Thanks for the replies. Seems I'm doing it right, just that the instructions are perhaps in the wrong order (reverse pleat first, Velcro second). I've already dealt with the conundrum of putting 2-inch Velcro onto 3-inch fabric strip while leaving a 1.25-inch gap so deviating from printed instructions doesn't faze me too badly.

FYI I'm a tech writer by trade so I know precisely how those things happen!

I'll get back to the camo X-Kilt later today, hope to finish it and post pix by this evening. All thanks to the great resource that is the people of XMTS!

P.S. I had already decided that I should have put the Velcro onto a double thickness of fabric (or else some heavier scrap) -- now's the time. So all's not lost.