The word "Contemporary" is one that I coined to describe my style of kilt construction. It is, for all practical considerations, a Traditionally made kilt, (AKA TAoK) that has been updated to how men prefer to wear their kilts today.
A Contemporary kilt has the full floating interfaceing and stabilizer which are the trademarks of the Traditional kilt construction method.
The main difference is where the wearer wishes to wear the waist of their kilt. All Traditional kilts are designed to be worn at the anatomical waist. (I call this 'Full Waist Height' to avoid confusion)
If the wearer wishes to wear their Contemporary Kilt at the anatomical waist that is how I build it. But they may also choose to have the waist at Mid or Low Waist Height. The kilt is built from the ground up at the waist height specified by the customer. The Slope measurement comes in when the waist is at anywhere other than Full Waist Height. (Just look at a pair of jeans from the side) This is why I ask customers to measure accurately.
If you wish to wear the short Prince Charlie Coatee you must wear the waist of your kilt at Full Waist Height to avoid showing white shirt above the top of the kilt and below the bottom of the jacket.
Another update to the Traditional construction is that the customer may also specify where they wish the bottom of the kilt to hit their knee. The Top of the knee cap is the Traditional height but the wearer may choose mid knee cap or even bottom of knee cap.
This is why the Fell Length is so important to the fit of a Contemporary Kilt. The bottom of the Fell Area must be right at the widest part of the hips and/or buttocks for a kilt to fit and hang well. A Traditionally made kilt uses 1/3 of the Drop (not counting the rise) to set the location of the bottom of the Fell Area. But as the waist height and knee height are variable on the Contemporary kilt I need to know where the measured bottom of the Fell actually is.
Yes, the fabrics I use have a Selvedge edge. I just use the word 'hem' in the video because many new guys do not know what a Selvedge is.
And then there is the option of having as many, or as few, pockets as a modern guy wishes.
Last edited by The Wizard of BC; 7th February 21 at 04:43 PM.
Steve Ashton
www.freedomkilts.com
Skype (webcam enabled) thewizardofbc
I wear the kilt because: Swish + Swagger = Swoon.
