X Kilt prototype pictures

[Alan H]

So here, the thing.... Some folks like Utilikilts and their really narrow aprons, and some folks don't. Some folks like box pleated kilts, some folks don't.

way2fractious has it right. These are NOT supposed to be super-custom fitted traditional kilts. The goal was to design and stitch up some kilts that were A.) really easy to make, and B.) didn't cost much in terms of materials....so that all those guys on X Marks who write "I'd really like to make a kilt but...." will have a guide to making a really basic Contemporary kilt and would go ahead and try it.

I've made a hand-stitched traditional 7-plus yard wool kilt. This is emphatically NOT that article of clothing.

When I started the design process I went to Jason (prototype #1) and said "I'm going to make you a kilt...you want one that looks more like a Utilikilt or one that looks more traditional? You want a narrow apron or a wide apron?"

He chose a narrow apron. OK, so that's what I went with... Narrow apron it is. I opted for the box pleats because A.) no other currently working professional contemporary kiltmaker makes box pleat contemporary kilts, so I wouldn't be stepping on anybody's toes, and B.) It takes less material to make a box pleat kilt than to make a knife pleat kilt. The goal was make it CHEAP and EASY.

OK, so what I'm looking for fro you guys is not so much "I don't like it" or "I think it's great" but rather...."what if you changed the taper this way" or "They look stiff, is that the sewing, or the material?".......those sorts of comments and questions. I can't make "more pleats and bigger" because it's a BOX pleat kilt. If I make the pleats wider, then there will be fewer of them. I could make the parts of the pleats that lie UNDER the box pleat deeper...that's a thought. I wonder....I hadn't thought of that. I might try it on the next ones I'm making.

One really good comment has come up. A couple of folks said that they looked stretched around the hips, and I agree. I'm changing the design to make the inside of the first box pleat and the last box pleat...the parts of those pleats that face forward towards the apron... significantly deeper. In fact, I'll probably make them twice as deep. I'm also going to increase the depth of the fold that lies under the left edge of the under-apron. Both of those changes should help with the "stretched" issue.

Another comment was made about how the narrower-aproned kilt looked better than the one with the wider apron. I agree, and in fact today I trimmed 2 1/2 inches off the wider apron. It's going to work out fine because the kilt was a little bit big to start with, so this will actually make it fit better, AND improve the looks.

OK, keeping in mind what the design constraints are, and that I'm trying to make a NARROW-APRON, CONTEMPORARY, BOX-PLEAT KILT....bring on more comments!

Just for those that are thinking about it...doing a taper in a box pleat kilt that only has ten pleats, is tricky. I mean, if you need to work in an eight inch taper from hips to waist, into ten pleats, that's a LOT of taper in each pleat, eh?