Hiking skirt (and other clothes quick to change out of)

[reubenT]

I have some micro mesh gold color left from a previous shorts project, think I'll make a second kilt from it.    It's about the easiest garment to make.   I cut it a couple inches longer than the final length and about 5 ft long.   Then gather one edge reducing the length to a bit over my waist size.  (36)  (lots of small folds,   pinned in place and then sewed in)  cut a piece of elastic the right length to stretch the 36 with light tension.   Then stretch it out to match and sew it onto the waist.   Add a patch of velcro and a plastic snap buckle,  using some more elastic to fasten the buckle on.     I'm thinking of trying one without the waist band elastic. Only an extra band of fabric for waist band.    Just using elastic on the buckle straps.    It'd make it even easier to make.  But less size adjustable.     Using the patch of velcro makes it quick attach,  but the buckle is much more secure.   Without it the thing can easily snag and get ripped off.   And a larger patch of velcro that would hold better makes too large of a stiff area,   not good on a light fabric garment that is supposed to hang smoothly.   And can be uncomfortable so I discovered.   

[jbeegoode]

The waist needs to stretch quiet a lot to accommodate body movements and weight flux. From my experience, the elastic puts less tension on the velcro and snaps and is very necessary. The more the merrier, but the more it bunches the whole thing up.

Bellies puff up when one bends over. The more belly the more puff up.

I've got velcro on my camo kilt, two thick bands clear across my belly. It is more stiff and the velcro may be wearing out quicker than I'd like.

Jbee

[nuduke]

Black would be hot in open field garden work at certain times

This reminds me of a fairly old piece of research on whether black or white clothing is cooler.

In Morrocco the urban Arabs wear white djellabahs and the rural nomadic Berbers black.  There is much debate about whether white cotton fabric reflects the heat and keeps you cooler than the heavier black fabrics which keep you cooler than white by insulating the body and dissipating the heat.

Some clever beggers from an American or British university (memory fades) decided to research this burning (pun!) question.  They fitted a number of men of both clothing persuasions with temperature sensors inside and around their clothing and air movement detectors.  Result - no difference!  Same temperature inside the garment.

......Good heavens!  I found the article (Israeli clever beggers in fact) - enjoy! Unfortunately only an abstract. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v283/n5745/abs/283373a0.html
and https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/19/most-improbable-scientific-research-abrahams

John

[jbeegoode]

For sun block, I wear a grey long sleeve T-shirt, instead of a black one, when hiking. I can feel the difference in heat absorption, but the ventilation does help immensely. The type of fabric, how it breathes, and the looseness seem key here.

I like Hawaii shirts best, they are light and loose, they sweat a bit, but the air flow through the moist air has a cooling effect, if I'm just out in the sun's heat, but when the sun goes down and it drops 20F or 30F, the t-shirt is warmer and the better all around configuration. That may have to do with Bedouin choices. They also must wear clothes for religious reasons. I'm not so sure about attitude, smell tolerance, perspiration helping the inside to cool, temperature variations, identity, tradition and other factors enter into the choice for comfort. I haven't walked even a quarter mile in a Bedouin's shoes.

Hands down my fellow choir, an all over tan butt naked is by far the most efficient outfit available. Nothing touches it. A skirt needs to breathe and it needs to be minimal short for better effect, ask any sundress girl.

Hmm, perhaps an aluminum material?...bags, thermal blankets, roofing materials, radiant heat barriers....
Jbee

[rw]

Hi! Long time lurker, first time poster. 

Wondering whether anyone has experience with sportkilts?  Specifically thinking of something like this one:

https://sportkilt.com/product/1511/USMC-Desert-Digital-Camo-Specialty-Kilt.html

Apparently it has velcro fastening, so I was thinking would be good for something to quickly change into...?  (one doubt though -- the pictures look like normal leather and clasp fastening whereas they told me - via email - it was velcro)

I used to use a pair of shorts which I cut away the inner and then added velcro to turn it back into shorts, but lack of sewing skills made it a bit of a hack-job.  I think I got more weird looks from wearing that while walking than I would've have if I'd not bothered covering up at all.

[nudeed]

I have one of these kilts. http://smile.amazon.com/GFKILTM-Casual-Outfitters-Unisex-Digital/dp/B00K272TPU/ref=sr_1_cc_3?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1464900110&sr=1-3-catcorr&keywords=camo++kilt. I use it when I need to do a quick change at a destination, as well as a quick cover when driving nude. For the trails I have a kilt that I made out of a lite weight tan material that closes with Velcro.

[jbeegoode]

I've got one, too. I quickly discovered that you can't sit down on plastic seats in air-conditioned fastfood joints without great care. I use it carnuding, and short trips, but the frequent attach/detach is starting to wear out the fuzz part of the velcro. It doesn't hold as well as it did. It is cooler than shorts, but still more coverage than I'd like on a hot day...well I'm nude spoiled. It is heavier than I'd like for hiking and the swish can get caught in shrubbery. The waist is stiff and has bulk too much for my ultralight pack, so I carry a sarong for quick cover on a trail, instead. Wind sure catches it. It puffs out like an umbrella. It has been great for carnuding. Several women have expressed getting a charge out of seeing the man in the kilt. DF was reluctant to be seen with me at first, but then, seemed to get okay about it quickly. I notice snickers for some, and very positive comments from others. If I can't eventually fix the Velcro when it wears out, I'll probably get another one. It has been handy.

I think that sport kilt is something else. There should be a link somewhere in this thread early on.
Jbee

[rw]

Is that "GFKILTM casual outfitters kilt" a wrap around (with velcro fastening), like a sarong, or a single piece which you have to slip on like shorts or a skirt, as a matter of interest?

[milfmog]

Wondering whether anyone has experience with sportkilts?  Specifically thinking of something like this one:

https://sportkilt.com/product/1511/USMC-Desert-Digital-Camo-Specialty-Kilt.html

Apparently it has velcro fastening, so I was thinking would be good for something to quickly change into...?  (one doubt though -- the pictures look like normal leather and clasp fastening whereas they told me - via email - it was velcro)

It is pictured with buckle fasteners. However, these are an option, as you will see if you check the list to the right of the picture, so you can choose them or not as you see fit.

Have fun (and welcome to our corner of cyberspace),


Ian.

[nudewalker]

Although my kilt du jour is a running kilt I did purchase an economy kilt from Stillwater kilts a few years ago and it has serviced me well as a quick cover near the campsite at but seems to be too bulky to my liking on the trail. The acrylic material is easy to care for and it does have freedom of movement. Due to it's size, which I would guess to be seven or eight yards there is enough material to sit on if one utilizes a feminine approach and runs their hands under the bum as they sit. Also Jbee, I have gotten quite a few compliments myself from both sexes. I would surmise that the urban east offers more of an acceptance plus the ethnic population here is more open minded? Plus all the Scottish events around make it a more common form of dress.

[rw]

It is pictured with buckle fasteners. However, these are an option, as you will see if you check the list to the right of the picture

Ack. You're right.  I'm blind.

Thanks.

[jbeegoode]

DAng! They quit selling my kilt with the Velcro! Now I'll have to keep it a precious and irreplaceable.

 http://smile.amazon.com/GFKILTM-Casual-Outfitters-Unisex-Digital/dp/B00K272TPU/ref=sr_1_cc_3?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1464900110&sr=1-3-catcorr&keywords=camo++kilt.

Any ideas for velcro kilts? They are just so handy to drive in. All I have to do is pull on the waist band and I'm nude, or covered quickly.

Most have rigs like belts and such. They are set like somebody actually wants to spend a day in them, dressed. I may have to get something custom done, which ain't cheap, or it is just a skirt wrap.
Jbee

[BlueTrain]

Actually the idea of using Velcro on the waistband isn't a bad idea but I've gave up long ago the idea of wearing something like that, relying instead on an ordinary pair of gym shorts. Less fabric. Even though I wore a kilt for years when I was doing folk dancing, I never seriously considered using one as an outings garment.

One option along those lines that I thought about but never followed through with was a kilt cover. When Scottish units in British and Commonwealth armies were still wearing kilts as a field garment (down through 1940), they wore, beginning around 1900 or thereabouts, a cotton drill cover. It was originally only an apron, covering the front, but later it was a full cover, going all the way around, the back being pleated, though it didn't have as much material as the kilt itself. It had a pocket in front and I think just one buckle. They would be hard to find now but places that cater to reenactors have had them. "What Price Glory" has them. Theirs look like they have ties on the side and they may not lap over in front like a kilt. Just an idea.

[nudeed]

I have made a couple of kilts in the past. I had found the pattern online but can't locate it currently. I did find this site that has instructions on making one. If you add a few inches on the front panel to accommodate the wrap feature, you can add the Velcro for the closure. Now you just need someone who can sew.

http://runningkilts.com/free-pattern.shtml

[jbeegoode]

I use my kilt mostly for driving. It just unwraps and the velcro is fast and flexible. Then it looks good enough to re-wrap as I get out in public. Public is generally, gas station, quick store trip, fast food. Generally it is used when traveling. It is more than wrapping a towel around. People handle kilts better than skirts.
Jbee