Designed a BIG SETT for a BIG GUY (X-marks experiment)

**48th Highlander** · 27th August 12, 05:10 PM

I am a big dude. I am 6 foot 7 inches, and about 380 lbs. I have a nice regimental Davidson kilt in the sett size and knife pleated to the stripe which is really all I ever wore.

I realized I wanted to dive in to the XMARKS shark tank and design my own tartan and register it. I wanted it however to be proportionate to my large size. I had Artificer do me a larger than normal skunk sporran, and all I had to do was create a similarily proportioned tartan that looked "right" on me. I am not yet sure if I have achived that, but wanted to start a thread, get some comments, and move through the kilt making process with the famed Barb T.

The tartan has a double alternating sett. Bottle green, antique green, black, morning grey, and a canary yellow stripe. The sett was designed to replicate colors important to me, and the black and yellow (gold) are from my Armorial Bearings from the Canadian Heraldic Authority. Gold and black from the Maryland flag as my state of residence. My intent is to knife pleat to the stripe centered in the pleat. Because it is an alternating sett, every other pleat will be slightly different in color. Something like a Black Watch kilt. Yeah, I have been told this is incorrect, but it is how my Davidson kilt is pleated, and I wanted that connection and look.

This is the first tartan I have designed, so go easy on me. It was iteration number 1000, and I went the gamut from a very busy tight sett to a simple contrasting sett.

What do you think? I will update this thread to culminate with a pic of me wearing it with the accoutrements I have had made for it. One thing about being this big, everything is custom made, so I did not have much of a choice.

The Cope can and tape are there so you can get an idea of the sett size. Sorry about the lighting. Kitchen counter, and Iphone.

**48th Highlander** · 27th August 12, 05:13 PM

I am very used to low contrast Army tartans. Seaforths, Black Watch, Gordon, so I am adjusting to this relatively loud tartan. Probably not loud to most standards, but I am adjusting.

Scottish members now sighing, "Damn American's....what will they do next."

**rlloyd** · 27th August 12, 05:21 PM

Really like the colors you chose for your tartan; looking forward to the finished product!

**Bill aka Mole** · 27th August 12, 05:37 PM

That is a handsome tartan. While the yellow stands out in these pictures, I hope that you find that by using different colored shirts & hose that you can force the attention to the other colors that you have chosen. I have found my USA Kilt Firefighters Memorial kilt does that if I use a white shirt and bottle green hose. Wearing a claret or black shirt just blends into the red or black of the tartan.

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 28th August 12, 05:15 AM

Congratulations on designing your own tartan. I noticed that while is does have a 15" sett repeat, the placement of the yellow line means that if someone wanted to pleat this to the stripe, they could actually get two pleats per sett repeat, making the tartan effectively the same to pleat as your average tartan with about a 7.5" sett repeat. In this sense it is very much like the Black Watch (and variations thereof, such as Gordon, Lamont, MacKenzie, etc.)

But I also wanted to point out that if a body wanted to have a tartan with a large sett repeat, one could always have a length woven to order with the desired sett size stated, without having to design a new tartan. So, for example, if you had wanted the Davidson tartan with a 15" sett, that would have been a possibility.

**48th Highlander** · 28th August 12, 05:28 AM

Thanks! That was the intent. Worked pretty closely with BarbT to ensure it would pleat on every stripe, but the background would be different every other pleat.

**Tobus** · 28th August 12, 07:30 AM

Originally Posted by 48th Highlander

Thanks! That was the intent. Worked pretty closely with BarbT to ensure it would pleat on every stripe, but the background would be different every other pleat.

Yes, that will be an interesting effect! Pleated to the yellow stripe (which will look similar to a Gordon kilt) is definitely the way to go, and with each pleat alternating from a black to a bottle green background, it will be unique. I look forward to seeing how it turns out.

Matt's right about this being very similar to military setts. My Seaforth MacKenzie No. 2 kilt has a sett size of 11-1/4", as I recall. Not quite as large as yours, but it allows for two pleats per sett repeat, and your choice for the yellow stripe allows the exact same thing. But it's upscaled for your large size. Very smart choice, and I think it'll turn out great!

**48th Highlander** · 28th August 12, 10:02 AM

My intro to kilts was military, so I was used to the large setts. I walked into USA kilts and started browsing the tartans, and the set sizes all seemed very small to me. I wondered if this had to do with the fact that most people never get a full 8 yard kilt with all of the knife pleats that affords, or if the lighter tartan material (smaller threads) shrink down the sett size, or if large setts were done purposely in the military for greater visual effect at distance. I don't know, but it doesn't matter now!

I think my only regret with this tartan design was making the yellow stripe 10 thread count. That is why it is really popping in your face. When it is knife pleated, I am worried about the yellow overwhelming the back of the kilt.

**48th Highlander** · 28th August 12, 10:08 AM

Question, will a fly plaid in the same sett size be too much? Should I consider a smaller sett of the same tartan for the fly plaid? I kind of draped the material like a fly plaid and I imagine I was visible from the international space station. It is just so large and high contrast, it is not something I am used to seeing.

Any suggestions on this? I kind of have my heart set on a fly plaid for those few and far between situations.