It is hard to beat a traditional great kilt, also known as the "breacan an fheilidh" or "feile mor". The great kilt dates back to at least the 16th century. Traditionally, It could take up to a year to shear and spin enough wool, grown on one's own sheep, to make one kilt. Fortunately, you don't need to wait that long! (or grow the sheep, or do all that work).

The great kilt is made from double-width fabric, 54-60 inches wide. When you belt it on, 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 (pictured). 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 greatkilt 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 greatkilt 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 kilt. You can also download them here: How to Wear the Great Kilt (Adobe PDF format).

As a convenient option, we can sew the pleats in place for you - see Cheater Pleats™ below.

See our Great Kilt history page for more interesting information.