Where ought a kilt come to?

[Pleater]

Note to self - do not try eating celery when reading X marks forum - next time could be fatal as celery cannot be breathed in with any guarantee of survival.

Half an inch above the knee is just perfect - take it from a veteran knee watcher.

That is me, by the way.

Oh and that is a man in the box pleated pelmet - it is a wonder he wasn't locked up - I mean - sheesh.

You can tell it is a man by the elbows. Dead give away - women have different joints at the knees and elbows from those of men, both are curved outwards in women, but are straight in men.

Anne the Peater :ootd:

[St. Amish]

I agree with the "top of the kneecap to the middle of the kneecap" rule. Higher looks odd, lower looks slovenly.

[freddie]

I've been asking myself the same question lately. All my kilts were measured for the 'centre of the kneecap' length (Thompson's 'long trollopy' length), which for me being just over 6 foot is 25.5inches, but recently I've been wearing kilts made to the 'standard' length of 24inches and they feel more comfortable and look better. They feel more comfortable because I don't have to wear them so high on my waist and look better because they drop to just the top of my knee. The kiltmaker measured me from just under the ribs ("You wear your kilt right up here" he said) although he did add that "If you have a bit of a belly (like me!) the kilt will always drop a bit" and I find that this happens until the waist straps reach the top of the hip and then the kilt can fall no more. However at this point the kilt is hanging too low. I wonder if there is a bit of a misconception in that the 'civilian' kilt should be worn like a military kilt (ie: just under the ribs). If you look at the position of the waist straps on a 'civilian' kilt they are almost level with the top of the kilt, whereas with a 'military high rise' kilt there is a lot of tartan showing above the waist straps. This is the 'rise', about 4 inches I believe. Now if a soldier wears his 'high rise' kilt just under his ribs (although his waist straps are sitting on the top of his hip bones) how can a civilian be expected to wear his lower rise (2 inches stated on my new Lochcarron Royal Stewart kilt) at the same level ? One 'on line' kiltmaker recomends wearing braces (suspenders) with the kilt to prevent it from slipping down, but once again the 'military high rise' kilt is tailored to prevent this. I find that when I wear my Royal Stewart 24inch length kilt with the straps at the top of the hip bone it cannot slip down anymore and when I wear a Prince Charlie vest the top of the kilt corresponds to the centre button (ie: the vest hides the top of the kilt as it should.) With the longer kilts, in order to keep the bottom edge higher on my knee, the top of the kilt shows over the top button of the vest. Also my belly button isn't covered by the waist lining, and surly this isn't right

[Jordan]

That does seem a bit weird if im reading this correct. To me it sounds like your kilt maker is trying to fit you for a civilian style kilt with military style measurements, where are you getting them from?
I had the same sort of problems when i got measured for my first kilt in Mccalls in Elgin.

[ForresterModern]

I must admit that when I first saw the title for this thread the first thought that jumped to mind was:

"My address."

[long_hand]

Can't help it, I prefer the kilt to come to the bottom of the knee.

[SteveB]

Just above the knee to the top of the knee. At 6'1" a 24" length in off the peg will work very well. I use the straps to buckle it into the part of my body that will produce the desired hemline. Most of my made to measure are 26 to 27" long. The kilts are made for the higher rise, and the straps and fell are set for the longer length. I have had the good fortune to have kilts from some excellent kilt makers.

Slainte

[sfb]

About 25 years ago, I was told by the then Pipe Major in the Skye pipe band that if you kneel down (both knees!), the bottom edge of your kilt should just touch the floor.

He always seemed as authoritative a source as I could find, so I've always followed the advice, and I've never had folk pointing and laughing at me so far, so it's probably as good a rule of thumb as any.

[Michael Flemming]

About 25 years ago, I was told by the then Pipe Major in the Skye pipe band that if you kneel down (both knees!), the bottom edge of your kilt should just touch the floor.

That is exactly the way I was measured for my first kilt, by a retired Army Drum Major: kneel on the floor while he measured up to the bottom of my rib cage.

[The Guy in the Kilt at UC]

yeah, don't let it come over the knee.