The relationship between Scotland and its kilts goes back many centuries, however, the date in which kilts were first invented, is rather unknown. The first documented mention of the féileadh-mór (or great kilt) can be found in books dating back to the 1500’s. As you can imagine, the great kilts' popularity would have been quite prevalent to have been worthy of documentation at that time. So it’s safe to say that the great kilt would have been invented sometime earlier. It’s thought that once sheep became readily available across Scotland that their wool would have been used to weave cloth. Woolen cloth was ideal for the Scottish climate as it was naturally weather resistant and extremely durable, two very important factors for highlanders of the time. The original great kilt was little more than a long length of woolen material that was wrapped around the body with the excess draped over the shoulder. The feileadh beag (or little wrap) was the first iteration of the kilt we know today. This shorter kilt started its evolution from the late 17th to early 18th century and became what you see today. The kilt has changed very little in style since then and the techniques used today to create a kilt are also surprisingly similar.