annexure

KILTS 

Scotland. 

of

W H A T I S A K I L T 

Kilt, knee-length skirtlike garment that is 

worn by men as a major element of the 

traditional national garb of Scotland. (The 

other main component of Highland dress, 

as the traditional male garb of Scotland is 

called, is the plaid, which is a rectangular 

length of cloth worn over the left shoulder.) 

The kilt is a length of hand woven wool that 

is permanently pleated except for sections 

at each end and wrapped around the 

wearer’s waist in such a way that the pleats 

are massed at the wearer’s back and the 

flat, unpleated ends overlap to form a 

double layer at his front. Both kilt and plaid 

are usually made of cloth woven with a 

cross-checked repeating pattern known as 

a tartan. 

U S E A N D R E P R E S E N T A T I O N 

Scottish kilts historically served as a 

blanket, a full-body wrap, identified 

family ties, and national identity. 

Although kilts have changed 

drastically since their beginning, the 

modern kilt still speaks volumes with 

its humble vertical and horizontal 

lines. Tartan represents heritage like 

no other cloth can. These wool 

masterpieces remain as icons of 

heritage and tradition. 

D E R I V A T I O N 

Kilts have been around since at least 

before the Sixteenth Century! The word 

kilt originated from a verb in the 

Scandinavian language meaning “to gird 

up; to tuck up (the skirts) round the 

body”. In the Sixteenth Century the first 

kilts were huge pieces of cloth large 

enough to be worn as a cloak or a hood 

that could run the length of the body. 

Essentially, these massive pieces of tartan 

held together with a belt, these were 

known as the great kilts! From here the 

kilt evolved into walking kilts which were 

smaller and had the pleats sewn in, 

similar to modern kilts. 

W H A T I S A S C O T T I S H 

T A R T A N , O R S C O T T I S H 

P L A I D ? 

It's a woollen fabric that evolved 

from the original 'breacan', and is 

made up of an orderly checkered 

pattern, usually involving several 

different colors. 

The checkered pattern consists of 

colored vertical and horizontal 

lines, woven into the fabric to 

form a very distinctive pattern of 

lines and squares - this is known as 

the 'sett'.

THE HISTORY OF SCOTTISH 

KILTS 

Traditionally the Feileadh Mhor was made from one length of a thick, wool cloth 

known as 'breacan' (a Gaelic word meaning speckled or partly colored). This 

cloth was usually about 5ft wide and could be up to 21ft long. 

Several feet of the fabric was folded into loose pleats and wrapped around the 

wearers' waist, then fastened in place with a thick, leather belt. 

The rest of the cloth was thrown over the shoulder, and tucked into the belt at 

the back. 

This spare material could also be pulled up over the head and shoulders to 

protect whoever was wearing it from cold winds, and heavy rain or snow. The 

whole thing was worn over a long sleeved tunic, which reached the knees. 

Over a hundred years later, around the middle of the 17th Century this early, 

heavy and rather awkward, version of the kilt began to be replaced by the 

'Feileadh Beag' (also known as the 'Philabeg' and pronounced 'feela beg'). 

This was basically the lower half of the Feileigh Mor and consisted of a single 

(shorter) length of breacan, loosely folded, wrapped around the waist and again 

secured by a thick belt. 

There was no 'extra' cloth to throw over the shoulder or use as a cloak, and this 

variation was also known as the 'Walking Kilt'. 

In the 18th Century, the loose folds were widely being replaced by pleats that 

were sewn into the fabric, making the whole outfit much easier to wear. 

For a while both styles were worn by Highlanders, but over time the older Great 

Kilt disappeared from everyday wear as the more comfortable Walking Kilt took 

it's place .

kilt accessories 

The Belt - Traditionally made from leather with a decorative buckle 

The Sporran - From the Gaelic word 'spleuchan' meaning 'purse'. Kilts don't 

have pockets, so a sporran is where a man traditionally keeps his 'stuff' 

such as money, keys etc. It's actually a small belt-pouch, made from leather 

or animal hide 

Kilt Knife - Called a 'Sgian Dubh' from the Gaelic meaning a 'black knife'. It's 

a small knife, often with a decorative bone handle and a leather sheath. 

Traditionally kept tucked inside the top of a mans' hose (socks) 

Kilt Pin - Small, decorative pin that is worn on the front panel of the kilt 

Hose - Knee-length woollen socks. Can be a single color, or checkered 

pattern 

Shoes - Known as Ghillie Brogues. Sturdy leather shoes with laces (shoestrings), 

traditionally designed without a tongue. They probably evolved 

from the early Highlanders' footwear which consisted of leather or hide 

wrapped around their feet, and secured with leather thongs.

TARTANS 

Tartan is a woven material, generally of wool, having stripes of different colors and 

varying in breadth. The arrangement of colors is alike in warp and weft - that is, in length 

and width - and when woven, has the appearance of being a number of squares 

intersected by stripes which cross each other; this is called a 'sett’. By changing the colors; 

varying the width; depth; the number of stripes, differentiating is evolved. Tartan patterns 

are called "setts"; the sett being the complete pattern and a length of tartan is made by 

repeating the pattern or sett over and over again. 

Tartan was used to make the items of clothing which are today considered traditional 

Scottish dress, including the philabeg, or kilt, and of course the trews. These would be 

worn with shoes of untanned hide and the cuaran, a knee length boot also made from 

hide which was shaped to the leg and kept in place by thongs. A hat, or bonnet of knitted 

wool sporting a badge of the clan, usually a plant or flower, would sit proudly on the 

head of the clansman. The highly ornamented leather sporran worn in front of the kilt 

served as a purse completed the ensemble. 

Early tartans were simple checks of perhaps only two or three colors. The colors were 

extracted mainly from dye-producing plants, roots, berries, and trees local to a specific 

geographic area. These simple checks or tartans were worn by the people of the district 

where they were made, and as such became the area or clan tartan. 

Several variations of one tartan may be worn and these tend to take their name from the 

purpose for which they were intended. 

Clan tartans – for general use by the clan's people. 

Dress tartans – originally worn by the women of the clan, generally with a white 

background and lighter-colored patterns. 

Mourning tartans – generally of black and white. 

Hunting tartans – dark in color and worn for sport, especially suitable when a clan 

possessed a brightly colored tartan, making it unsuitable for hunting. 

Chiefs’ tartans – for the personal use of the chief and his immediate family. 

It is generally stated that one of the most popular tartans 

today is the Royal Stewart tartan. 

Another popular tartan is the Black Watch (also known as Old Campbell, 

Grant Hunting, Universal, Government).

FABRIC 

AND ITS 

WEAVING 

The typical kilt as seen at modern Highland games events is made of 

twill woven worsted wool. The twill weave used for kilts is a "2–2 

type", meaning that each weft thread passes over and under two warp 

threads at a time. The result is a distinctive diagonal-weave pattern in 

the fabric which is called the twill line. This kind of twill, when woven 

according to a given sett or written colour pattern is called tartan. 

Kilting fabric weights are given in ounces per yard and run from the 

very-heavy, regimental worsted of approximately 18–22 ounces 

(510–620 g) down to a light worsted of about 10–11 ounces (280– 

310 g). The most common weights for kilts are 13 ounces (370 g) and 

16 ounces (450 g). The heavier weights are more appropriate for 

cooler weather, while the lighter weights would tend to be selected 

for warmer weather or for active use, such as Highland dancing. 

A modern kilt for a typical adult uses about 6–8 yards of single-width 

(about 26–30 inches) or about 3–4 yards of double-width (about 54– 

60 inches) tartan fabric. Double-width fabric is woven so that the 

pattern exactly matches on the selvage. Kilts are usually made 

without a hem because a hem would make the garment too bulky and 

cause it to hang incorrectly. The exact amount of fabric needed 

depends upon several factors including the size of the sett, the 

number of pleats put into the garment, and the size of the person. For 

a full kilt, 8 yards of fabric would be used regardless of size and the 

number of pleats and depth of pleat would be adjusted according to 

their size. For a very large waist, it may be necessary to use 9 yards of 

cloth. 

T Y P E S O F K I L T S A V A I L A B L E T O D A Y 

P r e - M a d e K i l t s 

U t i l i t y K i l t s 

C l a y m o r e I m p o r t s S y n t h e t i c K i l t s 

C l a y m o r e I m p o r t s T o p - S t i t c h e d K i l t s 

C l a y m o r e I m p o r t s C u s t o m 5 - Y a r d K i l t s 

C l a y m o r e I m p o r t s C u s t o m 8 - Y a r d K i l t s

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References: 

http://www.tartansauthority.com/highland-dress/ancient/ 

https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/clothing-around-world/scottish-dress 

http://www.marariley.net/celtic/scotland.htm 

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~wew/celt-clothing/ 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/kilt 

https://claymoreimports.com/what-is-a-kilt-and-types-of-kilts/ 

https://www.scottish-at-heart.com/scottish-kilts.html 

https://www.authenticireland.com/scottish-kilts/ 

http://www.scotshistoryonline.co.uk/tartan-history.html 

https://www.historyscotland.com/articles/expert-history-articles/marie-de-guiseand-scottish-fashion-in-the-16th-century 

https://weddings.lovetoknow.com/wedding-traditions/weddinghistory/traditional-scottish-wedding-dress 

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-History-of- 

Tartan/ 

https://www.scotclans.com/history-of-kilts-worn-in-battle/ 

https://www.kinlochanderson.com/tartan-identity/scottish-clothing

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