How should I get my Isle of Skye pleated?

**OC Richard** · 20th October 10, 05:59 AM

I've been on the wait list for a heavyweight handsewn Isle of Skye (Lochcarron Strome) kilt and the maker says he's ready to start, and how do I want it pleated?

I know I don't want it pleated to the tartan.

I love this photo of an XMarker Member's kilt:

How is this one pleated? Is it indeed to the rust lines?

The kiltmaker sent me photos of various pleating options:

To the pairs of rust lines:

to the rust block:

to the black stripe:

and to the green area:

What do you think?

Has anyone had their kilt pleated to the white lines?

Thanks, Richard

**Plainfieldjeff** · 20th October 10, 06:36 AM

I like the black stripe myself...

PJ

**Barb T** · 20th October 10, 06:40 AM

I've made several pleated the following way, and it is by far my favorite pleating for IoS. It's simply pleated to the brown block. I've done two pleated to the white stripe in green, and it's OK, but very green across the back (no photos of those).

**denmcdough** · 20th October 10, 07:21 AM

OC, tough choice. I, personally, like the way Barb T. has done it.

Whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll be happy. I have the IoS, pleated to the sett, and it's a magnificent tartan. Unfortunately, mine was off the peg.....got it through Marchbrae in Scotland. It's the best off the peg I've ever seen, though.

Good luck! If this thread has you more confused, flip a coin. LOL!

**Riverkilt** · 20th October 10, 07:25 AM

For the confused - I believe this is what OC Richard does NOT want (?) - pleated to the sett.

**denmcdough** · 20th October 10, 07:31 AM

Ron, for the confused, the kilt you're wearing looks absolutely fine to me.

Anyway, I'm confused half the time, so what do I know!

See me in this thread: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...os-kilt-56531/

**Lyle1** · 20th October 10, 07:50 AM

What colors drew you to this tartan, and what colors do you want to accentuate? The picture that you ask about brings out the purple and green (as does pleating to the black stripe) more than the pictures pleated to the brown stripes or block. Do you want a lighter or a more somber looking kilt?

I personally think it is a beautiful tartan, and it looks good pleated to any of the choices that you show. This is a tartan that I could imagine ordering more than once and having it pleated differently each time.

**Zardoz** · 20th October 10, 08:08 AM

Well, I'm a big fan of pleating to the sett, but the IOS is one of the few tartans that I'd likely get pleated another way, and I like the way Barb T. did it in her photo.

**Barb T** · 20th October 10, 09:39 AM

And another thing. Pleating to the double brown stripe is fine in principle, but, whether it works for a given kilt depends on the size of the pleats and how much they taper from hips to waist. You don't want the brown block adjacent to the outside purple stripe to start showing on the edge of a pleat, and you don't want to lose one of the brown stripes in the taper.

And, personally?? I'm not a fan of a choice for pleating to the stripe that does not make each pleat symmetrical. And, in the IoS, the two brown stripes are *not" the same width - one is slightly wider than the other. I think that makes the pleats look odd (as does, to my eye anyway, splitting a pleat half one color and half another).

**NorCalPiper** · 20th October 10, 10:44 AM

Richard-
If you have a cut and paste program on your computer, you can take a picture of the sett (There are a lot on the web). You can start cropping and then paste over and over. You can basically see what every different pleating scheme will look like (Keep in mind that pleat width may hinder some styles of pleating). You can also invent your own fashion pleating (I'm really liking this idea more and more) using this method.