Broadcloth in great kilts?

[tripod]

I read in the accounts from the 16th century onwards about the great kilt being used as a very effective weather protection. I wonder if this is due to the exceptional hardiness of those at the time or if the fabric used was actually broadcloth.

Not being an expert I would expect homespun and home weaving to produce a cloth that was looser in the weave and therefore susceptible to catching, as well as being less windproof. In the climate of the highlands a windproof garment would have been an essential. It would seem to my mind that the easiest way to provide a suitable cloth that was both more windproof and harder wearing would be to shrink it, a broadcloth. It might also help in the discussions of the cloth weight.

I'm not intending to make a broadcloth kilt (my sewing skills are just about suitable for buttons) but just for general interest.

[Tenmiles]

Not being a textile historian, just a layman, I think this is an interesting idea, and I could see the logic in it.
I wonder if there might be any historical documentation, such as a description of the weaving process, which mentions weaving something wider/larger (than intended for the end product), because some beating and shrinkage was expected.

[figheadair]

I was unfamiliar with the term Broadcloth and so had to look it up. - Wiki. The entry goes on to name cealtar as a type/name for Broadcloth in Irish Gaelic and Dwelly says that in Scots' Gaelic the term referred to Thick broad-cloth, generally of a grey colour or, a web of any kind.

Nowhere seems to say just how wide broadcloth was, either on the loom or when finished. Dwelly makes no claim for the historical use of the term in connection with plain grey cloth, his subsidiary definition could also include tartan, but in neither case is it clear that it was plain weave as the English cloth was.

All cloth naturally pulls in (shrinks) to some degree in the weaving process. Add to that the fact that most tartan is and was a 2/2 twill weave which is structurally denser and stronger than plain weave, which is why it (worsted cloth) did not need to be fulled as a woollen cloth did.

Durability is not solely about cloth weight. Yarn, and therefore cloth, type is also an important consideration.

[Bruce Scott]

Nowhere seems to say just how wide broadcloth was, either on the loom or when finished.

From the Wiki Intro, para 2: "The raw material was short staple wool, carded and spun into yarn and then woven on a broad loom to produce cloth 1.75 yards wide."

[Liam]

Interesting discussion. Although I had heard the term, broadcloth, I had no idea what it really was or how it was made, until I too "googled" it. I would expect that some natural felting of a highlander's great kilt would occur when exposed to the elements, and then dried either in the sun or around a stove or fire.

[Tenmiles]

Interesting discussion. Although I had heard the term, broadcloth, I had no idea what it really was or how it was made, until I too "googled" it. I would expect that some natural felting of a highlander's great kilt would occur when exposed to the elements, and then dried either in the sun or around a stove or fire.

Well, so another question becomes whether it was made specifically with that process in mind, and perhaps intentionally performed before being used as a garment/plaid, or whether it was something which one might naturally expect to happen over time and wear ('getting better with age')?

[The Wizard of BC]

The term broadcloth when used today means a thin cotton fabric usually printed with designs and used for kilt stabilizer and quilting.

But in days gone by Broadcloth was a very important and valuable fabric. Today we call similar fabrics "boiled Wool". It is a marvelous stuff.

For those who have watched the Outlander TV show you may remember the Waulking scene where ladies sit at a picnic table, pour hot urine on fabric and then rhythmically beat it on the top of the table while singing. This is Felling the wool. It is making broadcloth.

The urine sets the dyes and treats the cloth. The heat and beating felt the fabric.

The result is a dense, waterproof and windproof fabric. If they start with a fine fabric the resulting broadcloth can be used for shirts, dresses and fancy clothing.
If they start with a heavier fabric the result is perfect for blankets and outerwear like brats and coats.

Think Melton Wool. Melton is boiled wool that is then brushed to give a fuzzy, almost velvet finish. Some of the finest coats and uniforms are made from Melton.

A well felled boiled wool fabric may be cut without unraveling. It is water and wind resistant. Tartans can be woven, boiled and would make a very nice belted plaid. Much like a Hudson's Bay Point Blanket.

By the time kilts were popularized they were made from finer, lighter fabrics suitable for fancy so we don't see old kilts made from broadcloth. But broadcloth was made and used a lot in the days before kilts. I actually demonstrate, using a Hudson's Bay Point Blanket, one possible way of wearing a garment that is just like those old descriptions we are so fond of quoting. It is called a Matchcoat. It is already a blanket so using if for sleeping is a no brainer. And throwing a blanket over your shoulders to keep warm has been done for a very long time.

So yes, broadcloth could very well have been used.

[figheadair]

From the Wiki Intro, para 2: "The raw material was short staple wool, carded and spun into yarn and then woven on a broad loom to produce cloth 1.75 yards wide."

Well spotted. There is no evidence to support that type of cloth in the rural Highlands of the 18th century or earlier. The indigenous sheep produced a long staple wool, which is required for hard tartan, this was drawn and spun rather than carded. More importantly, 1.75 yards is 63 inches. There is no indication of how much the cloth shrunk but it would have probably pulled in about 2 inches during the weaving process so the starting width on the loom would have had to be somewhere around 70 inches. That would require a large loom, larger than anything known to have been used before c1800.

Steve, with all due respect, I have to disagree with some of what you wrote.

For those who have watched the Outlander TV show you may remember the Waulking scene where ladies sit at a picnic table, pour hot urine on fabric and then rhythmically beat it on the top of the table while singing. This is Felling the wool. It is making broadcloth.

I haven’t seen Outlander but various historical inaccuracies in the show have been discussed in another thread. There is no requirement to use urine in waulking and is likely that the researchers misunderstood an historical reference to its use in some natural dyeing. I remember visiting the late Marion Campbell, probably the last true hand-weaver of Harris Tweed, and watched here waulking her cloth. That was in 1983 and she’d been weaving for over 50 years at the time. She soaked her cloth in cold water before wringing it out and waulking it on a board. I have some pictures somewhere.

The urine sets the dyes and treats the cloth. The heat and beating felt the fabric.

Urine is not a mordant and cannot be used to fix a dye. It was used as part of the indigo dyeing process where an alkali (urine was readily available) is needed to create the indigo fermentation vat.

A well felled boiled wool fabric may be cut without unraveling. It is water and wind resistant. Tartans can be woven, boiled and would make a very nice belted plaid.

By the time kilts were popularized they were made from finer, lighter fabrics suitable for fancy so we don't see old kilts made from broadcloth. But broadcloth was made and used a lot in the days before kilts

So yes, broadcloth could very well have been used.

I have examined many pre-1800 pieces of tartan, including several from c1700-20 +/- about 20 years and have never come across an example of felted cloth. That, the fact that surviving early specimens conform to the narrow width off set cloth type typically used for joined plaids, and the sheer impracticality of dyeing cloth, as opposed to yarn, in the rural Highlands makes the traditional use of broad cloth very unlikely in my opinion.

[tripod]

Thanks for the reply's so far. I must admit that I hadn't considered the 'ageing' of the cloth. With the shearing done in the spring I would think that the spinning and weaving would produce a cloth for the early summer. Then the elements would take their toll and have an effect.

I think I might get a piece and do a simple experiment for the summer. It's just idle curiosity on my part.

Figheadair I'm interested if you have any pictures of those pre 1800 tartans, and any details on provenance. Or can you point me in the right direction.

edit
The history of highland dress by Dunbar might be the place to start

[figheadair]

Figheadair I'm interested if you have any pictures of those pre 1800 tartans, and any details on provenance. Or can you point me in the right direction.

edit
The history of highland dress by Dunbar might be the place to start

Dunbar's book is the best source of historical, rather than popularist, information but you need to bear in mind that it was written some 70 years ago and a lot has been discovered since. You may find some of the articles on my research page of use.