Harris tweed

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For centuries, the islanders of Lewis and Harris , Uist , Benbekyula and Barra weaved the fabric manually, calling it “clò-mòr” in translation from the original Gaelic “large fabric”.

Initially, this handmade fabric was woven by peasants for family use; it was ideally suited for protection against the colder climate in northern Scotland . Surplus fabric was often sold or used as barter , eventually turning into currency among the islanders. For example, it is not uncommon for rents to be paid in the form of blankets or pieces of cloth. By the end of the 18th century, spinning of wool from local raw materials became the main industry for farmers. Hand-made fabric was exported to the mainland of Scotland and sold along with other goods produced by islanders, such as dried goat and deer skins.

Initially, the name of the fabric was a twill , it was made by the twill method. The fabric got its traditional name almost by accident. Around 1830, a London merchant received a letter from Hawick about some twills . The London merchant misinterpreted the handwriting, realizing that it was a trade name taken from the River Tweed , flowing across the Scottish borders. Subsequently, the product was advertised as tweed , and since then the name has remained. ^[2]

When the industrial revolution reached Scotland , mainland producers turned to mechanization, but the Outer Hebrides retained their traditional processes. Lewis and Harris have long been famous for the high quality of weaving , but by the mid-nineteenth century, the fabric was produced mainly for home use or for the local market.

When Alexander, 6th Earl of Dunmore , inherited the North Harris estate from his father in 1836, the production of tweed in the Outer Hebrides was still completely manual. Wool was washed in soft, peat water, and then dyed with dyes from local plants and lichens . Then it was processed and twisted before manually weaving in their homes. Traditional island tweed was characterized by colorings achieved using vegetable dyes, including lichen dyes called crotles (omphalods Parmelia saxatilis and Parmelia , which produce deep red or purplish brown and rusty orange, respectively). ^[3] These lichens are the source of the characteristic smell of old Harris Tweed.

After the death of the 6th Earl of Dunmore in 1843, responsibility for his estate on Harris Island passed to his wife, Lady Catherine Herbert. Lady Katherine drew attention to the marketing potential and the high quality of the tweed fabric made locally by the two sisters from the village of Stronde, known as the Paisley Sisters. The fabric they wove was surprisingly higher quality than those made by untrained people. In 1846, the countess instructed the sisters to weave tweed with tartan of the Murray family. She sent ready-made fabric for sewing jackets for rangers on her estate. Being wear-resistant and water-resistant, the new fabric was perfect for living on the Dunmore estate. Lady Katherine saw that the jackets worn by her rangers could be the perfect outfit for an outdoor lifestyle that was common among her peers.

The countess began to promote local textiles, as fashionable clothes for hunting , and sportswear. Soon, Tweed was chosen by the landowners and aristocrats of that time, including the people of the inner circle of Queen Victoria . When demand for this high-quality Harris Tweed settled, Lady Catherine sent more girls to Scotland to train. She refined the yarn production process to create a more sustainable and workable fabric, and by the end of the 1840s, merchants from Edinburgh supplied the privileged classes of London with handmade Harris Tweed fabric.

From that moment on, the Harris Tweed industry grew, peaking at 7,600,000 Yards in 1966.

As demand for Harris Tweed expanded in the first decade of the 20th century, a stream of weavers came into the industry in search of money, and soon inexperienced weavers began to produce the worst quality tweed from imported mainland yarn , which received the derogatory name “Stornoway Tweed”. This low-quality tweed has influenced the traditional Harris Tweed market, crafted by experienced weavers from hand- spun yarn .

Legal protection of the Harris Tweed name through trademark and established standard definition has become necessary. Groups of merchants in Lewis and Harris contacted the Trade Council for a registered trademark . When this Orb trademark (sphere) was eventually granted, the board insisted that it be provided to all the Outer Hebrides islands, i.e. Lewis , North and South Whist , Benbekyule and Barra , as well as Harris , the basis for this decision was that that tweed was made in exactly the same way on all these islands.

In 1909, after long negotiations and some controversy on the part of merchants from Harris who believed that the trademark should have been exclusively granted to Harris , the trademark Orb was granted. (A Harris Tweed Association ), a voluntary body was created to defend both use of the trademark Orb, as well as the protection of the name “Harris Tweed” from fakes.

The original definition attached to the Orb trademark stated that “Harris Tweed” means hand-twisted tweed , hand-woven and dyed crofterams and coats on the Outer Hebrides .

In 1993, the new Orb trademark statutory body, ( Harris Tweed Authority ), replaced the original ( Harris Tweed Association ). Also in 1993, an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain , the 1993 Harris Tweed Law, was established ( English by the Harris Tweed Authority ) as a successor ( English by the Harris Tweed Association ), whose purpose was “to promote and support the authenticity, standards and reputation of Harris Tweed; to prevent the sale as Harris Tweed of material that does not fit this definition ... "

The following definition of the present Harris Tweed became statutory: “Harris Tweed means tweed hand-woven by the islanders in their houses on the Outer Hebrides , crafted on the islands of Harris , Lewis , North and South Uist , Benbekyula and Barra ( Outer Hebrides ), made from pure natural wool , dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides . "

Today, every 50 meters Harris Tweed is checked by an inspector from the Office of Harris Tweed Authority , and then manually puts a wax stamp with the mark Orb (sphere).

The Harris Tweed Authority is the legally appointed governing body responsible for maintaining the integrity of Harris Tweed under the 1993 Harris Tweed Act. They are involved in litigation, the release of the Orb brand to the inspection of factories and weavers' workshops, the promotion of industry and the protection of Harris Tweed, on behalf of the Outer Hebrides . Founded in the island capital of Stornoway , the administration consists of a chief executive officer, a secretary, two inspectors and stampers. There is also a supervisory board for unpaid employees and a legal group that provides its services.

There are three factories on the islands , each of which is associated with a public company. Companies are involved in marketing , sales, customer service and distribution of Harris Tweed customers, while their factories are involved in certain aspects of the manufacturing process.

• ( Harris Tweed Scotland ) is owned by Brian Haggas with the John Haggas Group, who founded the 2006 Harris Tweed Scotland Limited after the acquisition of the KM Group and the Stornoway factory. ^[4] The company manufactures Harris Tweed jackets for men and sells them in retail at its online store or in specialty stores for gentlemen . This is the only fully vertical company that makes and sells Harris Tweed jackets in this way. Their Stornoway factory is the oldest producer on the Outer Hebrides and has been manufactured by Harris Tweed since 1906.

• Harlow Tweed, an independent wholesaler in Carloway Village , is the smallest of the three existing Harris Tweed textile mills, using traditional craft machines to produce Harris Tweed's unique, personalized and custom-made fabrics. In January 2016, the factory owners announced that they were looking for a buyer for the business, and therefore the future of the factory remains uncertain. ^[five]

• ( English Harris Tweed Hebrides ) reopened an abandoned factory in Showbost in November 2007. ^{[6] The} main shareholder of the company is Scottish businessman Ian Taylor, who spent the last 30 years in the oil industry with Vitol .

All weavers are self-employed and can work as a “factory weaver” ordered by any of the three factories, or as an “independent weaver” as a producer and seller of their own fabric, sometimes on a private commission. Weavers are supplied with beam foundations with a bobbin thread and yarn directly from the factories, along with instructions on how the fabric should be woven. Once the tweed is woven, it is taken to the factory for processing and stamping, after which the factory sells it. Independent weavers, on the other hand, must buy yarn from factories and weave it themselves, often in their own designs . An independent weaver then sends his woven fabric to the factory for processing and stamping (they pay for these services) before it returns to the weaver for sale on his own behalf. A weaver can work as a factory worker and as an independent weaver.

( Harris Tweed Industry Liaison Group ) regularly meets to discuss issues facing the industry and consists of a number of stakeholders, such as factory owners, representatives of weavers, representatives ( Harris Tweed Authority ), funding bodies, members of local councils , buyers and other industry leaders.

Harris Tweed begins with pure natural wool , sheared in Sheviot and Scottish sheep. Although most of the wool is grown mainly on the mainland of Scotland and Great Britain , in early summer, island communities still come together to shear local sheep to add wool to the mix. Two types of wool are blended together to take advantage of their unique qualities and characteristics.

After cutting, the wool is cleaned and then delivered in large bales to the factories of the main manufacturers of tweed , where it is then dyed in different colors for mixing.

Freshly colored color and white wool is weighed in predetermined proportions, and then thoroughly mixed by hand, following the exact recipes to obtain the correct shade. Then it is laid between mechanical gear rollers, which are nap and thoroughly mix the fibers before splitting them into a brittle rudimentary thread . Then this soft thread is twisted to give it maximum strength for weaving . In this vital process, thousands of warp threads are gathered in long skeins in a very specific order and wound around large beams, ready to be sent together with the yarn to weavers.

All Harris Tweed is weaved manually in weaver’s homes on double-width Bonas-Griffith rapiers weaving machines , if these are factory weavers or, as a rule, on an old single-width Hattersley weaving machine if it is an independent weaver. The weaver will “bind” its base, passing each end of the yarn through the ears on the legs of his loom in a certain order, then start weaving, correcting any errors or breakages that occur before the end of the process.

Then the tweed returns to the factory in its “oily state”, and here it passes through the hands of weavers who correct any imperfections.

After the fabric is woven, dirt, grease and other impurities are removed by washing and rinsing in soda and soapy water before it is dried, steamed, unscrewed and cut.

The final process is verification by an independent representative ( Harris Tweed Authority ), who visits the factories weekly, before applying the trademark ( Orb Mark ), which is applied to the fabric as a seal of authenticity.

Weight: 500-800g / m

Test for wear resistance ( English Martindale ): 20000-30000 erasures. ^[7]

Fire resistance: British standard BS5852, 0.1. Cigarette and match. ^[eight]

In 2012, weaving mills ( Harris Tweed ) produced one million meters of Harris Tweed compared to 450,000 meters in 2009, the highest figure in 17 years. For the past three years, Harris Tweed has remained “in trend”, and this has become commonplace both in stores ( High Street ) and on catwalks in couturier collections, and the growing popularity has led to the training of a new generation of weavers to meet production needs.

Harris Tweed is used by such fashion houses as: Chanel ^[9] , Prada ^[10] , Maison Margiela ^[11] , Céline ^[12] and Hugo Boss ^[13] .

Fashion designers and designers such as: Ralph Lauren ^[14] , Manolo Blahnik ^[15] , Vivienne Westwood ^[16] , Nigel Caburn ^[17] , Alexander McQueen ^[18] , Valentino , Tom Brown ^[19] , Paul Smith and Margaret Howell ^{[ 20]} use fabric for their collections.

Brands like APC , ASOS , Aigle , Adidas , Barutti , Blue de Gênes , Brooks Brothers , Gieves & Hawkes , J. Crew , Marks & Spencer , Nordstrom , The North Face , Primark , Prince of Scots , Rag & Bone , Stone Island , Thomas Pink , Tommy Bahama , Topman use fabric for jackets, outerwear and suits.

Shoe brands are also used by Harris Tweed, primarily Nike , Clarks , Converse , Dr. Martens , Red Wing Shoes , Timberland , Vans , and Allen Edmonds .

Supreme and Palace use fabric to make stylish caps.

Due to its high wear resistance, the following brands are used to make bags or backpacks: Caradice , Filson , JW Anderson , Marks & Spencer , The North Face , Trakke .

Linn Products, a Scottish engineering company that manufactures Hi-Fi and audio equipment, produces Harris Tweed-fabric loudspeakers starting at $ 10,000. ^[21]

In 2014, Scottish whiskey maker Johnnie Walker and Harris Tweed Hebrides launched a fabric that smelled like whiskey. ^[22]

The luxury interiors market is also expanding with more than 90,000 meters of Harris Tweed at the 5-star Blasthswood Square Hotel ^[23] in Glasgow in 2008.

Harris Tweed regularly participates in Pitti Uomo ^[24] .

New markets are emerging in the BRICS countries, while more traditional markets are reviving in the US and Europe , as well as in East Asia , including South Korea . Sales forecasts are very optimistic for Harris Tweed fabrics.