putting it on improperly

[OC Richard]

These days people are rather puzzled by the amount of military kit I have got - they are obviously unaware of how cheap and plentiful Army (and other forces) surplus was back in the 1960's and 70's. It lasts better than most modern stuff.

Exactly. From 1970 to 1975 I was in an informal backpacking club some friends started at school. At that time the "army surplus stores" (as we call them) were chock-full of everything. As you say it was cheap and plentiful and enabled us to get fully kitted out on a very low budget.

We all wore the boots we called "Vietnam boots", durable, lightweight, and comfortable, made of green canvas with leather reinforcements and rubber sole. Likewise our trousers and shirts were ex-army things, camouflage, very comfortable and with big pockets all over. (We had to remove the badges of course.) Water bottles, backpacks, anything you needed was there in the shop for a few dollars.

[Pleater]

It's for me.

I wear a plain black kilt as part of my morris kit, but in high summer it is rather warm, so the white one will be cooler to change into once the dancing is finished. The fabric is fairly light and we do get some gusty winds so by embellishing the lower 10 inches of each pleat it should stabilise it, and I might put in an internal tape a couple of inches below the lower edge of the fell to keep the pleats from flying too freely.

Anne the Pleater

I suppose it is good in a way, I have over half the white kilt just getting to the press and admire stage and I decided to put it around myself.
I feel my eyebrows rise, grab my tape measure and put it against the kilt, then put it around me - still not back to 26 inches (haah hahr) but I am too small for my kilt!!

It means that my usual formula for pleats will either have to be altered either to pleats showing under one inch or, where possible, deeper pleats. It also means taking all the stitches out but at least the folds have been done once so it will be faster to do the second time.

Anne the Pleater

[MacKenzie]

We all wore the boots we called "Vietnam boots".

Jungle boots.

And, yes, a lot of my early backpacking gear was military surplus.

[MacKenzie]

Your point is well taken about pleating a camo pattern ruining what the camo is intended to do.

IIRC Steve made a kilt in the old Desert Battle Dress* camo and it turned out really well.

* AKA Six Color Desert or Chocolate Chip camo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert...rt_Pattern.jpg

[SF Jeff]

We all wore the boots we called "Vietnam boots", durable, lightweight, and comfortable, made of green canvas with leather reinforcements and rubber sole.

Don't forget the drain holes. And on the underside of the tongue were instructions on how to avoid "jungle rot." I had a pair in high school that I bought at an army surplus store for about $10 I think.