subject: Patterns And Designing Of The Famous Scottish Kilts [print this page] Undoubtedly, the uniqueness of the kilt associated with Scottish highland lies in its design and construction, which is of unmatched brilliance to appeal to the fashion senses of the modern times too. The kilts are popularly worn on occasions such as modern Highland games events. They are made from twill woven worsted wool, with a "22 type" pattern by which each weft thread passes over and under two warp threads at a time. This gives rise to a pattern called twill line having a diagonal pattern. This twill becomes tartarn when the weaving is in accordance to a given sett or written colour pattern. The Irish pipers use kilts with solid-colour cloth usually in saffron or green colours.
The beginnings of the kilt was in the form of great kilt or the belted plaid, which was a full-length garment with its upper part serving as shoulder or head covering. Thomas Rawlinson, by an English Quaker from Lancashire in the 1720s developed the version of the modern day kilt, which was called the philibeg or small kilt, also known as the walking kilt.
The weights of Kilting fabric are measured in ounces per yard and vary from the very-heavy, regimental worsted of approximately 1822 ounces to a light worsted of about 1011 ounces. Usually, the average kilts in the market are of 13 ounces (370 g) and 16 ounces (450 g). In the cooler regions the heavier weights h require lots of movement or even at highland dancing, the lighter kilts are opted for. The patterns could vary in accordance to the weight of the kilts. The cloth size required for kilts for adults is 68 yards of single-width or 34 yards of double-width tartan fabric.
Kilts usually are made without a hem since hem makes the garment too bulky and the hang of the garment thus suffers, making it an un-smart fit. The exact amount of fabric needed though is based on multiple factors including the size of the sett, the number of pleats to be made in the garment, and of course the size of the person. For making a full kilt 8 yards of fabric is the minimum amount of fabric required irrespective of size and the number of pleats and depth of pleat would be made in proportion to the cloth size. For a person with very large waist, it may be essential to use 9 yards of cloth. Tartans are the patterns woven in four standard colour variations that determine the overall tone. Vegetable dyes were used in earlier times for setting the color and hence "Ancient" or "Old" style of kilts have a color display which a deliberate slightly faded to give the intended time feel. In contrast the modern kilts have brighter looks.
