Great kilt dimensions?

[Brian F]

HELP ME!!

I've finally found a decent fabric to make a (starter/economy) great kilt out of. But, the biggest thing I need to figure out is what size it should be?!

I've heard three things:

1) Cut 9 yards of fabric into three strips, and sew them together into a big square.

2) 9 yards of double width fabric

3) 5 yards of double width fabric

Help please? I've got about a 44 inch waist, 38 inch hips (gotta' love that beer-gut). How much fabric do I need? And what is "double width"? Is it double width of today's fabrics? (Which are 45"...the fabric is on a normal fabric store bolt, and folded in half...didn't think to measure it) Or double width for traditional fabrics? (30"?)

Sorry for asking so many questions...I just want to get things right!

Thanks in advance.

~Yeti

[Mr. MacDougall]

Traditional hand looms wove 'single width' fabric, and were two to three feet across. So double width would be four to six feet. The median I've seen is about 50" for a great kilt. Celtic Croft recommends 4 yards for thinner gentlemen, and six to nine yards for larger ones, depending on pleating style. With 44" waist, I'd start with six, and see if that's sufficient.

"The whole nine yards," by the bye, does not refer to kilt yardage -- it refers to the length of amunition belts for machine guns in WWI.

[turpin]

The Wild Highlanders were demonstrating the great kilt at Blairsville. They go to a lot of games in the southeast. I was talking to their Chief about some of the articles Matt has written about the great kilt and length needed. All his clan wear great kilts, and the material is 60 inches wide. He says that width is needed, especially for tall folk, in order to be able to get maximum use of the kilt (wearing it 7 different ways). He also said that in order to get the proper numberof pleats so you don't look like a curtain, 5 yards of double-wide is called for, minimum. He uses 5 yards himself, and has a 32-inch waist. But because of the southeastern climate he uses 10 or 11-oz cloth.

If you think about it it makes some sense. You hand pleat, but still need to make enough pleats, using the full or half-sett of your tartan, to account for 1/2 the waist measurement, with the aprons taking up the rest. If you have a 6-inch sett and a 36-inch waist, and leave a 1-inch reveal in he pleat, that's 18 pleats times 6 inches plus deep first and last pleats, so figure 110 to 120 inches in the pleats. that only leaves 12 inches for each apron from the remaining 2 feet of your 4 yards. so you need to do the math even with a great kilt.

I hope Matt weighs in here and says differently, because I have 4 yards of 11 oz. tartan I was hoping would be sufficient.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I'd say "enough pleats for what?" Who says how many pleats are enough? Historical accounts I have read indicate that there was no standard length for a belted plaid, but that it tended to range from 3 to maybe 6 yards, with 4 being the average.

I've worn a 4 yard belted plaid many times with no trouble at all. I've a 38" waist, 44" hips, and stand 6' 3" tall.

Consider this... the belted plaid (feilidh-mor) became the feilidh-beag, which became our modern tailored kilt. And the earliest tailored kilts we know of all contained around 4 yards of cloth. It wasn't until the mid-nineteenth century that excess yardage was regularly used.

For the belted plaid, ideally you want the fabric wide enough to go from your knees to the top of your head. In today's tems "double width" fabric refers to anything 54" wide or more, which is usually sufficient unless you are extremely tall. Traditionally, it meant seaming two lengths of 25" to 30" wide cloth together. If they cloth you are working with is only 45" wide, I'd cut it into two 30" wide strips and seam those together to make a single 60" wide peice.

I'd go ahead and make it 5 yards long to begin with. You can always cut some off if you feel it is too much. That's a better than having to add more on later!

[escherblacksmith]

the other thing to keep in mind is that depending on the complexity of the plaid (mine is very simple with reds an browns) you can pleat how you like. So, 4 yds might do, if you have small enough pleats (and that works with the stripe or sett). I like deep pleats, and am fairly wide, so, I wear between 7 and 9 yds of 52" or 60".

Give it a shot and see how it works. That is one of the lovely things about great kilts. There really aren't any wrong ways to do it.

[JRB]

My belted plaid is 5 yards long and is plenty long for me (I have a 36" waist). In fact, I'd say it is longer than it needs to be. I could probably get away with 4 yards of material but I have no plans to cut my plaid shorter. I just tuck it all away where I can.

[Ayin McFye]

I wouldn't cut anything into 3 strips and then try to sew them altogether. I agree with the above comments and I'll combine them all. Start with 6 yards, and pleat it to your liking. Belt it on, wrap it up, and pin it up or tuck it back. There are many ways to wear a great kilt. There will be a lot of extra fabric but that's normal. Just try to decide how much is too much for you. If after trying out the 6 yards and it just seems like too much. I'd suggest make some more pleats first, but if that doesn't work, take off a half yard or yard. Just try to do as little "cutting" as possible. Good luck!

[Galloglaich]

I have a couple of 6 yarders, a 9 yarder and about a 4-5 yarder (never actually measured it). My waist is a 38". The 6 yarders are fine, the 9 yarder is pretty big, and the short one is just a bit too short to feel comfortable in.

[Brian F]

So, modern fabric, coming on a bolt (like what is found at Jo-Ann Fabrics and the like) is all the width I'd need?

[Nick]

Bolts of fabric usually come in 45" and somewhere around 60" (it can vary). I used to work at a Jo Ann Fabrics, so make sure to check the bolt for the width. There wasn't anything at my Jo Anns I'd reccommend for a great kilt, but some of the superstores have a wider variety, and there may be something appropriate.