Freedom Kilts is launched

[Hamish]

Colin (or Steve for that matter), my biggest beef with the solids has been the front aprons. Apart from the Victory Kilts, Pittsburgh Kilts and one of Hamish's solid traditionals, the aprons are always too daggum thin.

Oh! Jimmy, I have 13 "solid traditionals". Which one in particular are you thinking of here?

When you say "thin", are you referring to the weight of the fabric or the proportions of the aprons? For example, my 11 "TFCK" solid traditionals are virtually identical in the tailoring, but the fabrics differ.

[Miah]

I think he is refering to witdth arcoss the apron.
that is the problem i have with UKs I can't seem to get over the thin aporn.

[Jimmy Carbomb]

Oh! Jimmy, I have 13 "solid traditionals". Which one in particular are you thinking of here?

My friend, it's that black Twenty-First Century Kilt that you posted a pic of recently. When I saw that thing, I had to run to get a paper towel from the kitchen to mop-up the drool on the computer desk! I have NEVER seen a solid that was THAT GREAT!

When you say "thin", are you referring to the weight of the fabric or the proportions of the aprons?

I guess that was a little ambiguous, wasn't it? I was speaking of the width. The TFCK is PERFECT! I understand the theory in the "thinner"/narrower aprons... like the UtiliKilts... but that TFCK is right up my alley!

If I wasn't able to wear tartans (for whatever reason) THAT would be THE ultimate kilt! 8)

As I'm understanding it (and correct me if I'm wrong Steve) the FreedomKilts are right in between the two. They have the depth and "bulk" of a good kilt, but the aprons are in between the TFCK and the UtiliKilt. That's original!!

If the aprons on the FreedomKilts are tapered, that too is a HUGE improvement on some other kilts. In my mind, anyone that's willing to maintain the look while offering-up original touches gets my kudos! The amount of material ALONE is impressive to me.

[The Wizard of BC]

You are correct Jimmy.
As an example, my own kilts are 38"x44"x22" using my measurment system.
The apron is 14" wide at the waistband and 17" at the hem.
That kilt contains 6.71 yards of fabric 22" wide.
Pleat reveal is 2" with a depth of 4". Or 10" from knife edge to knife edge.
The apron is 1/3 of the total waist measurment versus 1/2 as in a traditional kilt. That was necessary due to the side pocket placement and the button closure. I found that if I tried to make the apron any wider the buttons looked funny and the apron puckered badly when sitting. Also the pockets wouldn't go in without sticking your hands under the apron.
So my apron width is a compromise. It seems to work. An added advantage is that the apron can fall between the knees when sitting and squatting without pulling. A good modesty point for those not familiar with sitting in a kilt.
The only thing I'd like to change is to decrease the pleat reveal to 1". I chose 2" from looking at other casual kilts and thought, at the time, that was normal. I've done a prototype with a 1" reveal and it looks great but can't change over completly right now because I have too many kilts on the order board and am swamped. Maybe next year I'll release the FK 'traditional' model. That kilt, in the same size, would use 7.71 yards of fabric.