New kilt

[CBH]

My new kilt just arrived !!

It was made by scottishkilttailor.com. Of course they're not Scottish, but Pakistani. Other than the name they at least admit they're in Pakistan. Many similar shops list American addresses and phone numbers, but for what purpose I do not understand.

It has external cargo pockets, but thankfully speciified without those insufferable flaps. it also has pants-style front pockets. The left hand side photo shows its big enough for a phone and is nearly invisible.

The thing that makes Pakistani kilts so much more comfortable, is they pleat the vast majority of the kilt. The aprons are comparatively small. This makes it comfortable, easy to move in, and easy to sit down in. The additional pleats are particularly useful when sitting down. They allow the part you're not sitting on to move, and to open up, and not open straight across your open lap.

On my traditional kilts, the aprons are so large that you sit on the entire pleated area of the kilt. Thus the aprons just gape open since there's no pleat allowing them to "give" or move.

[OC Richard]

Some background, that style of kilt was invented in the year 2000 by a guy in Seattle, Washington named Steven Villegas.

He dubbed it the Utilikilt.

He sold 750 Utilikilts that first year.

In 2003 he sold 11,000.

As with any successful thing the copycats were not far behind, first scattered across the USA, and later in Pakistan and even in the UK.

The original ethos of Utilikilt was that it was an everyday garment, a working garment, and they've always made a version aimed at construction workers with a loop for your hammer etc. https://utilikilts.com/shop-page/

I believe Utilikilts were authorised for some USPS letter carriers.

Made in the various US military camouflage patterns, some COs authorised them for active duty wear in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[Pleater]

I make my kilts in the reverse Kingussie style, I used to ride a bicycle and the centre back inverted pleat saved a lot of bother and false starts, and they also had a narrower apron with large pleats under each side for the pedalling but also useful if climbing over gates or styles.
They do take a lot of fabric though.
At first glance they are quite traditional, standing still they are still just slightly not, do a deep squat and the difference is obvious, as the aprons remain vertical as the pleats open out.

With lighter fabrics I always add some means of attaching an inner layer, also pleated as they can 'do a Marilyn' when alongside cars or at the crossroads on the way to the shops. I have experimented with adding weight at the lower edges in various ways, but it is a lot of sewing with an 8 yard kilt.

Reflecting on the description 'traditional' - the modern kilt is just that, modern. Sewn in pleats are almost a fashion statement.

Anne the Pleater

[CBH]

I believe "reverse kingussie" is where the pleats always face towards the back, and like you said, meet together in the middle of the back.

This is actually how all my Pakistani kilts have been made. I agree its the most practical way to do it.

I would have preferred to have purchased a utilikilt from an American company. While some of them are actually made here, I don't know of any that do custom builds. They're all off-the-shelf products that usually have a length of 24". That's far too long for my diminutive build, so that was not a viable option.

[OC Richard]

I just checked, Utilikilts offer lengths from 21.5 to 24.5 inches.

Not that I've ever owned one, or really ever considered wearing one. I'm a wool trad-kilt person.

[CBH]

Mine are all 19", so that's still too much.

2 1/2 " is a lot to kick around when something is too long.

[Pleater]

Being able to make my own clothes gives me greater freedom of choice - and also an income which has made quite a bit of difference to my life overall.
The pleats on a reverse kingussie do all face backwards - having to take off a kilt with 'normal' pleats a couple of times when wandering through the heathland around here, having got stuck and not wanting to risk ripping the fabric I soon decided to alter my first efforts.

I have a black ankle length kilt which I wear as part of my morris kit, it is a very lightweight fabric but with 8 yards of it and multiple layers it is opaque enough to work. The side was actually willing to change the kit requirements for me at an AGM quite some time ago now. The Anonymous morris kit is basically black, like all Border Morris sides, over which is worn a tatter jacket which has strips of various purples and black fabric attached to a black base, plus a top hat. There are recordings o the side dancing, on the internet - though I am not sure if there are any including kilts - they are just not interesting enough, I think.

The Cornish lads wear black kilts and they are becoming fairly common at folk festivals along the south coast. Some of them have a vertical white cross like the Kernow flag - rather like the saltire kilts. As our summer temperatures climb kilts are becoming more common in all settings but particularly when the town is en fete.