Plaids
We should really start by pointing out that, somehow or
other, America has come to use the word plaid (pr: plad)
as being interchangeable with tartan whereas, back here in
Scotland, we reserve the word to describe the truncated upper
portion of the great belted plaid, the
feilidh-mhor or breacan-an-feile both Gaelic terms, the former meaning
"large wrap" and the latter meaning "tartan wrap".
Plaid comes from the Gaelic and roughly means
blanket. Having dispensed with the semantics, now we can
talk about them!
Long Plaid or Pipers' Plaid
This is a full length plaid which consists of approximately three
and a half yards of 54inch wide tartan (3.2 metres x 137cms)
with the ends fringed. In Scotland this plaid is worn almost
exclusively by pipers in Pipe Bands, either civilian or Regimental.
It is very rarely worn by the individual as it is rather clumsy to
wear.

Its origin in history was that the long plaid was the upper part
of the kilt or feile mor which was used to cover the head and
shoulders in bad weather. When not in use it was wrapped around the
body of gathered on either shoulder at the back to prevent impeding
the movements of the arms as much as possible.
Drummers will wear the fly plaid rather than the long plaid as
they need plenty of freedom for their arms and a long plaid would
impede that.
Small Plaid or Fly Plaid
There's no set size for fly plaids and they can vary from
a small one about a metre (39 inches) square up to a larger one
measuring about 1.4 metres (56 inches) square, to an even larger
one of 1.8 x 1.37 metres (6 feet x 54 inches). Some have one corner
gathered and sewn for pinning over the shoulder, others are
ungathered so that it's easier to drape over the shoulders of a
shivering partner and/or is easier to press (iron) if it gets
crumpled.
It's important to order your fly plaid at the same time as your
kilt so that both are cut from the same length of fabric - that
way, they'll match exactly. Buying a plaid later on may result in a
bit of a mismatch since the fabric may be from a different dye
batch or even from a different weaver. Plaid & fringe
photos below courtesy of Keltoi Celtic Clothing, Kitchener,
Ontario.

