My Alphakilt's here!!!

[TheKiltedCoder]

Good Afternoon,

You all remember I'd asked about a box-pleat contemporary kiltmaker here a couple of weeks ago, and was pointed to Alphakilts. I'd told everyone at the end of the thread that I had ordered an Argyll (the box pleated model without cargo pockets).

Well, it arrived about 45 minutes ago via USPS Priority mail, and so far, I'm liking it. Very much.



This thing may not be a tank, but it is at least an armored personnel carrier. I was surprised at the weight of it. The stitching is neat and tidy all around. I was a little concerned when I heard that Alphakilts uses snaps on the waist instead of buckles or velcro, as the measurements need to be that much more precise. Well, either I'm getting better at measuring myself for kilts, or Daron's more precise as a kiltmaker, as this thing truly feels custom fitted: I'll only need to wear a belt for convention's sake. The fabric itself (according to the label) is a 65/35 poly-cotton blend, which bodes well for wrinkle resistance.

The kilt itself is closed by 5 snaps: two at the left side of the inner apron, 2 on the right side of the outer apron, and a 5th snap about 6 inches down and one inch in from the inner-outer apron (more on that, later).



The tops of the snaps themselves are black (I don't know if he'd color them tan for a khaki kilt or not), but are cleverly hidden directly under the belt loops on the top apron, so that none of the snaps are visible, even without wearing a belt.

As you can see on the left hand side of the picture above (the inner apron), there is a very small pocket there that measures 4"x5", so there's not a lot of room for anything there. It's also pretty hard to get to the pocket without looking... odd. So, I probably won't be using it that much.

The box pleats themselves are 3".

The outer apron (or outer-inner-outer apron) is also a little strange. Some of the other folk that had responded to my request for info earlier had called the apron "complicated". There really is no inner apron as such (the pleating just continues across the front of the body). The outer apron doesn't start at the hip the way one would expect. The box pleats actually continue all the way over to just short of the RIGHT hip. Then, the apron folds back on itself, with the box pleating stopping almost on the centerline of the body, and an apron starting from there and folding back across the top. So, when you look at it all, you've 4 layers of kilt and probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 layers of cloth in front, which means that it will probably require some level of natural disaster to get the kilt to move.

I'll try to post some more pics later on tonight with me in the kilt, and showing the outer apron a bit more closely.

Meanwhile, here's a link to an album with a few more pictures in it.

[george7]

Congrats! I can't wait to see pictures of it in use and a review.

[Aldisimo]

Do you find all that fabric in the aprons difficult to manage, bulky, or uncomfortable? Where does it all go when you sit?

The design is ingenious, especially for a wearer who's gaining weight because the sides aren't really defined since the aprons don't really start there. He can just wrap it so that there's less overlap, and add more snaps at the waistband if necessary (which would be covered by his belt).

[TheKiltedCoder]

Do you find all that fabric in the aprons difficult to manage, bulky, or uncomfortable? Where does it all go when you sit?

The design is ingenious, especially for a wearer who's gaining weight because the sides aren't really defined since the aprons don't really start there. He can just wrap it so that there's less overlap, and add more snaps at the waistband if necessary (which would be covered by his belt).

Amazingly enough, the apron is very easy to manage. When I sit, it all just flattened either right onto my lap (if my legs were together), or down between them (if they weren't).

I expect that the wrap-around pleats are how they're able to offer that lifetime adjustment guarantee.

[Finn]

Looks good! I've been looking at them too.

[12stones]

Very nice acquisition. Looks good.

[WBurns]

Can't wait to see it on you. Please give a review after you have worn it for awhile. My wife is looking to purchase me the same kilt only in khaki.

[TheKiltedCoder]

To continue:

I've looked a little closer at the over-apron now, and my initial description of it was incorrect. The actual design is a little more simple than that. As I mentioned, there really is no under-apron; the pleats just keep going until they stop around the point of the left hip. For the over-apron, the pleats just keep going until they stop at the point of the right hip. The actual outer apron (along with a half apron-width pleat) is sewn directly over the top of the pleats. The pleated part of the overapron folds down underneath the overapron and is stitched to the pleat at midline. Here are a couple of pics that will hopefully make it clearer.



and a closeup:



It actually makes quite a bit of sense, and allows for far more adjustability of the kilt later on (in theory, Alphakilts offers lifetime waist adjustments for any of their kilts). So, they've given themselves more than enough material to work with.

Finally, here are a couple of shots of me wearing it:









The belt in the picture was a 2" leather belt from Amerikilt. The loops themselves will fit my 2 1/4" belt, but it wouldn't take anything wider than that.

The only other real item of note is that it appears to be the same type of polycotton that I purchased for my first XKilt.

This kilt was purchased with the expressed intent that it would be a kilt for me to wear to the office, and I certainly think it looks nice enough for me to do so.

If anyone has any other questions I can answer, I'll be happy to do so. Otherwise, I'll post a followup here in a couple of weeks, once it's been washed a couple of times and worn to work.

Brian

P.S. I just previewed this second post, and my wife, bless her heart, isn't quite as good with the zoom part of a zoom lens as I wish she were. If anyone wants closer pictures of me in the kilt, I can either dive into Photoshop and do some cropping, or I'll be happy to email the originals to whomever.

[The F-H.C.A.G.]

That's pretty cool! Basically an X-Kilt with some modifications on the aprons. I think it would probably be easier to make than an X-Kilt, since there is less precision with the under and over-aprons. Just pleat it around all the way and slap the over-apron on top. Probably takes a bit more material, but that's ok-pretty affordable material.

Don't worry though, I wouldn't steal their design.

Hmm...which came first though, the X-Kilt or Alphakilt?!

Is Alan owed some royalties here?

Be well,

[TheKiltedCoder]

That's pretty cool! Basically an X-Kilt with some modifications on the aprons. I think it would probably be easier to make than an X-Kilt, since there is less precision with the under and over-aprons. Just pleat it around all the way and slap the over-apron on top. Probably takes a bit more material, but that's ok-pretty affordable material.

Don't worry though, I wouldn't steal their design.

Hmm...which came first though, the X-Kilt or Alphakilt?!

Is Alan owed some royalties here?

Be well,

Good Morning,

I'd noticed the similarities as well. I even went so far as to take my XKilt out of the closet last night and lay it on the bed next to the Alphakilt, and, from the back, neither my wife nor I were able to tell the difference.

I'll confess I'm greatly tempted to clone the pattern for myself only (I really don't want to become a professional kiltmaker. Or even semi-pro.). It would be nice to have a nice khaki to go along with the black kilt, though.

Seriously, though. The workmanship so far has been top-notch. There's no give in the snaps. The stitching was very neat and strong.

Brian