Irish Great Kilts

There is little evidence that the Irish ever wore kilts historically. Irish tartans and Irish kilts are modern inventions. Nevertheless, our Irish tartans are still a very popular choice for those of Irish descent who want to wear a Great Kilt, so we have made them available!

Its hard to beat a Great Kilt. The fabric is woven 63 inches wide, wider than any other tartan we have available. When you belt it on, well more than half of the fabric is above the belt. In warm weather this extra fabric can be bustled up behind you or pinned over the shoulder. In cool or rainy weather the extra fabric can be worn over both shoulders like a cloak, or (depending on how tall you are) up over the head like a hooded cloak.

A 4 yard greatkilt will fit up to about a 34 inch waist, a 5 yard greatkilt will fit up to about a 44 inch waist, and a 6 yard greatkilt will fit up to about a 50 inch waist. If you are larger than this please contact us for pricing on larger kilts. Also, If your waist size is close to one of these limits, consider the next size larger if you want deeper pleats or pleats closer together.
For example:
If you have a 34 inch waist, a 4yd greatkilt will have pleats 1.5 - 2 inches wide and 3-4 inches deep. A 5yd greatcilt will have pleats approximately 1 inch wide and 3-4 inches deep or 1.5 - 2 inches wide and 6-8 inches deep. In this example a 6yd greatcilt would be overkill with a 34 inch waist, but it would have pleats about 1 inch wide and 6-8 inches deep.

Normally, you pleat the kilt each time you wear it, and the only thing that holds it together is your belt. Each kilt comes with instructions on how to pleat and wear your cilt. You can also download them here: How to Wear the Great Kilt (Adobe PDF format). As a convenient option though, we can sew the pleats in place for you - see Cheater Pleats™ below.

See our Great Kilt history page for more interesting information. View our selection of Irish Tartans.

Homespun Irish Great Kilts

Our Irish Great Kilt is a standard Great Kilt made using Irish tartans. Our Homespun tartan is made from a 55/45 blend of polyester and wool. It is woven by hand on old-world looms, and looks very authentic to what would have been woven historically. The yarn is worsted, but not spun as tightly as modern machine-made tartan. The cloth is also not as tightly woven. Homespun tartan will pleat by hand easily, but will not develop a sharp edge. Small snags, pulls, holes and other assorted blemishes are common. Because it is hand woven, these flaws are a natural part of it's character. Homespun is approximately a 9/10oz. fabric, but feels thicker due to it's looser weave.

Homespun Great Kilt, Stock Tartans
KGHS – 4 yds, $139 (fits up to a 34in waist*)
KGHS – 5 yds, $169 (fits up to a 44in waist)
KGHS – 6 yds, $199 (fits up to a 50in waist)
Homespun tartan, 54 inches wide. Pleating instructions are included with each kilt. Traditionally these kilts are pleated each time you wear them. If you would like us to pleat the kilt for you, please select Cheater Pleats™ as an additional option. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.
View our selection of in-stock homespun tartans

Premium Wool Irish Great Kilts

Our Irish Great Kilt is a standard Great Kilt made using Irish tartans. Made from 100% pure new wool, and woven in Scotland, this is the same tartan most of you are familiar with, used in modern, tailored, formal kilts.

Premium Wool Great Kilts
Made from 100% pure new wool, woven in Scotland. This is the same tartan most of you are familiar with, used in modern, tailored, formal kilts. This is your best option if you are looking for a specific tartan, as there are over 500 available, and it makes a great looking Great Kilt!

Great Kilt, Light Weight Premium Wool
KG011 – 4 yds, $295
KG011 – 5 yds, $365
KG011 – 6 yds, $435
Made from light weight 10/11oz premium wool tartan, woven in Scotland, 60" wide. This is the most commonly available tartan fabric. Makes a great looking Great Kilt, and the light weight is especially nice for hot weather wear. NOTE – Most light weight Irish tartans are not woven with a kilting selvedge, so the top edge of the great kilt will be fringed and the bottom edge will be hemmed. Pleating instructions are included with each kilt. Traditionally these kilts are pleated each time you wear them. If you would like us to pleat the kilt for you, please select Cheater Pleats™ as an additional option. Special-order. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.

Qty.

Great Kilt, Medium Weight Premium Wool
KG013 – 4 yds, $335
KG013 – 5 yds, $415
KG013 – 6 yds, $495
Made from medium weight 12/13oz premium wool tartan, woven in Scotland, 54" wide. Medium weight tartan will hang better and take a crisper pleat than light weight tartan, and many tartans are only available in medium weight, but it tends to be quite heavy for a Great Kilt. It is not as light and comfortable to wear as homespun, synthetic blend, or 11oz tartan. Pleating instructions are included with each kilt. Traditionally these kilts are pleated each time you wear them. If you would like us to pleat the kilt for you, please select Cheater Pleats™ as an additional option. Special-order. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.

Qty.

Great Kilt, Medium Weight Old & Rare Premium Wool
KGOR – 4 yds, $399
KGOR – 5 yds, $499
KGOR – 6 yds, $599
Made from medium weight 12/13oz premium wool tartan from our Old & Rare collection, woven in Scotland, 54" wide. Medium weight tartan will hang better and take a crisper pleat than light weight tartan, and many tartans are only available in medium weight, but it tends to be quite heavy for a Great Kilt. It is not as light and comfortable to wear as homespun, synthetic blend, or 11oz tartan.
Pleating instructions are included with each kilt. Traditionally these kilts are pleated each time you wear them. If you would like us to pleat the kilt for you, please select Cheater Pleats™ as an additional option. Special-order. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.

Cheater Pleats™ (Optional) ($50 extra)
This is a nice convenience option. Your kilt will still look like you pleated it yourself, but you can take it off and put it back on any time you want to without re-doing your pleats. (Depending on how concerned you are about the appearance, pleating your kilt can take you anywhere from a few minutes to a half hour each time you wear it.)
We'll pleat the kilt for you and stitch a waistband inside to hold it all together. There will be a row of stitches visible on the outside of the kilt, but these will be covered by your belt (a belt will still be necessary to hold your kilt on).

Pleat to sett – each pleat is positioned so that the pattern (sett) appears to continue through the pleated portion of the kilt.
Pleat to stripe – we choose a prominent stripe in the pattern and center the stripe down the middle of each pleat. This is a traditional military style, and can look very nice. Some tartans just don't look good pleated to stripe however. If you choose this option we will let you know if it can't (or shouldn't) be done.
Box pleats – another traditional military style. Every other pleat is reversed. This creates pleats twice as wide (3 to 4 inches wide depending on the sett width of the tartan you choose) with tartan folded under both edges of each pleat. Incidentally, box pleating uses less tartan, so you can actually get by with a 4 yard kilt all the way up to about a 50 inch waist. NOTE – We will only use as much tartan as we need to, so if your waist size is less than 50, and you select box pleats, your kilt will most likely be constructed of less than 4 yards of fabric. The other pleating methods will use approximately the whole 4, 5, or 6 yards accordingly. If your waist size is larger than 50 inches, and you would like box pleats, select a 5 yard kilt.

How To Measure
1) Measure the waist size at your actual waist, where you usually wear your pants.
2) Measure your hip at the fullest point, usually 6-8 inches below the waist.
3) Measure the length from your waist to about the middle of the knee. Have someone help you. If you bend even a little while trying to do it yourself, the measurement will change.

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