Wrapping the Braveheart kilt

[figheadair]

Although not that interested in the OP, I've been watching this thread for a while and feel the need to comment on a couple of issues:

Yarn Weight - I have examined many 18th century pieces and the quality of the yarn spinning never ceases to amaze me. The yarn was generally 'singles' i.e. not plied. The woven weight of the extant specimens equates roughly to a range from 12-16oz. The Dunollie plaid for example is extremely fine and definitely at the lighter end. Such a fine plaid was undoubtedly the preserve of the gentry and so may be considered 'best clothes' and was not something intended to sleep out in.

Joined Plaids - joining two lengths of single width cloth was the only way to get a double width tartan before the mid-1800s. Therefore all old plaids were joined.

Finished Quality - All the old pieces I've examined have been in-the-grease to some degree; that is, the yarn still contained a lot of lanolin. I've even read references to plaids in the Western Isles being smeared with Fulmer oil to 'proof' them.

I`m fascinated by the discussion. It occurs to me that these ancient highlanders had homes, and I doubt they sought out opportunities to wrap themselves in their great kilts and sleep on the ground in sub freezing conditions. I believe cattle, for the most part, were worked from spring through fall. They were hardy souls, no doubt, but even hardy souls will die of exposure at some point. I`m sure they new the limits of their gear, and I would think that the great kilt would be, at most, the equivalent of a modern three season sleeping bag. I have slept in such at about -20F, and it wasn`t a very good sleep.

The point is well made. People generally live in houses so the only time that there would have been a need to sleep rough would have been if one was caught out on the hill or was away on campaign or stealing cattle etc. Even today under such circumstances (camping/on campaign not cattle thieving) one puts up with a level of discomfort that is not normal.

Double Plaids - I have some difficulty with the practical application of doubling cloth and to my mind it seems impractical and illogical. One has to be careful in interpreting the historical accuracy of portraits. Firstly one needs to remember that the artist was painting a form of dress that was completely foreign to them and the frequently get elements wrong, especially the tartan bits. Secondly, most of the portraits were produced as a form of social statement and so the 'costume' was sometimes arranged to reference an ancient style, often classical, so as to suggest a level of education and/or social standing. I know of no contemporary description of cloth being doubled and in the case of a draw-string plaid, I can't see how it would work.