great kilt problems

[kiltman with a sword]

ok guys, i have made a great kilt. i think. its about 4 yards long, but i pleated it to some instructions that i found on the web, and it worked, except for the extra material that is supposed to go over my shoulder. one site that had the instructions said that sometimes the fabric was allowed to hang down in the winter to keep the legs warm, and that works, but since when it is up over my shoulder, it doesnt go all the way over onto my chest, just about mid shoulder. since i fight in my kilt a lot, ( swordplay) i was wondering, would it be bad to leave the extra fabric down, or can i make a leather strap that i could attach to my belt? something that i could strap to the extra fabric, and then tie to my belt? just wondering. thanks for your help!
KMWaS

[Graywolf]

The extra fabric can be pinned to your shoulder using a Celtic design brooch. Or get a leather shoe las and tie it.

[turpin]

Check this site out for detailed instructions on a variety of ways to wear the great kilt

[gilmore]

Check this site out for detailed instructions on a variety of ways to wear the great kilt

That site certainly has quite a few variations on how to do it.

Here are other sites, some with photos, one is a video:

http://www.gaykilts.co.uk/feileadh%20mor2.html

http://albanach.org/drawstring.htm

http://www.kalani.net/KiltPleatingB.html

http://www.lindaclifford.com/GreatKiltWrap.html

http://www.kalani.net/KiltPleating101.htm

http://www.garbtheworld.com/pgs/foldkilt.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5myQnp1y_0A

http://www.tartanweb.com/greatkilt/highland_gent.htm

http://fullmoon.typepad.com/photos/kilt/kilt1.html

http://www.brotherguido.com/Greatkilt/Default.htm

http://www.fox-dreams.com/art/renaissance/kilt.html

http://www.caradoc.org/~iain/QandDGK.html

[Caradoc]

ok guys, i have made a great kilt. i think. its about 4 yards long, but i pleated it to some instructions that i found on the web, and it worked, except for the extra material that is supposed to go over my shoulder.

Pull some up from the front, and some from the back, and tie it together over the shoulder.

You shouldn't have enough material to pull just from the back and have it go all the way down the front to the waist.

[thescot]

Pull some up from the front, and some from the back, and tie it together over the shoulder.

You shouldn't have enough material to pull just from the back and have it go all the way down the front to the waist.

What he said.

On t he rare occassion I have dressed in "period costume" (as opposed to Scottish Highland attire) such as at one Ren. Feste I attended, I used one of those brooches that have the sliding pin. You don't actually stick it throug the material (God forbid!), you slide the material through the slot, slip the pin over it, and rotate the whole thing so that the material is clamped in.

Here's a picture of a fancy brooch like I'm talking about, but you can find some much simpler (and cheaper) ones at any highland game.


This one will look "authentic" and probably solve your other problems as well. Take a look at Rob Roy (the movie) sometime for a fairly good example of how the whole thing looks.

You gotta admit, it looks pretty cool!

[kiltman with a sword]

thank you so much guys! sice this is first real kilt, i was hoping that i wouldnt screw it up somehow. ill try to gey some pics up sometime, because as you can guess, im rather happy to finally have one. like i said, i fight in it a lot, and am going to enjoy every minute of it. thank you. also, is it really ok to wear the extra fabric down or not? cause my comp has some prob accesing a lot of sites ( crappy comp, arghhhh) so if one of you could tell me if it is, then it would be appreciated. KMWaS

[bubba]

You can bring the ends up and tuck them through your belt as well, forming a big pockets. That way the extra fabric isn't getting in the way of your legs.

[Caradoc]

is it really ok to wear the extra fabric down or not?

You'll likely trip over it if you don't do *something* with it.

[Andrew Green]

I would either stuff it into your belt, maybe wrap some around your midsection a couple times to take up some length so you aren't stuck with it draping all over. Having bits hanging down farther than your pleats looks odd to me. You could always bunch it up, and pin it at the back of your shoulder as well. Another thing you could do is wrap it loosely around/under your armpit, and place the pin at the shoulder. Keeps some of the bulk at bay.

I do believe the style pin posted earlier is a Penanular Brooch (or close to that spelling). If you really wanted accurate, you could always shoot for a bodkin pin, or a button hole with a button stiched to your waistcoat in the appropriate spot.