! I really appreciate your input. I did end up going with the black/blue/black stripe, I liked how much of the blue it brought out in the kilt. Can’t wait to see it when it gets here! Slàinte Mhath, a charaid!

[Macman]

Of the two options, I prefer pleating to the yellow stripe; in general, though, I prefer pleating to the set.

[Pleater]

In the time I've been into serious kilt making, which must be over ten years now, my fabric choices have become darker, pleating has become almost entirely to stripe or stripes.

Perhaps since exceeding the age of 70 I am, at last becoming less frivolous, or maybe it is just that the stripes look cool.
Having seen myself in a couple of recordings, I think I'll go for the cool option.

Anne the Pleater

[OC Richard]

I forgot to mention that a very practical advantage of

1) pleating to the stripe

2) not having belt loops

is that if you gain or lose weight, or if the kilt ends up being worn by somebody else, the buckles & straps can be moved to increase or decrease the waist size and the back of the kilt will still look the same.

But in the case of most modern kilts, pleated to the sett and having belt loops, the back of the kilt has a definite centre, which is thrown off-centre when the waist size is altered.

I see it all the time. It's not a good look.

[GG]

I forgot to mention that a very practical advantage of

But in the case of most modern kilts, pleated to the sett and having belt loops, the back of the kilt has a definite centre, which is thrown off-centre when the waist size is altered.

Really? If done at both sides, it shouldn't do anything with the centre of the back - or am I wrong?

[Patty Logan]

Hello!

I’m having an 8-yard kilt made in the MacInnes Hunting Ancient tartan and just received my pleating options. I’ve narrowed it down to the two I like most, but I’m having trouble making a final decision. To the yellow stripe is great due to the contrast between the yellow and black, but I don’t really love yellow. I really like ‘to the black/blue/black’, but not sure if it looks too “lawn chair-y”. Any thoughts would be appreciated! Photos of each in replies.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0f99...n4YLft8r3KInHg

https://share.icloud.com/photos/04eY...kSn8joZjMbgi8A

What about to the red strip?