Originally gifted to the then ruler King Moshoeshoe I by a British man known only as "Mr Howell" in the late 19th century,^[2] these blankets quickly gained popularity in the Lesotho region.

The way that Basotho men wear these traditional blankets is based on the traditional Kaross, an animal skin cloak although their transformation to "factory-woven textile" is attributed to King Moshoeshoe I.^[3] By 1860 securing sufficient skins for Karosses was increasingly difficult and by 1872 a large majority of sheepskin covers had been replaced by poor quality cotton or wool.^[1] The King secured the production of "special blankets" in 1876 after meeting with Scottish textile manufacturer Donald Fraser. These new blankets were not only sturdier but they could also be fashioned in a way that more resembled the Kaross and they therefore quickly replaced the poor quality imported cloth that the people of Lesotho were previously wearing.