Tartan hose vs plain hose

[Alan H]

"moggins", or tartan legwear from the late 1600's and early 1700's, I believe....

...I'm quite open to being corrected here...

....were not knit wool, they were woven wool. In other words, they were probably made of much the same stuff as the kilt material was made from. Of course, the wearer would have been likely to mix and match tartans as he saw fit and his budget allowed. Thus it would be entirely possible for a highland townsman to wear a philebeig in one tartan, a jacket or waistcoat in another tartan (or a solid color) and leg coverings in another tartan.

[Woodsheal]

Alan is correct. Tartan "short hose" of the 17th and 18th centuries were sewn up from woven cloth, not knitted, with the seam running up the back of the leg. The fabric was described in one period source as being "of a thicker stuff than their plaids are made of." So perhaps different weights of tartan were woven for different uses!

They could either be full-footed or of a footless type (these are easy to make):



I think the latter type was used by poorer folk who ran around bare-footed quite often. I also think "moggan" is a modern term....