Two strapping it?

[Kid Cossack]

Gents, ladies, rapscallions of either sex:

I've done this with my SWK heavyweights (Merino wool) and standards (i.e. acrylic), particularly now that I've "skinnied down" a little. When I'm dressing, I simply tuck the underapron into place and fold the over-apron (or just apron?) over it, and buckle the right hip straps into place. I started this because, with the buckles on the last hole, the kilt was still a little bit big and loose on me.

I've never done this with a poly-vis or poly-cotton kilt.

Guess what I've noticed?

No difference.

The underapron doesn't try to wriggle loose or fall down. With the straps buckled on the right hip, it still fits and wears like a kilt should. The acrylic or wool clings to itself enough to stay in place.

In fact, on my SWK Irish National, I ended up cutting the lower right strap and buckle loose, and secure the kilt with a single strap at the right waist.

I know Matt Newsome (huzzah!) uses a single strap on each side of the waist, deleting the lower strap on the right hip entirely. But does anyone else have any experience using a single strap on the right?

I'm just curious, here.

[Robert Lamb]

The SWK I own (3) are the only kilts I own (18) have two strap/buckle on the right side. So only one on the right is no big deal.
Robert "the kilted" Lamb

[Alan]

I find that two straps are enough. With the third strap people tend to over tighten it anyway and will cause the kilt to distort. So you ask why do you include three straps and buckles on your kilts: because thats what people seem to want. But it is not necessary.

[Tattoo Bradley]

The only kilts I have that have three straps/buckles are the SWKs. The bottom/right strap on my Saffron has to be on the last hole in order to not distort the apron. So, I'm seriously considering removing it as it is most certainly not necessary.

[Kid Cossack]

Gents:

I fear that I poorly expressed myself. (I can babble with the best of them, but when it comes to technical writing, I am poor at best.)

My question was not so much about leaving off the third strap on the right hip, as about not using the buckle and strap on the LEFT side of the kilt, as it is worn.

Ever forward!

[Shane]

I seem to recall that Matt Newsome once made a kilt with no straps at all. He simply used the belt to hold it on.



Shane

[The-Kilted-Goth]

Hmm... I have never tried that on my SWK. My reason for doing it would be different though. It seems that the hole for the left strap is too small and it takes a great deal of tugging and pulling to get it through, to the point that I wouldnt need to buckle it after getting it through.

The bottom right strap gives me trouble as well and seems to distort the apron on all but the last notch. Of course I seem to have a rather large posterior:-)

[Martin S]

I manage fine with one buckle on the right and a firmly placed belt to keep everything in place.
I started this after ordering kilts from e-bay that arrived larger than expected, making the left-hand buckle useless anyway.
I continued when weight loss made all my kilts rather too large.
Never had any problems of the under-apron slipping.
A new problem that has cropped up, though, is that with kilts less tight at the waist than before, my shirts ride up and look a terrible mess.

By the way, Kinloch Anderson's breacans have a purely decorative strap on the left side; the apron is in fact held in place with a little velcro.

Martin

[switchblade5984]

put me in the losing weight catagory!

so you guys are not using the single buckle? just the 2 closure buckles?

[Pleater]

I make my own kilts and just put on belt loops, no buckles.

I find that - despite losing 12 inches off my waist in the last couple of years the pressure of the belt is enough to reduce it further.

I have one belt loop on the right of the upper apron, reinforced as it gets more wear than the others as it is threaded every time I put on the kilt.

I just fold the aprons over, fasten the belt, then take hold of the edges of the waist band and pull the aprons sideways until the folds are smoothed out and the kilt lies properly under the belt.

When the under apron starts to slide down I know I have to fasten the belt tighter - though sometimes I have used a safety pin to secure it with some belts which have the holes fairly widely spaced so one hole tighter is a bit too tight for a week or so.

Maybe when I lose another 6 inches or so and have to remake all my kilts yet again I will need to put on buckes or other fastenings as my waist will not be so compressible. I am sure there are muscles in their somewhere, I can pull on them and the belt is loose - however doing that and breathing seems to be mutually exclusive....