Layout for 4 yard box pleat

[Tartan Hiker]

My $.02 worth:

1. You're right when you rejected the idea of pleating to something other than the white stripe. Having only those bold white horizontal stripes would not be good.

2. Pleating to the single repeat would produce a very "busy" stern. Those white stripes are really big and bold...and I think there are just too many.

3. I really like the alternating pleat pattern...it does suggest pleating to the sett and reduces the number of white verticals. I'm really not sure about the different widths you've made up in the last photos. With all the other elements at play, I don't think alternating pleat widths would be visually appealing. However, I suppose you may have no choice but to vary the pleat width with this approach. Note how in the very last photo the wide pleats appear darker than the narrow pleats. I don't like this very much...it will make the darker pleats "stand out" and give the rear of the kilt a 3-D look that I don't think I'd like (reminds me of a cheerleading skirt). Note that you don't get this impression with the next-to-last photo (even though those pleats also appear to be of different widths) because the wider ones are the lighter ones.

Whew...I guess I'm saying that if you have the material to pull it off, I'd go with the second-to-last photo.

[HeathBar]

How much under 6 inches is the sett? When I did my dad's box pleat kilt, I used one and a half setts per pleat. The sett in this case was close to 6 inches, maybe a hair over. So each pleat used roughly 9 inches of material. Therefore each pleat was 3 inches wide. And in effect, pleated to the sett. Matt Newsome made the suggestion to me when I ordered the material. I'm sure if you did a search in the DIY section for Barclay dress, you might find my thread on it. Here's a shot of the pleats.



Good luck. I hope this helps.