New box pleat Gordon by Barb T. :)

[Barb T]

So, Barb, how does one make such a determination as to the best rise?

Kilts were originally made with a 3" or even a 4" rise. You can see this higher rise in the truly wonderful pic that Rex T. posted at

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/w...291/index.html

Matt, I'm sure, knows much more about this, but I've been told in part it's to keep the back/kidney area warm and in part to keep a gap from developing when worn with the short jackets of the time (even pants had a high rise back then - think David Bowie in Labyrinth).

Most kiltmakers now use a 2" rise. But there's no reason, either practical or traditional, for not having a higher rise. The truly critical thing is building in enough flare. If the kilt just goes straight up from the buckle line, it will cut into your rib cage.The higher the rise, the more flare you need. I added flare to Howard's kilt. And you can see in the first pic that he posted that the top band looks a bit wavy - that's because the top edge is actually bigger than the kilt is at the waist. It was a bit of an experiment, and I haven't heard back from him about whether it's the right amount of flare or not.