Ah - @User, all those failures are probably down to not using the techniques gained by experience with dressmaking and too strong an obsession with looking different at the expense of practicality.

There might also be a wish to minimise the use of fabric which is all too common in the ready to wear garment industry.

I make reverse Kingussie type pleats, which are mirror imaged and point backwards so as not to catch on the branches in the heathland around here. I make deep under apron pleats, so if pockets are required I could hang them from the waistband inside that deep pleat and secure it to the inner layer of material, maybe adding a zipper to close it.

The deep under apron pleats ensure that if I step up onto an obstacle or go to climb over a gate or style, the aprons remain where they should and are not pulled to one side or lifted up. The width of the aprons is such that my knee opens that deep pleat. The deep pleats are half the apron width at the waist.

Anne the Pleater