Féileadh Mor (Great Kilt, above, pron. Phil

Today Megan went ice skating with her friend Sophie and her mum. The rest of us took a trip to Kelvingrove Art Galleries as the kids loving looking around. We first done a treasure hunt, then we made paper tartan and then the kids help get this very Great Kilt ready for Johnny to model! They loved it and now Johnny wants me to get him tartan to make him one for home!!!!

It was really good to watch and the ladies made it look so easy....bet it wouldn't work like that for me?????

Great Kilt

The Breacan an Fhéilidh or Féileadh Mor (Great Kilt, above, pron. Philamore) was originally a length of thick woollen cloth made up from two loom widths sewn together to give a total width of around 4.5 feet, up to 16 feet in length (depending on loom capacity).
The great kilt, also known as the belted plaid, was an untailored draped garment made of the cloth gathered up into pleats by hand and secured by a wide belt. The upper half could be worn as a cloak draped over the left shoulder, hung down over the belt and gathered up at the front, or brought up over the shoulders or head for protection against weather. It was worn over a leine (a full sleeved garment gathered along the arm length and stopping below the waist) and could also serve as a camping blanket.
A description from 1746 states: 'The garb is certainly very loose, and fits men inured to it to go through great fatigues, to make very quick marches, to bear out against the inclemency of the weather, to wade through rivers, and shelter in huts, woods, and rocks upon occasion; which men dressed in the low country garb could not possibly endure'.

Small Kilt - Philabeg

The belted plaid consisted of two widths of material stitched together. If the widths are not stitched together and only the bottom 4 yards are worn pleated and belted around the waist, the resulting garment is called the Feileadh beag (little wrap), or in English, Philabeg .
The Philabeg came about as a natural evolution of the belted plaid and the first recorded example comes from 1692. This kilt is in the possession of the Scottish Tartans Society. This is the first garment that can truly be called a kilt as we know it today.

Di