skipping the button hole for the under skirt buckle

[Drymen Kilts]

Does anyone have any good pictures of a kilt that has the buckle closure on the inside of the kilt rather than using the button hold technique.
I think it would help this band when it comes to moving kilts from old band members to new ones.

Thank you.
Drymen Kilts.

[The Wizard of BC]

I began to use the "Internal Left Strap" as the solution to a problem.

When I became Regimental Kiltmaker to The Canadian Scottish Regiment I was asked to make a line of kilts that could be re-sized easily. The idea was that the regiment would keep a few kilts in their stores to be issued to any new troops.

If they did not have one in the persons exact size they could issue the next larger size and tell the troop to bring it to me and I could re-size the kilt quickly and easily.

So I adopted an old idea that I first learned from Matt Newsome.

Move the buckle that would normally be found on the outside to the inside and install it on the left end of the under apron -
Move the strap normally found on the end of the under apron to the inside of the kilt corresponding to the location of the re-located buckle -

This idea had an unexpected consequence. Doing an internal left strap means that there is no hole in the kilt for the left strap to pass through. I have always seen this hole as a weak point in kilt construction. My Engineer's mind could never seem to get over intentionally building in a weak point that would need extra reinforcements to resist failure.
As time went on and I began to see more and more traditional kilts and many of them were showing signs of stress and failure of the left strap hole.

To solve the re-sizing issue and to address the weak point I began to use Matt Newsome's idea of an internal left strap.
I use this almost exclusively now. I'll put the left strap hole in a kilt if the customer specifically asks for it but 99% of the kilts I make use this method.

Here are a few photos that I have used in the book "The Hand-Crafted Contemporary Kilt".

The kilt in these photos is a hand stitched contemporary kilt with a 1" rise designed to be worn at what I call the Mid Height Waist.

On the right side the buckle is installed as normal.
(The buckles of a Contemporary kilt are sewn by machine for added durability. They are sewn all the way though the outer Tartan fabric, through the floating interfacing, the stabilizer, and can be seen inside the kilt coming through the lining. If this kilt ever needs to be altered or re-sized after it leaves my shop this is a visual guide to the owner that the buckles and straps must be sewn all the way through to catch the internal strength elements and not just to the outer fabric.)




On the under apron left end the re-located left buckle is sewn the same way as the right buckle.




The outer apron strap is sewn just as it would be normally. (Please notice that I sew the straps on after the lining is installed so that the lining does not need to be removed to replace a worn strap.)




Then, to insure that the left strap is positioned correctly I fasten the right strap into the right buckle - put the left strap into the same hole of the left buckle - and 'walk' the two aprons just as if the kilt were being worn - And can then mark the position where the left strap will be sewn.




I can then sew the left strap using the same method I used for the right, outer apron, strap.




Another consequence of the "Internal Left Strap" is it allowed me to extend the internal stabilizer strip the entire width of the kilt. My stabilizers run from apron edge to apron edge. Both buckles and both straps are sewn to the same stabilizer strip.
This has proven to be very strong and durable.




A few of my kilts have been worn on a daily basis for over 7 years and they show no signs of the fabric distortion that I see in kilts made in the traditional manner with the hole.

Here is a kilt made by Gordon & Sons made in the traditional, military manner. This is an actual military kilt of The Canadian Scottish Regiment in the Stewart Hunting Tartan. You can see quite plainly that the under apron fabric has distorted over time due to the stresses of wearing it.




And the left strap hole has failed and needed to be repaired more than once.




And here is a Contemporary kilt using the Internal Left Strap method after 5 years of wearing on an almost daily basis.

[Drymen Kilts]

I began to use the "Internal Left Strap" as the solution to a problem.

When I became Regimental Kiltmaker to The Canadian Scottish Regiment I was asked to make a line of kilts that could be re-sized easily. The idea was that the regiment would keep a few kilts in their stores to be issued to any new troops.

If they did not have one in the persons exact size they could issue the next larger size and tell the troop to bring it to me and I could re-size the kilt quickly and easily.

So I adopted an old idea that I first learned from Matt Newsome.

Move the buckle that would normally be found on the outside to the inside and install it on the left end of the under apron -
Move the strap normally found on the end of the under apron to the inside of the kilt corresponding to the location of the re-located buckle -

This idea had an unexpected consequence. Doing an internal left strap means that there is no hole in the kilt for the left strap to pass through. I have always seen this hole as a weak point in kilt construction. My Engineer's mind could never seem to get over intentionally building in a weak point that would need extra reinforcements to resist failure.
As time went on and I began to see more and more traditional kilts and many of them were showing signs of stress and failure of the left strap hole.

To solve the re-sizing issue and to address the weak point I began to use Matt Newsome's idea of an internal left strap.
I use this almost exclusively now. I'll put the left strap hole in a kilt if the customer specifically asks for it but 99% of the kilts I make use this method.

Here are a few photos that I have used in the book "The Hand-Crafted Contemporary Kilt".

The kilt in these photos is a hand stitched contemporary kilt with a 1" rise. (It also happens to have a custom lining that Barb hates.)

On the right side the buckle is installed as normal.
(The buckles of a Contemporary kilt are sewn by machine for added durability. They are sewn all the way though the outer Tartan fabric, through the floating interfacing, the stabilizer, and can be seen inside the kilt coming through the lining. If this kilt ever needs to be altered or re-sized after it leaves my shop this is a visual guide to the owner that the buckles and straps must be sewn all the way through to catch the internal strength elements and not just to the outer fabric.)



On the under apron left end the re-located left buckle is sewn the same way as the right buckle.



The outer apron strap is sewn just as it would be normally. (Please notice that I sew the straps on after the lining is installed.)



Then, to insure that the left strap is positioned correctly I fasten the right strap into the right buckle - put the left strap into the same hole of the left buckle - and 'walk' the two aprons just as if the kilt were being worn - And can then mark the position where the left strap will be sewn.



I can then sew the left strap using the same method I used for the right, outer apron, strap.



Another consequence of the "Internal Left Strap" is it allowed me to extend the internal stabilizer strip the entire width of the kilt. My stabilizers run from apron edge to apron edge. Both buckles and both straps are sewn to the same stabilizer strip.
This has proven to be very strong and durable.



A few of my kilts have been worn on a daily basis for over 7 years and they show no signs of the fabric distortion that I see in kilts made in the traditional manner with the hole.

Here is a kilt made by Gordon & Sons made in the traditional, military manner. This is an actual military kilt of The Canadian Scottish Regiment in the Stewart Hunting Tartan. You can see quite plainly that the under apron fabric has distorted over time due to the stresses of wearing it.



And the left strap hole has failed and needed to be repaired more than once.



And here is a Contemporary kilt using the Internal Left Strap method after 5 years of wearing on an almost daily basis.

]

That's awesome. Thank you very much.

[Father Bill]

I for one love the lining. It's very Canadian, very Victoria, and the only person in the world who sees it any way is the kilt-wearer.

. . . and his better half.

[Terry Searl]

The fellows who built my kilt use Velcro as fasteners and this makes the kilt incrementally adjustable without any stress at all on the tartan fabric. It makes it so easy to put on and without any cinching. I use to have braces on my kilt to ensure it stayed where I wanted it but don't use them at all anymore. It is a perfectly fitted garment. I did have them put two straps and buckles on the outer apron but mostly for appearance ..........It really is an incredibly comfortable garment to wear and can be adjusted larger or smaller with absolute ease ........the evolution of the kilt continues

[Michael A]

I am a hobbyist, but I also stopped making kilts with external underapron buckles about 6 months ago. I too use the technique taught by Matt Newsome (and Barb), as published in the traditional box pleat supplement to TAoKM and as shown by The Wizard above.

[bonnie heather]

For quite a few years I've been making box pleated kilts for the Scottish Tartan Museum.

I use one strap and buckle on the outside and don't make a strap hole. On the inside, I always do Matt's method of using an internal strap and buckle.

On the other hand, when making kilt skirts, I use one strap and buckle on the outside and then on the inside, I use a strip of velcro, about 3 or 4"long.

[Barb T]

10 years ago, Matt Newsome and I wrote a supplement to The Art of Kiltmaking on how to make a box-pleated kilt, and the instructions for the interior strap are laid out in the supplement (this is the doc mentioned by Michael A. above). The instructions are equally applicable for any type of kilt.

You can download a copy of the instructions for free at at http://people.hamilton.edu/documents...0ver%201.1.pdf

[Drymen Kilts]

10 years ago, Matt Newsome and I wrote a supplement to The Art of Kiltmaking on how to make a box-pleated kilt, and the instructions for the interior strap are laid out in the supplement (this is the doc mentioned by Michael A. above). The instructions are equally applicable for any type of kilt.

You can download a copy of the instructions for free at at http://people.hamilton.edu/documents...0ver%201.1.pdf

Thank you Barb.
I did not go that far into the handout.
My kilt got finished and the young fellow really liked the inside buckle.
Carol-Ann

[Barb T]

For those who are interested, the instructions for the interior buckle and strap are on page 33 of the supplement in the free pdf. You don't have to wade through the entire supplement - just skip to page 33, and start with the section Attaching buckles and straps.