Feeling the Need for Tweed!

FEELING A NEED FOR TWEED

published in the Scottish Banner February 2006

I recently became acquainted with the paintings of nineteenth century artist Richard Ansdell (1815-1885). He was an English-born painter, perhaps most famous for his depictions of hunting dogs and wildlife. However, he had a summer home near Loch Laggan in Invernesshire, and also produced many paintings of the local shepherds. While most portraits of kilted men from the nineteenth century depict the nobleman dressed to the nines, Ansdell’s work shows the common Highlander laboring in the fields, washing sheep, or hunting wild game.

These kilted men are dressed very differently than what most of us are used to seeing. Rugged, masculine, and earthy, there is nothing “fancy” about them. I recommend anyone interested to visit a library, or perform an Internet search for Ansdell’s name to view some of his paintings. One thing you will find is that the majority of the men are wearing kilts made from heavy tweed – some solid colored, and some with a pattern.

Tweed kilts are nothing new. Many who are familiar with contemporary Highland Dress fashion associate tweed kilt suits (with matching kilt, vest, and jacket) with Geoffrey (Tailor)’s “21^st Century Kilts” line. However, as Ansdell’s paintings show, these kilts did not originate in the twenty-first century! One representative photograph in the Royal Archives (and reprinted on the back cover of All About Your Kilt, by Bob Martin) depicts nine of Queen Victoria’s Ghillies at Balmoral in October of 1858. Three of their kilts are made from Balmoral tartan. The other six are plain tweed.

To those today who say that kilts must be made from worsted wool tartan, I say nothing is more Scottish than good tweed! Harris Tweed, in particular, is a Scottish product with brand recognition to rival the best Scotch whiskies. There are many different types of tweed, but Harris Tweed is famous around the world. What makes this cloth so different from the rest?

First of all, we should define just what tweed is. One dictionary definition is “a rough woolen fabric made usually in twill weaves.” Harris Tweed refers specifically to tweed cloth made on the islands of Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Tweed cloth is produced in many other places in the British Isles and beyond, but only cloth made on these islands can be called Harris Tweed.

What makes the cloth produced on the Outer Isles so special is that while the Industrial Revolution was mechanizing the weaving industry on mainland Scotland, the weavers of the remote Outer Isles continued producing cloth by hand, as they had for centuries. The cloth from these islands was renowned for its high quality, but until the middle of the nineteenth century, was produced mainly for the local market.

The beginning of the Harris Tweed industry came in 1846 when Lady Dunmore, widow of the Earl of Dunmore, had the island weavers produce a length of the Murray tartan for her in tweed. She was so fond of the cloth that she set about promoting it to all of her friends. As a result of her marketing efforts, trade was established between the local island weavers and the large towns of the United Kingdom, making the cloth available to a much wider consumer base.

The popularity of the cloth continued to increase, and in the early twentieth century, it was determined that some kind of protection was required to prevent industrially manufactured cloth from being marketed as genuine hand-spun and hand-woven Harris Tweed. The Harris Tweed Association was formed for the purpose of inspecting the cloth, and stamping it with the now-familiar “Orb Mark” with the Maltese cross.

This certification mark was granted in 1909 and stamping began in 1911. The original definition of Harris Tweed adopted by the Association was “tweed hand-spun, hand-woven and dyed by the crofters and cottars in the Outer Hebrides.” In 1934 the definition was expanded to “tweed, made from pure virgin wool produced in Scotland, spun, dyed and finished in Outer Hebrides and hand-woven by the islanders at their own homes in the Islands of Lewis , Harris, Uist, Barra and their several purtenances and all known as the Outer Hebrides.” This new definition allowed for mill-spun yarn, which enabled the weavers to increase their production tenfold. Otherwise, Harris Tweed remains an entirely hand-produced product.

In 1993 the Harris Tweed Authority took over for the Harris Tweed Association by an Act of Parliament, and today continues to protect the Orb Mark and promote genuine Harris Tweed cloth around the world. The decline of popularity of the Harris Tweed jacket has affected the industry, and the cloth is not produced in the same quantities as it was in the 1960s and 70s. But the quality of the hand woven cloth produced on these islands is timeless. Today the Harris Tweed industry continues to produce cloth in new weights and designs each year.

If you want to discover more about Harris Tweed, you can visit the Harris Tweed Authority’s web site at www.harristweed.com. And when you get your next kilt, why not ask if it can be made from a guid Harris Tweed? Four or five yards of cloth will usually be sufficient for nineteenth century style kilts, and you can rest assured that you will be wearing a garment that quite literally smells of Scottish tradition!

After all, the Orb Mark guarantees that the cloth was made from Scottish wool, and woven by island craftsmen in their own homes, completely by hand. For those concerned with “authenticity” in their Highland Dress, it just doesn’t get any better than this!