How to make a more comfortable kilt
Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 3:19 am
Recently, I've been wearing my Utilkilt a lot, despite its flaws, because it was too hot even for shorts and I'm not ready to "come out" everywhere as a skirt-wearing man. And I've been wondering:
Is it possible to make a kilt that I would find as comfortable as my skirts?
In summer, my favorite skirt is a 22" long, full, gathered skirt, with an elastic waist plus nylon web belt. It's made out of black broadcloth and has a polyester voile lining, so it "puffs out" a bit and has more air circulation than you would think. About the only thing I've found that is breezier is nothing at all. The only place it's tight is my belt line, and since it's light, I don't have to tighten it too much. The synthetic fabric means that even when I sweat into it, it doesn't stick to me like cotton does and it dries quickly. No matter what else I wear, as soon as I get home I change into it and feel 10 degrees cooler right away.
In winter, I usually wear a denim skirt with a lining, often with a petticoat with a ruffle to keep the draft out. That, plus knee socks, is enough to keep my draft-sensitive legs warm while stomping around the neighborhood even when it's below zero Farenheit (-20 C) My current long denim skirt is 33 inches long with a 100 inch hem, but I plan to make some that are a lot fuller (in the hopes that all that cloth at the bottom will keep the cold out.)
1. "Traditional" kilts are out, as far as I'm concerned. I don't find my wool (traditional) kilt comfortable in any season, mainly because it's intended to be belted around my stomach, and my stomach does not like thick, heavy, tight things pressing on it. It's also too short for winter (or even fall) and too hot for summer, and it doesn't have pockets. For these reasons, I don't wear or ever plant to wear my traditional kilt except for Official Scottish occasions.
2. My UK is somewhat better. Aside from the fact that it is much shorter than advertised and generally doesn't fit right (which I hope to fix by making my own kilt), I find that all that twill is hot in hot weather. It's a little tight in the hips. And one big problem is that even when I "sweep the pleats," they still tend to go sideways and not cover my bottom when I sit. With a skirt I can pull the hem out to both sides before I sit, but this doesn't work with deep pleats.
3. I have my college reunion kilt, which I made a few years ago out of the cotton print fabric that they made our reunion trousers and jackets out of. It's the same length and has the same lining as my Favorite Summer Skirt, but is pleated and wraps like a kilt. It's still pretty hot (reunions are the begining of June and always sunny) and heavy.
4. I'm still not sure what I could do for winter. I know many die-hard kilt-wearers insist that kilts are warm enough for winter, but I have legs which tend to cramp up when they get chilled, and I've yet to find socks that were warm enough without an outer layer to keep my calves from getting chilled when it's below freezing. And the cold air gets in under the kilt and chills my thighs. I was driving back from Philadelphia on an October afternoon in a kilt, and by the time I got home, my thighs were numb. And that was inside a car!
One thought is to simply make a longer kilt -- say, 30+ inches long. According to kilt historians, in the early days of kilts, before the kilt totalitarians (KTs) had taken over, people got kilts in any length they liked, in any material and style of pleating they liked. So I could claim that it was actually quite "traditional." Not as though I care what the KTs would say, but it would be useful if I could come up with a long kilt that seemed kilt-like enough to "pass" as a kilt (as opposed to a "pleated skirt") among my friends and neighbors.
Any suggestions for such a summer or winter kilt?
Is it possible to make a kilt that I would find as comfortable as my skirts?
In summer, my favorite skirt is a 22" long, full, gathered skirt, with an elastic waist plus nylon web belt. It's made out of black broadcloth and has a polyester voile lining, so it "puffs out" a bit and has more air circulation than you would think. About the only thing I've found that is breezier is nothing at all. The only place it's tight is my belt line, and since it's light, I don't have to tighten it too much. The synthetic fabric means that even when I sweat into it, it doesn't stick to me like cotton does and it dries quickly. No matter what else I wear, as soon as I get home I change into it and feel 10 degrees cooler right away.
In winter, I usually wear a denim skirt with a lining, often with a petticoat with a ruffle to keep the draft out. That, plus knee socks, is enough to keep my draft-sensitive legs warm while stomping around the neighborhood even when it's below zero Farenheit (-20 C) My current long denim skirt is 33 inches long with a 100 inch hem, but I plan to make some that are a lot fuller (in the hopes that all that cloth at the bottom will keep the cold out.)
1. "Traditional" kilts are out, as far as I'm concerned. I don't find my wool (traditional) kilt comfortable in any season, mainly because it's intended to be belted around my stomach, and my stomach does not like thick, heavy, tight things pressing on it. It's also too short for winter (or even fall) and too hot for summer, and it doesn't have pockets. For these reasons, I don't wear or ever plant to wear my traditional kilt except for Official Scottish occasions.
2. My UK is somewhat better. Aside from the fact that it is much shorter than advertised and generally doesn't fit right (which I hope to fix by making my own kilt), I find that all that twill is hot in hot weather. It's a little tight in the hips. And one big problem is that even when I "sweep the pleats," they still tend to go sideways and not cover my bottom when I sit. With a skirt I can pull the hem out to both sides before I sit, but this doesn't work with deep pleats.
3. I have my college reunion kilt, which I made a few years ago out of the cotton print fabric that they made our reunion trousers and jackets out of. It's the same length and has the same lining as my Favorite Summer Skirt, but is pleated and wraps like a kilt. It's still pretty hot (reunions are the begining of June and always sunny) and heavy.
4. I'm still not sure what I could do for winter. I know many die-hard kilt-wearers insist that kilts are warm enough for winter, but I have legs which tend to cramp up when they get chilled, and I've yet to find socks that were warm enough without an outer layer to keep my calves from getting chilled when it's below freezing. And the cold air gets in under the kilt and chills my thighs. I was driving back from Philadelphia on an October afternoon in a kilt, and by the time I got home, my thighs were numb. And that was inside a car!
One thought is to simply make a longer kilt -- say, 30+ inches long. According to kilt historians, in the early days of kilts, before the kilt totalitarians (KTs) had taken over, people got kilts in any length they liked, in any material and style of pleating they liked. So I could claim that it was actually quite "traditional." Not as though I care what the KTs would say, but it would be useful if I could come up with a long kilt that seemed kilt-like enough to "pass" as a kilt (as opposed to a "pleated skirt") among my friends and neighbors.
Any suggestions for such a summer or winter kilt?
I'm still mulling over some designs in my mind.
I don't much care for tight garments that get above my navel.