Belting the Plaid: How'd They Do It??

[Woodsheal]

Oh. I thought they were trying to get a handle on what was used historically, not what works better now. Stainless steel works better, too, but they didn't have it 300 years ago.

The fact remains that existing/surviving plaids from the period are thin, tightly woven, and fine-yarned, which match the period descriptions, as well. Sure, a nice thick modern blanket will keep you nice and toasty, but it doesn't replicate what was historically utilized in terms of tartan plaids worn belted. If the latter isn't the desired experience, then no problem. If not, then why not add water-proof, rip-stop nylon to the mix?

Here's another period mention of the "fineness" of men's plaids:
http://medievalscotland.org/clothing...tinwimen.shtml

[Woodsheal]

It's also worth mentioning that Stewart of Garth describes highlanders as wearing their plaids "doubled" or folded in half to double the thickness and increase warmth. Look closely and you can see that the plaid in this period image is so doubled:

[Am Bàrd]

There's a supposed account in 'The Clans, Septs and Regiments of the Scottish Highlands 1934' that describes how a Highland Chief around the time of the '45 would have put on a Belted Plaid - however it's using a servant and keepers for the belt. Perhaps the gentry used loops for the belt, while common clansmen wouldn't - I doubt the gentry would be found sleeping in fields in the their plaids (or perhaps their dress plaids as they might do so on campaign if better accommodation wasn't available or stealth was needed) so this might be plausible.

It's located here, near the bottom of the page:
http://books.google.com/books?id=xHA...age&q=&f=false

The same book has some interesting accounts of wear, though the author draws some very suspect conclusions throughout.

I recently cut a 4.5yd x 60" swath from a bolt of tartan that I have, for a Belted Plaid and have done some experimenting. I've tried both laying down and standing up methods, and I personally prefer the standing method as I find it much much faster. Gathering the pleats in one hand, draping, belting and arranging can all be done in just a few minutes with little practice, while laying the plaid out takes space and considerable time to pull into pleats though it does produce nicer pleats.