Traditional Kilt Making Methods
Making the kilt is a highly skilled process which takes many hours. The kilt is tailored to the individual measurements of the wearer.
Kinloch Anderson require three fundamental measurements for a kilt: waist measurement firmly taken at the bottom of the rib cage, seat measurement taken round the fullest part of the seat, and length measurement taken from the top of the hip bone to the top of the knee cap. The height of the kilt wearer is a useful guide to confirm the correct kilt length.
Kinloch Anderson supply instructions and a diagram explaining how (and where) to take the required measurements and these should be followed carefully. Self measurement requires asking another person to take the actual measurement, especially for the length.
The quality of a kilt is best revealed by the pleating skills. There are two types of pleats on a kilt - knife pleats and box pleats. Knife pleats are the most common whereas box pleats have folds each side of the ‘box’ and require more specialist skills.
There are two basic methods of pleating a kilt - pleating to sett and pleating to line. When pleating to sett the fabric is folded in such a way that the pattern of the sett is repeated all around the kilt. This is done by taking up one full sett in each pleat (in the case of small sized setts, two full setts will sometimes be taken up in each pleat). The result is a kilt in which the cloth pattern looks much the same from the front as from the back.
When pleating to line a vertical stripe is selected and the fabric will be folded so that this stripe runs down the centre of each pleat. The result is a style where horizontal bands appear along the back and sides of the kilt. A kilt pleated in this way will result in the pattern looking different at the front than it does at the back. It is often called military pleating because this is the style of pleating adopted by most military regiments. It is also widely used by pipe bands.
All Kinloch Anderson kilts have a pleat width that is hand deep i.e. 3” – 4”. ‘Economy’ pleats will reduce the pleat width and use less fabric. The number of pleats used in making the kilt normally varies between 23 and 43 and depends largely on the size of the sett (pattern repeat size).
The portion of the kilt from the waistline to the widest portion of the seat is called the fell. The pleats across the fell are tapered slightly due to the fact that normally the wearer's waist will be somewhat smaller in circumference than his hips. In addition, the pleats in this portion of the kilt will be stitched down. This could be either hand stitched or machine stitched.
It is not recommended to wash a kilt in the washing machine. Dry cleaning is the best way to clean the kilt but as with other garments the choice of dry cleaner is important if the quality is to be maintained.
In between wearings, the kilt should be kept hanging rather than flat. If a kilt needs to be re-pressed the pleats should be baisted down before pressing so as to keep the pleats as straight as possible.
The Kinloch Anderson kilt is made with five holes in the straps and measurements are taken to fit at the middle hole unless specified otherwise. This allows room for weight loss or weight gain. If necessary, the buckles can be moved slightly at the waist and at the under apron.
The kilt is traditionally made without a hem using the selvedge edge of the cloth. A common exception to this rule is a kilt for young growing boys (many Highland dancers fall into this category). A kilt made with a hem can then be let down to accommodate growth.
The only way to shorten a kilt without a hem is to do this at the top of the kilt. This requires removing the waistband and in essence re-making the kilt.