Abercrombie Tartan. Help pleating to the strip

[Patty Logan]

Hi tartan aficionado.

I’ve been looking at the Abercrombie tartan for some time and was wandering if it was possible to pleat it to both white stripe as in a “train track” line or it’s just possible as one.

Curious to know your opinion.

Thanks.

[figheadair]

Hi tartan aficionado.

I’ve been looking at the Abercrombie tartan for some time and was wandering if it was possible to pleat it to both white stripe as in a “train track” line or it’s just possible as one.

Curious to know your opinion.

Thanks.

It obviously depends on the sett size but in any reasonably sized sett I'd have thought that the white lines would be too far apart for the two to appear on the same pleat unless it were a wide box-pleat.

[plaid preacher]

The white stripes are to close together to pleat straight across for a knife pleated kilt. You would have to pleat one stripe from each set - which of course is what Lamont, Forbes and even Mackenzie does. Peter makes a good suggestion that you could make a fixed please kilt that would include both adjacent stripes in one pleat.

[Patty Logan]

I'd have thought that the white lines would be too far apart for the two to appear on the same pleat unless it were a wide box-pleat.

Do you think box pleats wear common during the creation of this tartan? Maybe that why they chose the created this way?

[figheadair]

Do you think box pleats wear common during the creation of this tartan? Maybe that why they chose the created this way?

If not the only, then they were certainly the most common style at the time.

[OC Richard]

As Peter points out we can't really discuss what would fit or not fit the pleats until we knew the size of the sett in relation to the width of the pleats.

It's going to make quite a difference whether each pleat is 1/2 inch wide, or 3/4 inch wide, or 1 inch wide.

Not knowing this, and just looking at the tartan, it seems that the stripe with the most room around it is either of the white stripes.

Depending on the sett size and pleat width you might be able to do a pair of black stripes on each pleat.

[OC Richard]

Nowadays it's easy to look at virtual pleating options.

Of course not knowing the sett-size who can say.

The upper one has the white on the broad green, the stripe that has the most leeway.

The lower one has the pair of black stripes. I had to offset the stripes on the pleats, a common kiltmaker's trick, used when you have little leeway on one side but plenty on the other side.

I much prefer the lower option.