I don't own any UKs but I have 3 Amerikilts, which have two vertical rows of snaps down the front. When I saw this thread I just had to try something:

I snapped all the snaps before putting it on, then I threw the kilt over my head, T-shirt style and pulled it down onto my hips. Now I'm a slim guy, but this was harder than I thought. The velcro closure got undone in the process, and the final fit was less than ideal.

Stick to whatever you were doing. This doesn't work.