Great Tapestry of Scotland - The Modern Kilt

Our second panel of the Great Tapestry of Scotland is finished! Such a relief, though we'll miss our panels, we've really enjoyed being involved with this wonderful project.

You can see the "Modern Kilt Invented Lochaber 1723" in Smailholm Pottery until Wednesday, after which we'll be handing it in to be blocked and backed for the unveiling of the whole tapestry in the Scottish Parliament in September.

This panel tells the story of Thomas Rawlinson, an English Quaker, who established Invergarry Ironworks. In the early days of the industrial revolution, the old great kilts were not ideal as a working garment, and Thomas Rawlinson is credited with inventing the kilt as we know it, though it is likely that others were starting to think in the same way at the same time.

The top of our panel tells another little story. Making plaid was a cottage industry. Until recently it was believed that ancient tartans were subdued in colour, the wool having been dyed with native products. Recent collaborative work by chemists and historians at Glasgow University has proved conclusively that vibrant imported dyes were readily available and widely used in 18th century Scotland. Our work shows, on the left, some of these imported dyes (cochineal, madder, indigo), on the right some native dyes (berries, gorse, heather) and in the middle a ship is distributing the imported dyes around Scotland, the best means of transport when there were few roads. The quote is from "The Weaving of the Tartan" by Alice Macdonnell.