A kilt is a wrap-around knee-length skirt made of worsted wool that is woven in a twill pattern and has heavy pleats on the sides and back. It usually has a tartan design. Its roots can be found in the Scottish Highland dress for men, first written about in the 1600s as the “great kilt,” a long garment whose top half could be worn as a cape. In the 1800s, the small kilt, also called the “modern kilt,” came into being. It is basically the bottom half of the great kilt. Because of the 19th century, it has become linked to Scottish culture and Gaelic or Celtic history in general.
Men at Highland games and other formal events usually wear the kilt. However, it has also been made into a casual piece of men’s clothing, returning to its roots as a daily item. Kilts are now made in various materials that can be worn for everyday wear. Different fastenings and pockets can be added to get rid of the need for a sporran. For some events, women are also allowed to wear kilts.
The Past
Back to top: The history of the kilt
In the 1600s, the kilt first showed up as the great kilt, also known as the breacan or belted plaid. This was the filleadh mòr or great kilt. It was a long piece of clothing that could be worn over the head or thrown over the shoulder like a cloak. In the 1720s, an English Quaker from Lancashire named Thomas Rawlinson created a small kilt (also called the walking kilt) that looked much like the modern kilt. It was called the filleadh beag (philibeg). He thought the belted plaid was “cumbrous and unwieldy,” so he removed the skirt and made it into a separate garment with pleats already sewn in. He started making it himself, as did his colleague Iain MacDonnell, chief of the MacDonnells of Inverness. When clansmen who worked in logging, making charcoal, and smelting iron saw their chief making the new garment, they soon started making the kilt. Highlanders and some Northern Lowlanders started wearing it “in the shortest space” from there.[3] Some people think there is proof that the philibeg with unsewn pleats was made as early as the 1690s.[4]
Types of
“Kilt” is a name for a number of different clothes:
The traditional Scottish clothing is either in its historical form or in the more modern version worn today (see History of the Kilt). It is usually made of tartan.
Irish pipe bands wear kilts based on traditional Scottish clothes but are now only one color [5].
Different types of the Scottish kilt were worn in other Celtic countries, like the Welsh cilt and the Cornish cilt.
Dictionary of the Scots Language and Oxford English Dictionary say that the word comes from the verb to kilt, which means “to gird up” or “to tuck up (the skirts) around the body.” This verb is thought to have come from Scandinavia.
Great Britain
The current Scottish kilt is worn with fancy evening clothes (2009) and a very pretty sporran (purse) around the waist.
The picture by Pompeo Batoni (1765–66) shows General William Gordon wearing a kilt, which was part of the uniform of the 105th Regiment of Foot, which did not last long.
The groups that oversee and grade Highland dancing and piping events all have rules about competitors’ clothes. In these rules, kilts must be worn, but women competing in national dances must wear the Aboyne dress.
Planning and building
The Scottish kilt is different from other clothes that fit this broad description in how it is designed, made, and worn. It’s a fitted piece of clothing that goes around the body at the natural waist (between the lowest rib and the hip), starting on one side (usually the left), going around the front and back, and then back across the front to the other. The closures have straps and buckles on both ends. The strap on the inside end usually goes through a cutout in the waistband and is buckled on the outside, but it can also stay inside the waistband and be buckled on the inside.
From the waist down to the middle of the knees, a kilt covers the body. One layer of cloth goes around the sides and back and is pleated. The layers that overlap in front are called “aprons” and are flat. A kilt pin can be attached to the front apron’s free corner. It is not passed through the layer below, though, because its job is to add weight. People who wear kilts can choose to wear underwear or not, but tradition says that a “true Scotsman” should not wear anything under his kilt.[8][9] The Scottish Tartans Authority warns that this could be “childish and unhygienic” and “flies in the face of decency” in some situations.[10][11][12]
Things made of fabric
Today, most kilts worn at Highland games are made of worsted wool knitted in a twill pattern. Kilts are made with a “2–2 type” twill weave, meaning that each weft thread goes over and under two warp threads simultaneously. The fabric has a unique diagonal weave design known as the twill line. You get tartan if you weave this type of twill in a certain sett or written color scheme (see below). On the other hand, a kilt is made of a single color of cloth. Saffron or green are the most common colors used.
Weights of kilting fabrics are given in ounces per yard. The heavy military worsted weighs about 18–22 ounces (510–620 g), and the light worsted weighs about 10–11 ounces (280–310 g). Many kilts weigh between 13 and 16 ounces (370 and 450 g). The heavier weights are better for when it’s cooler outside, while the lighter weights are better for when it’s warmer outside or for active use, like Highland dance. There are only a few weights of some patterns.
Most adults need about 6 to 8 yards of single-width (about 26 to 30 inches) or 3 to 4 yards of double-width (about 54 to 60 inches) tartan fabric to make a modern kilt. When woven double-width fabric, the selvage design matches exactly on the other side. Kilts don’t usually have hems because they would make the clothes too big and make them hang wrong. What amount of fabric is needed varies on several things, such as the person’s size, the size of the sett, and the number of pleats in the garment. No matter what size, 8 yards of fabric would be needed for a full kilt, and the number of pleats and the depth of each pleat would be changed based on the size. You might need 9 yards of fabric if your waist is very big.
Forms of
The tartan design, or sett, on a real Scots kilt, is one of the things that makes it stand out. Patterns linked to specific clans and families can be tracked back about one or two hundred years. In the 19th century, during the Victorian era, the tartans we use today started to be formally logged and set up. This was mostly done by weaving companies for business reasons. Up until this point, Highland tartans were linked to regions rather than being related to a specific clan.
There are now tartans for cities, counties, groups, and businesses. There are also setts for people, sports teams, schools and universities, states and provinces, and commemorative or simple patterns that anyone can wear (see History of the Kilt for how these associations came to be).
When making skirts for women, the sets are always set up horizontally and vertically, but never diagonally. The number of threads, the order of the colors, and the units of width all describe them. “K/4 R32 K32 Y/4” for the Wallace tartan is an example of a thread count. K is black, R is red, and Y is yellow. There will be 32 units of red thread after every four units of black thread in the warp and the weft. The units are usually the amount of threads, but the pattern will be the same as long as the proportions are kept the same. There is a turning point in this thread count, shown by the slash between the color and the thread number. At the pivot point, the weaver should turn the weaving process around to make a mirror image of the pattern. A perfect tartan is what this is. Like the Buchanan plaid, some are asymmetrical, which means they don’t have a center point. The weaver completes the pattern and then starts over for the next sett.
Oliver kilt in tartan (2006)
The number of inches (or centimeters) in one full run is another way to describe a sett. Different sett sizes are based on the number of threads in the repeat and the fabric’s weight. Why is this? Because threads in heavier fabrics are thicker, the same number of threads in heavier fabrics will take up more room. As in heraldry, the thread count lists the colors in a certain way, but tartan designs are not heraldic. It’s up to the artist to choose the exact color, which will differ from one cloth mill to the next and even from one dye lot to the next.
Tartans are usually woven in four standard color versions that show the general tone. “Ancient” or “Old” colors may have a slightly fading look that is meant to look like the vegetable dyes that were used in the past. However, “Old” may refer to a tartan that was popular before the current one. Greens and blues from the past look brighter, and reds look orange. The ” modern ” colors are bright and show off new ways of dying aniline. They are mostly bright red, dark hunter green, and navy blue. “Weathered” or “Reproduction” colors make older clothes look like the weather has worn them down. Blues turn gray, greens turn light brown, and reds turn a darker wine color. The last type of color is “Muted,” which leans toward earth tones. The blues are slate blue, the red is an even darker wine color, and the greens are olive. This means that for each of the 3500 listed tartans in the Scottish Tartans Authority database as of 2004[13], there are four different color options. This makes a total of about 14,000 recognized tartan choices.
Setts were registered with the International Tartan Index (ITI) of the Scottish Tartans Authority (STA). This non-profit organization kept a collection of fabric samples labeled by name and thread count for free until 2008. The STA’s register could be combined with others to form the Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT) of the National Archives of Scotland (NAS) if the tartan meets SRT’s requirements, for £70 as of 2010. New tartans are added every year, but most of the registered designs we use today were made by commercial weavers in the 1800s and later, who used many different colors. At that time, the Victorians were making Scottish culture more like English culture, which led to the registration of tartans with clan names. Before that, most of these trends were linked to places rather than specific clans. Because of this, the colors don’t mean anything, and the patterns don’t show anything about the person who wears them.
Sizes and shapes
The fell of a kilt is being stitched (Robertson Red Modern).
You can buy ready-to-wear kilts in standard sizes, but a custom kilt is made to fit the person wearing it. It is common to need at least three measurements: the waist, the hips, and the length of the kilt. Sometimes, you also need to know the rise (the distance above the waist) or the fell (the distance from the waist to the widest part of the hips).
When buckled on the straps’ tightest holes, a well-made kilt is neither too loose nor too tight, so the user can’t easily twist it around their body. It should also not cause the fabric to “scallop” where it is buckled. Further, the kilt must be no shorter than halfway across the knees and no longer than about an inch above it when buckled at the waist.
Making pleats and sewing
Adding pleats to the stripe
Making pleas to the sett
Box pleats or knife pleats can be used to make a kilt. A knife pleat is a simple fold, while a box pleat is fuller and made up of two knife pleats placed next to each other. Most new kilts for regular people have knife pleats. Regimental customs are different. Although both groups use box pleats, the Black Watch uses knife pleats on their kilts that are made in the same pattern. These traditions were also passed on to other troops in the Commonwealth, and they were kept alive in the Royal Regiment of Scotland’s successor battalions to these regiments.
There are two ways to place the pleats in relation to the pattern. When you pleat to the stripe, pick one of the tartan’s vertical lines and fold the fabric to run down the middle of each pleat. So, on the back and sides of the pleated kilt, the pattern looks different from the front that isn’t pleated. The design often draws attention to the horizontal bands instead of making the vertical and horizontal bands balance each other. It’s sometimes called “military pleating” because many military units wear clothes this way. A lot of pipe bands also use it.
When you pleat to the sett, you fold the fabric to keep the sett design and repeat it around the kilt. One full sett, or two full setts if the pleats are small, is taken up in each one. This makes the pleated parts have the same design as the front that doesn’t have pleats.
Any pleat has a depth and a thickness that make it unique. The size or width is the part of the pleat that sticks out under the pleat on top of it. There is a range of pleat widths, from about 1/2″ to 3/4″, depending on the size of the sett and the amount of fabric used to make the kilt.
The part of the pleat folded under the pleat on top of it is called the depth. It only depends on the size of the plaid sett, even if you pleat to the stripe because the sett decides how far apart the stripes are.
How many pleats are used in a kilt depends on the fabric used and the size of the sett.
Since most people’s waists are narrower than their hips, the pleats across the fell are slightly tapered. The pleats are generally sewn down by hand or by machine.
When you dance Highland, it’s easy to see how the stitching changes how a kilt moves. The dancer’s kilt fits close to the body from the waist to the hips. From there, it abruptly separates when the dancer moves. An important part of the dance is that the kilt moves along with the steps. There would be a big difference in how the kilt moves if the pleats in this part were not tied down. Most kilts made for Highland dancing are pleated to the sett instead of the stripe.
Other Things
Main page: Kilt items
A Highland dancer moves in a kilt, which is worn here with a velvet waistcoat.
People in Scotland usually wear kilt hose, woolen socks turned down at the knee, and often come with garters and flashes. They also wear a sporran, which is Gaelic for “purse,” and is a type of bag that hangs around their waist from a chain or leather strap. This can be made of smooth or textured leather, sealskin, fur, or shiny metal plate.
Some other common accessories, based on how formal the event is, are:
A belt (usually with a clip that stands out)
A jacket (with different classic styles)
A pin for a kilt
Sgian-dubh, which means “black knife” in Gaelic, is a small knife sheathed and worn on the top of the pants.
Ghillie breaks his neck.
They were sometimes worn with a ghillie shirt, a more casual shirt that shouldn’t be confused with real historical clothes because it’s a more recent invention.
Different ways to wear a kilt
Also, check out Highland dress.
A neurologist from Iraq wears a kilt and an Argyll jacket to the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh’s fellowship event in November 2015.
Most Scots today wear kilts to events or as part of their national dress. Some people wear kilts daily, but most only own or rent them for weddings and other formal events. Anyone can wear one, no matter their country or descent. Most of the time, kilts are worn with a Prince Charlie coatee (with a black bow tie) or an Argyll jacket (with a black bow tie or a standard necktie). For full formal, you need a more formal coat, like the Sherrifmuir doublet or the uniform doublet. The Brian Boru jacket, a changed Prince Charlie with a shawl collar, chain closing, and round buttons, sets Irish formal dress apart from Highland dress. In all these situations, the coats are worn with a waistcoat, also called a vest.
There are also events where groups like the Boys’ Brigade and Scouts wear kilts. In many places, kilts are worn at Highland games, pipe band championships, and Scottish country dances and ceilidhs.
Some regiments and units of the British Army, as well as armies of other Commonwealth countries (like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa) with Scottish roots still wear kilts as part of their dress or duty uniform, even though they haven’t been used in battle since 1940[14]. Kilts are worn with ceremonial dress, service dress, and barracks dress. Kilts can be worn to less formal and more formal parades, the office, walking out, mess dinners, classroom teaching, and band practice. These kilts have also been made for the US Marine Corps, the US Military Academy, the US Naval Academy, and Norwich University (Vermont’s military college) pipe and drum bands.
In the United States, kilts are often worn in Irish pubs and are becoming less unusual to see at work [15]. At Highland games, people are wearing kilts more casually with lace-up boots or moccasins and T-shirts or golf shirts; this is becoming more common. Being proud to be Scottish is linked to the kilt, and members of the Tartan Army often wear it with a football shirt while watching a football or rugby game. For security reasons, the small sgian-dubh knife is sometimes swapped out for a wooden or plastic one or is not carried at all. For example, it is not usually allowed to be worn or brought on commercial airplanes.
The Irish
Pipers from the Irish Defense Force wearing golden kilts
There is still some disagreement about where the Irish kilt came from, but new evidence shows that it came from the Scottish Highlands and Isles. Kilts were worn by Irish nationalists starting in at least the 1850s and became a symbol of Gaelic identity in the early 1900s.
The Irish léine croich (or “saffron shirt”) is a long dress that is usually made of yellow cloth but can also be solid colors (like black, green, red, or brown) or striped. It was often mistaken for kilts in early drawings. Solid-colored kilts were first worn by Irish nationalists and then by Irish regiments in the British Army. You could see them in photos taken in Ireland in the late 1800s and early 1900s, especially at political and musical events, because the kilt had become a symbol of Gaelic nationalism there again.[18] Tartan was less common in Irish kilts because it cost more to make. Most of the time, it was only used for scarves, sashes, and trews. People in Ireland who were very wealthy, like Gaelic chieftains and high-ranking soldiers, could buy plaid kilts.
Boys’ kilts aren’t worn as much in Irish dancing, especially since Riverdance became popular worldwide and Irish dancing became popular again.
The Irish still wear kilts, mostly for weddings and other special events. Kilts are also often worn by Irish marching bands.
Some other Celtic countries
Kilts are not traditionally part of national dress outside of Scotland and Ireland. However, they have recently become popular in other Celtic countries as a way to show their Celtic identity[20]. You can see people wearing kilts and tartans in Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Brittany, and Galicia. Northumbrian kilts in border tartan have also been accepted, even though the area isn’t considered Celtic.
Currently, sixteen Breton tartans are publicly registered in the Scottish tartan registries. The Breton tartans are Brittany National (Breton National), Brittany Walking, Lead it Off, and nine county tartans (Kerne, Leon, Tregor, 25] Gwened, 26] Dol, 27] St. Malo, [28] Rennes, [29] Nantes, [30] St. Brieuc). [31] Newer tartans have been made for smaller areas in Brittany, such as Ushent, Bro Vigoudenn, and Menez Du “Black Mountain” (12, 33).
Three Galician tartans are listed in the Scottish registries: Galicia, “Gallaecia – Galician National,” and Bombeiros Voluntarios De Galicia. Tartans and kilts were worn in Galicia as late as the 18th century.
Because they have Celtic roots, some people in Austria, especially in Carinthia and Upper Austria, also wear kilts.
Stylish designs today
An example of a modern kilt
In the 1980s, kilts and other skirts for men became popular again. In 1983, Stephen Sprouse wore black denim jeans with a black denim miniskirt. Then, in 1984, Jean Paul Gaultier made a big splash in the fashion world by bringing back miniskirts and kilts for men[39].
Contemporary kilts, also called modern kilts, fashion kilts, and, especially in the US, utility kilts, have been on the clothing market in Scotland, the US, and Canada since the late 1990s. They come in various fabrics, such as leather, denim, corduroy, and cotton, and can be worn for work or play. Some look a lot like traditional Scottish kilts, while others are just men’s knee-length skirt-like clothes that are similar. They might have box or uniform knife pleats, and instead of buckles, they might be held together with studs or Velcro. Many of them are made to be worn without a sporran, and they might come with bags or tool belts.
When girls go to schools in Canada that require uniforms, many wear kilts. Also, because the country has much Scottish history, they are often seen at weddings and other formal events. In Nova Scotia, people may even wear them every day.
The new style of mixed kilt
Regarding comfort, a USPS letter carrier named Dean Peterson officially asked for the kilt to be accepted as a postal uniform in 2008. However, the plan was defeated by a large majority at the convention of the 220,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers that same year.
5.11 Tactical made a “tactical duty kilt” as an April Fools’ joke, but they are still making them.[44][45] Modern hybrid kilts are made of fabric stitched in a tartan pattern.[46][47]
A simple type of modern kilt worn by women sports, especially field hockey and lacrosse players, is the lacrosse kilt. Most of the time, they’ll wear spandex or tight shorts underneath. In many levels of lacrosse, from youth leagues to college leagues, these kinds of kilts are popular. However, some teams are switching from the kilt to the more fitted sports skirt.
In common culture today, men’s kilts are often seen. For example, in the Syfy show Tin Man, some minor characters wear kilts as work clothes for peasants. The kilt has become more popular as an alternative to traditional menswear because of changes in daily fashion, especially in the Gothic subculture. Some of these are made of PVC or a cotton and nylon mix.