Yeah, don't iron the pleats. A highlander wouldn't have done that anyway. The great kilt was a working garment, so crisp pleats weren't necessary. A highlander may have taken extra care to arrange the pleats if he were going to meet someone important, but for the most part he wouldn't.
We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. - Japanese Proverb
It has been put to me as:
The sloppier the pleats, the more accurate.
Thank of them more as "gathered" than "pleated." The difference is that we think of pleats as crisp, uniform, well laid out folds, while the pleats in a belted plaid are gathered, abeit in a nice manner, and not crisp or necessarily uniform.
As for length . . .
I have found 4-5 yards as being a good length for me. I have one pattern/tartan I love that is just over three yards long. To make it long enough, I sewed in the pleats/folds. It is now next on my list to make into a tailored kilt (and NOT one of the 4 belted plaids listed below). In total, I've worn 9 different tartan lengths as belted plaids, 2 of which I no longer own and 3 of which will become kilts, leaving the 4 listed below.
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