In answer to your enquiry, I do report, according to the best of my knowledge, and the intelligence of the persons credit, and very advanced ages, that the piece of Highland dress, termed in the Gaelic felie-beg, and in our Scots little kilt, is rather of late than ancient usage.<\/em> Well what do you think? it is a very interesting piece and you couldn\u2019t really blame anyone for taking it at face value and thinking that, yes, it does look like an Englishman invented the kilt. However, if you delve deeper you will in fact see that this for what it is, an uninformed tabloid article. Picture it, Scotland 1769<\/p>\n The letter was written by one Ivan\u00a0(Evan) Baillie\u00a0 to his friend in London in 1769. Ivan was the son of Alexander Baillie of Dochfour and was given the title deeds to Aberiachan (Abriachan), nr Inverness in 1730. There is not much information\u00a0 about him, but I have found, he was not a popular man with his tenants, and was said to have frightened the tenants of Lovat and Belladrum. That tells us a bit about his manner towards the Highlander. According to J.G. Mackay, Evan Baillie was \u2018reared and educated as a lowlander, inheriting all the bias and prejudices of his race\u2019 and was quite ignorant of the highland garb.\u00a0 We’re doing well so far.<\/p>\n After the Jacobite campaign of 1715, the government wanted to open up the Highlands and brought in the likes of Edmund Burt (an engineer) and General Wade to build roads systems and bridges which would help with the rise of industrialisation and the exploitation of the land, the attraction being the plentiful supply of coaling wood. Of course, they also thought this would subdue the Jacobites.<\/p>\n The Englishman that is at the centre of all this was an industrialist named Thomas Rawlinson of Whittington, who made a contract with John MacDonnell of Glengarry to establish an Ironworks on his land in March 1727.\u00a0 Ivan was quoted as saying he was his friend of over 40 years.\u00a0 Again there is not much written about either gentleman, but, they probably were acquaintances, even friends.<\/p>\n With Rawlinson’s new Ironworks opening in Lochaber, people obviously flocked to the area for work, they came from far and wide, and yes, a lot were indeed Highlanders. The majority of these men would have traditionally worked the land, for which the belted plaid or felie-mor (big kilt) would have been more functional.<\/p>\n This Felie-mor (big kilt\/belted plaid) was made to be a garment by day and blanket by night. The woollen cloth and the amount of it was woven to protect the wearer from the harshness of the land and weather. It was around 2 yards wide and maybe 4- 5 yards in length, worn as the pictures above. The cloth was originally woven on a single width loom so it would only be around 1 yard wide, there was a join in the middle to make it\u00a0double width.\u00a0 It was designed to be worn in several different ways depending on the situation, a massive join was in the middle and could easily be taken out, for example, if the wearer was now working in a more industrial environment closely with machinery.\u00a0 \u00a0Ach what am i saying of course us unintelligent Scottish barbarians would have needed an Englishman to tell us this. It would be unthinkable for them there Highland folks, who have worn this most of their lives, and know its construction, to think of it themselves.<\/p>\n Ivan\/Evan says ‘and the lower class could not afford the expense of belted trousers or breeches’\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>\u00a0mmmmmm\u00a0 I’m not too sure about this as you could probably make\u00a0 2 or 3 pairs of breeches from the cloth of one belted plaid.\u00a0 Possibly he means the lower class may not have been able to afford ‘his’ personal tailor.<\/p>\n At the same time and in the same area was Edmund Burt, a British military engineer, probably working under General Wade, who was writing letters to a friend in London, that were later published.\u00a0 He talks a lot about the ‘natives’, and not in a nice way which gives us a good insight to how the ‘upper classes’ of the time felt about an ordinary person.\u00a0 Because of this, and like most ex pats around the world, a couple of Englishmen in an unfamiliar country would have gravitated to one another.\u00a0 None of these letters mention this wondrous invention by a fellow Englishman, and believe me after reading some of his letters he would have revelled in this piece of gossip.<\/p>\n Now of course the real piece de resistance ‘The felie-beg is in its form and somewhat similar to a woman\u2019s petticoat,’\u00a0<\/em>This to me sounds like a flowery insult.<\/p>\n The original letter was written during the proscription of Highland dress then published just after the repeal, could it be just another bat to subdue the Highlander, not that they would’ve needed it, it had been 36 years, almost a generation, that the kilt (the garb) had been banned.\u00a0 Many would be use to the lowland clothing by now and I doubt many would’ve reverted back.<\/p>\n My view is simple, the kilt has naturally evolved over the years.\u00a0 It started off as a multi functional garment worn by people working the land, as industrialisation came along and the functions of the garment changed.\u00a0 Some of the cloth would have naturally been shed an in time this cloth would have been sewn, as it is no longer needed as a blanket, and would make it easier to put on.<\/p>\n The yardage of cloth in a kilt has also grown through the ages. Back in the nineteenth century, kilts were commonly only 5 yards and tended to be pleated to a stripe. With the influx of new tartans being woven, the techniques and the abilities of new machinery within larger factories meant that variations of different setts and different sett sizes could be woven and now because of more complex designs more cloth was gradually being introduced and if that\u2019s not enough then came a new form of pleating, in the early 1900s,\u00a0 called pleating the kilt to the sett, which meant the back of the kilt would be the same design as the tartan on the front of the kilt.\u00a0 This became quite popular and because of some of the different complexities of the thread counts in the tartan, this caused the amount of cloth in a kilt to grow until we have the 8 yards that we see today.<\/p>\n The details we now see on the tailored kilt have also evolved through time, things like the sewn waistband on top. The belt\/sporran loops. It is common now to see an extra buckle and strap on the fringe.\u00a0 \u00a0The kilt is still evolving today as some modern kilts we see today are in different fabrics and have pockets. I\u2019m sure there will be more to come in the next generations that follow us.<\/p>\n Whether you believe the kilt was invented by an Englishman or think, like myself, that it naturally evolved, there is no doubt at all that it is the most stunning garment you will ever see.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Oh deary me, where on earth do I start. There is a story stating that, it was, in fact an Englishman who invented the small kilt, the forerunner of the kilt we wear today. This comes from a letter that was published in a popular pamphlet of the time \u2018The Edinburgh Magazine\u2019 in 1785 Now, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":65446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,413,7,17,1629],"tags":[572,358,430,88,97],"class_list":["post-63827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaelic-heritage","category-kilts","category-scottish-history","category-scottish-myths","category-tartan","tag-historic-scotland","tag-kilts","tag-scotland","tag-scottish-history-2","tag-scottish-myths"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n The upper garment of the Highlanders was the tartan or partly coloured plaid, termed in the Gaelic breccan, when buckled round by a belt, the lower part plaited and the upper loose about the shoulders. The dress termed in Gaelic felie, and in the Scots kilt. It was a cumbersome unwieldly habit to men at work or travelling in a hurry, and the lower class could not afford the expense of belted trousers or breeches. They wore short coats, waistcoats, and shirts of great length as they could afford; such parts as were not covered by these, remained naked to the tying of the garters on their hose.<\/em>
\n About 50 years ago, one Thomas Rawlinson, an Englishman, conducted an Iron work carried on in the countries of Glengarie and Lochaber; he had a throng of Highlanders employed in the service, and became very fond of the Highland dress, and wore it in the neatest form; which I can aver, as I became personally acquainted with him above 40 years ago. He was a man of genius and quick parts, and thought it no great stretch of invention to abridge the dress and make it handy and convenient for his workmen: and accordingly directed the using of the lower part plaited of what is called the felie or kilt as above, and the upper part was set aside; and this piece of dress so modelled as a diminutive of the former, was in the Gaelic termed felie-beg (beg in that tongue signifies little) and in our Scots termed little kilt; and it was found so handy and convenient, that, in the shortest space, the use of it became frequent in all the Highland countries, and in many of our Northern low Countries also. This is all I can say about the date and form of the felie-beg, and what was formerly used in place of it. And I certify from my own knowledge, that I returned from Edinburgh to reside in this country in the year 1725, after serving seven or eight years with writers to the signet, I never saw the felie-beg used, nor heard any mention of such a piece of dress, not (even) from my father, who was very intelligent and well known to (acquainted with) Highlanders, and lived to the age of 83 years, and died in the year 1738, born in May 1655.<\/em>
\n The felie-beg is in its form and somewhat similar to a woman\u2019s petticoat, termed in the Gaelic boilicoat; but differs in this, that the former is not so long nor sewed in the fore-part, but made to overlap a little. The Great felie or kilt was formed of the plaid double or twofold; the felie-beg, of it single.<\/em>
\n I use f and not ph in spelling felie-beg, as in my esteem, more adapted to the Gaelic.<\/em>
\n March 22 1768<\/em><\/p>\n
\nWell I think so.\u00a0 I’ll let you be the judge.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/kilt1-1024x476.jpg\")
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