Kilt

The kilt is a knee-length non-bifurcated skirt-type garment with pleats at the rear, originating
in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since
the 19th century, it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or
with Celtic (and more specifically Gaelic) heritage even more broadly. It is most often made
of woollen cloth in a tartan pattern.
Although the kilt is most often worn on formal occasions and at Highland games and sports
events, it has also been adapted as an item of informal male clothing in recent years, returning
to its roots as an everyday garment.
History[
The kilt first appeared as the great kilt, the breacan or belted plaid, during the 16th century,
and is Gaelic in origin. The filleadh mhr or great kilt was a full-length garment whose upper
half could be worn as a cloak draped over the shoulder, or brought up over the head. A version
of the filleadh bheag (philibeg), or small kilt (also known as the walking kilt) similar to the
modern kilt was invented by an English Quaker from Lancashire named Thomas
Rawlinson sometime in the 1720s. He felt that the belted plaid was "cumbrous and
unwieldly", and his solution was to separate the skirt and convert it into a distinct garment
with pleats already sewn, which he himself began wearing.[1] His associate, Iain MacDonnell,
chief of the MacDonnells of Inverness, also began wearing it, and when the clansmen the two
employed in logging, charcoal manufacture, and iron smelting, saw their chief wearing the
new apparel, they soon followed suit. From there its use spread "in the shortest space"
amongst the Highlanders, and even amongst some of the Northern Lowlanders.[2] It has been
suggested there is evidence that the philibeg with unsewn pleats was worn from the 1690s.[3]
Variants
The name "kilt" is applied to a range of garments:

The traditional garment, either in its historical form, or in the modern adaptation now
usual in Scotland (see History of the kilt), usually in a tartan pattern

The kilts worn by Irish pipe bands are based on the traditional Scottish garment but
now in a single (solid) colour[4]

Variants of the Scottish kilt adopted in other Celtic nations, such as the Welsh cilt and
the Cornish cilt

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the noun derives from a verb to kilt, originally
meaning "to gird up; to tuck up (the skirts) round the body", which is apparently
ofScandinavian origin.
Scottish kilt
The modern Scottish kilt worn with formal evening wear (2009)
Organisations that sanction and grade the competitions in Highland dancing and piping all
have rules governing acceptable attire for the competitors. These rules specify that kilts are to

be worn (except that in the national dances, the female competitors will be wearing
theAboyne dress).[5][6]
Design and construction[edit]
The Scottish kilt displays uniqueness of design, construction, and convention which
differentiate it from other garments fitting the general description. It is a tailored garment that
is wrapped around the wearer's body at the natural waist (between the lowest rib and the hip)
starting from one side (usually the wearer's left), around the front and back and across the
front again to the opposite side. The fastenings consist of straps and buckles on both ends, the
strap on the inside end usually passing through a slit in the waistband to be buckled on the
outside; alternatively it may remain inside the waistband and be buckled inside.
A kilt covers the body from the waist down to the centre of the knees. The overlapping layers
in front are called "aprons" and are flat; the single layer of fabric around the sides and back is
pleated. A kilt pin is fastened to the front apron on the free corner (but is not passed through
the layer below, as its function is to add weight). Underwear may or may not be worn, as the
wearer prefers, although tradition has it that a "true Scotsman" should wear nothing under his
kilt.[7][8] The Scottish Tartans Authority, however, warns that in some circumstances the
practice could be "childish and unhygienic" and flying "in the face of decency".[9]
Fabrics
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 "22 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 (see below) is called tartan. In
contrast kilts worn by Irish pipers are made from solid-colour cloth, with saffron or green
being the most widely used colours.
Kilting fabric weights are given in ounces per yard and run from the very-heavy, regimental
worsted of approximately 1822 ounces (510620 g) down to a light worsted of about 1011
ounces (280310 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. Some patterns are available in only a few weights.
A modern kilt for a typical adult uses about 68 yards of single-width (about 2630 inches) or
about 34 yards of double-width (about 5460 inches) tartan fabric. Double-width fabric is
woven so that the pattern exactly matches on the selvage. Kilts are usually made without
ahem 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.
Setts

Oliver tartan kilt (2006)

One of the most-distinctive features of the authentic Scots kilt is the tartan pattern, the sett, it
exhibits. The association of particular patterns with individual clans and families can be traced
back perhaps one or two centuries. It was only in the 19th-century Victorian erathat the
system of named tartans known today began to be systematically recorded and formalized,
mostly by weaving companies for mercantile purposes. Up until this point, Highland tartans
held regional associations rather than being identified with any particular clan.
Today there are also tartans for districts, counties, societies and corporations. There are also
setts for states and provinces; schools and universities; sporting activities; individuals; and
commemorative and simple generic patterns that anybody can wear (see History of the kiltfor
the process by which these associations came about.)
Setts are always arranged horizontally and vertically, never diagonally (except when adapted
for ladies' skirts). They are specified by their thread counts, the sequence of colours and their
units of width. As an example, the Wallace tartan has a thread count given as "K4 R32 K32
Y4" (K is black, R is red, and Y is yellow). This means that 4 units of black thread will be
succeeded by 32 units of red, etc., in both the warp and the weft. Typically, the units are the
actual number of threads, but as long as the proportions are maintained, the resulting pattern
will be the same. This thread count also includes a pivot point indicated by the slash between
the colour and thread number. The weaver is supposed to reverse the weaving sequence at the
pivot point to create a mirror image of the pattern. This is called a symmetrical tartan. Some
tartans, like Buchanan, are asymmetrical, which means they do not have a pivot point. The
weaver weaves the sequence all the way through and then starts at the beginning again for the
next sett.
Setts are further characterized by their size, the number of inches (or centimetres) in one full
repeat. The size of a given sett depends on not only the number of threads in the repeat but
also the weight of the fabric. This is because the heavier the fabric, the thicker the threads will
be, and thus the same number of threads of a heavier-weight fabric will occupy more space.
The colours given in the thread count are specified as in heraldry, although tartan patterns are
not heraldic. The exact shade which is used is a matter of artistic freedom and will vary from
one fabric mill to another as well as in dye lot to another within the same mill.
Tartans are commercially woven in four standard colour variations that describe the overall
tone. "Ancient" or "Old" colours may be characterized by a slightly faded look intended to
resemble the vegetable dyes that were once used, although in some cases "Old" simply
identifies a tartan that was in use before the current one. Ancient greens and blues are lighter
while reds appear orange. "Modern" colours are bright and show off modern aniline dyeing
methods. The colours are bright red, dark hunter green, and usually navy blue. "Weathered" or

"Reproduction" colours simulate the look of older cloth weathered by the elements. Greens
turn to light brown, blues become gray, and reds are a deeper wine colour. The last colour
variation is "Muted" which tends toward earth tones. The greens are olive, blues are slate
blue, and red is an even deeper wine colour. This means that of the approximately 3500
registered tartans available in the Scottish Tartans Authority database as of 2004[10] there are
four possible colour variations for each, resulting in around 14,000 recognised tartan choices.
Setts may be registered with the International Tartan Index (ITI) of the charitable
organisation Scottish Tartans Authority (STA), which maintains a collection of fabric samples
characterized by name and thread count, for free, and/or registered with the Scottish Register
of Tartans (SRT) of the statutory body the National Archives of Scotland (NAS), if the tartan
meets SRT's criteria, for UK70 as of 2010. Although many tartans are added every year,
most of the registered patterns available today were created in the 19th century onward by
commercial weavers who worked with a large variety of colours. The rise of Highland
romanticism and the growing Anglicisation of Scottish culture by the Victorians at the time
led to registering tartans with clan names. Before that, most of these patterns were more
connected to geographical regions than to any clan. There is therefore nothing symbolic about
the colours, and nothing about the patterns is a reflection of the status of the wearer.
Measurements

Stitching on the fell of a kilt (Robertson Red Modern)

Although ready-to-wear kilts can be obtained in standard sizes, a custom kilt is tailored to the
individual proportions of the wearer. At least three measurements, the waist, hips, and length
of the kilt, are usually required. Sometimes the rise (distance above the waist) or the fell
(distance from waistline to the widest part of the hips) is also required.
A properly made kilt, when buckled on the tightest holes of the straps, is not so loose that the
wearer can easily twist the kilt around their body, nor so tight that it causes "scalloping" of the
fabric where it is buckled. Additionally, the length of the kilt when buckled at the waist
reaches a point no lower than halfway across the kneecap and no higher than about an inch
above it.
Pleating and stitching

Pleating to the stripe (2005)

A kilt can be pleated with either box or knife pleats. A knife pleat is a simple fold, while the
box pleat is bulkier, consisting of two knife pleats back-to-back. Knife pleats are the most
common in modern civilian kilts. Regimental traditions vary. The Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders use box pleats, while the Black Watch make their kilts of the same tartan with
knife pleats. These traditions were also passed on to affiliated regiments in
the Commonwealth, and were retained in successor battalions to these regiments in the
amalgamated Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Pleats can be arranged relative to the pattern in two ways. In pleating to the stripe, one of the
vertical stripes in the tartan is selected and the fabric is then folded so that this stripe runs
down the center of each pleat. The result is that along the pleated section of the kilt (the back
and sides) the pattern appears different from the unpleated front, often emphasising the
horizontal bands rather than creating a balance between horizontal and vertical. This is often
called military pleating because it is the style adopted by many military regiments. It is also
widely used by pipe bands.

Pleating to the sett

In pleating to the sett, the fabric is folded so that the pattern of the sett is maintained and is
repeated all around the kilt. This is done by taking up one full sett in each pleat, or two full
setts if they are small. This causes the pleated sections to have the same pattern as the
unpleated front.
Any pleat is characterized by depth and width. The portion of the pleat that protrudes under
the overlying pleat is the size or width. The pleat width is selected based on the size of the sett
and the amount of fabric to be used in constructing the kilt, and will generally vary from
about 1/2" to about 3/4".
The depth is the part of the pleat which is folded under the overlying pleat. It depends solely
on the size of the tartan sett even when pleating to the stripe, since the sett determines the
spacing of the stripes.
The number of pleats used in making kilts depends upon how much material is to be used in
constructing the garment and upon the size of the sett.
The pleats across the fell are tapered slightly since the wearer's waist is usually narrower than
the hips and the pleats are usually stitched down either by machine or by hand.

Highland dancer revealing the action of a kilt, worn here with a velvet waistcoat
In Highland dancing, it is easy to see the effect of the stitching on the action of a kilt. The kilt
hugs the dancer's body from the waist down to the hipline and, from there, in response to the
dancer's movements, it breaks sharply out. The way the kilt moves in response to the dance
steps is an important part of the dance. If the pleats were not stitched down in this portion of
the kilt, the action, or movement, would be quite different.