Quote Originally Posted by MacMillan of Rathdown View Post
...in the Highlands, there was no abundance of sheep. They are not indigenous to the Highlands and very few Highlanders kept sheep.
What could they have made their cloaks and blankets from, if there were no sheep?

Flimsy linen clothes cannot be compared with warm protective woolen goods, worn for different reasons. I cannot see how the loss of linen would increase thge use of wool. In cold climates, life without wool would have been very uncomfortable, and wool was complementary to linen.

Cloaks were probably universally worn/carried until a century or so ago.
The northern Brits were the only ones, as far as I know, that started pleating these lengths of cloth, belted them and eventually cut off the top half, producing a garment similar to the skirts (under whatever name) worn around the warmer parts of the world. Others preferred thicker woolen jackets and trousers.

Off topic : I wonder when women stated wearing skirts.

Martin