Harris Tweed: A Journey to the Heart of the Hebrides

Looking into a piece of Harris tweed with a magnifying glass is like chasing down a fractal: you never quite seem to reach the end of the colours and textures in its depths. The cloth reflects its origins on Scotland's beautiful but exposed western Atlantic fringes. From the vast peaty moors of Lewis to the beautiful beaches, mountains and inlets of Harris, the Outer Hebrides are so interwoven with the tweeds they produce that its hard to appreciate the one without the other.

The white beaches of Harris

Harris tweed colours

Earlier this year I was privileged to be a guest of The Harris Tweed Authority on a journey to discover this most wonderful of tweeds. I knew, of course, that the cloth is woven in the homes of islanders, but the details of its story had escaped me. I gave a visual tour of its production on my Instagram account at the time and reproduce a few images here. 

To be a true Harris tweed, stamped with the Harris Tweed Authority seal of approval, the Orb, various legal requirements have to be met; in particular the need for it to be woven at home in Harris and Lewis, rather than in a mill. It's a product of a close partnership between three mills and a group of individual weavers who produce the cloths which are so appreciated around the world.

I visited one of the mills that prepare and dye the wool (Harris Tweed Hebrides in Shawbost; see images below), spin it into yarn which is warped onto beams which are sent out to the weavers for the cloth to be woven. The weaver adds the weft to the warp and returns the cloth to the mill to be finally washed and checked, stamped with the Orb and distributed. This isn’t a mass-produced product, it’s a home-made cloth that contains the essence of the islands in which it’s made. The depth of colour results from the wool being dyed before spinning, rather than the yarn being dyed after it's been spun. The process is illustrated below:

Dying the wool

Blending colours to make the tweed required

Spinning the yarn

Warping the yarn onto a beam to be sent to the weavers to complete the cloth in their homes

Once back from the weavers the cloth is carefully finished (washed to make it softer), checked for defects and has the famous Orb applied before being packed and despatched all over the world.

The weavers return the woven cloth to the mill for finishing and checking

Checking the cloth to ensure it's perfect

The orb is applied - I was given a length of this very cloth

I also visited some of the weavers in their homes (below). Most work in weaving sheds next to their houses on modern looms that weave full width cloth. Some still use older Hattersley looms, which produce half width cloth. Some carry out the whole process, from warping to weaving, rather than relying on a mill to deliver the warped beams. These few produce limited runs of unique cloth that are much sought after. 

At present the future of Harris tweed and the craft of weaving looks secure; but it would be more so if we all appreciated the value of this product and went out of our way to support it by buying Harris tweed off-the-peg clothing, furnishings and accessories or by asking our tailors for it by name

Weaving the cloth

A Hattersley loom

Donald John McKay MBE, with his Hattersley loom (top) and his own tweeds, used by tailors such as Brita Hirsch

I was pleased to be given a length of Harris tweed during my visit to Shawbost. I'm collaborating with bespoke tailor Brita Hirsch to make this into a jacket showpiecing the best of tailoring and the best of Scottish tweed; but that's another story: keep an eye on my Instagram account and on here for more.

I'm grateful to Leica UK for lending me a Leica Q for the trip. I'm no photographer, but the quality of the images it captured, often in dark weaving sheds, was quite outstanding. The top two and final three images here are taken with the Leica Q, the remainder with my Fuji X100S.

I'm very grateful indeed to the Harris Tweed Authority, whose guest I was. I received no payment. All views are my own.

Links:

Harris Tweed Authority - here you can find out more about how the tweed is made

Harris Tweed Hebrides

Leica Q

Brita Hirsch Tailor

Books:

Harris Tweed; From Land to Street by Lara Platman - a photographer looks at everyone involved in making the cloth.

From The Land Comes the Cloth by Ian Lawson - a sumptuous photographic record.

Catherine Aitken - Harris tweed bags and accessories made in Scotland

Catherine Aitken's studio is in Leith, Edinburgh, where she creates bags, scarves and other accessories for both men and women from Harris tweed and other high quality materials. Catherine sent some of her products for me to have a look at. All are beautifully-made. 

I love bags made from tweed. As a material, it's strong, comfortable and the colours go with anything. The duffel bag is robust, comfortable to use and well-designed.

For more information and to buy, visit Catherine Aitken's website and blog. To see her collection of men's bags and scarves, visit here.

Carradice tweed bike bags - made in Lancashire, England

Carradice have been making cycling bags out of cotton duck for over seventy years in Nelson, Lancashire. They now have a special edition range of bags made from Harris tweed.

Anything that combines my loves of cycling and tweed gets my attention, and I love the variety of colours and shapes in these bike bags, ideal for the commuter, vintage cycling nut or tweed fanatic.

See the Carradice website for more information.

A Scottish celebration: Future Legend - Ten30 tweed and Dauvit Alexander

As an Anglo-Welshman, the thought of losing our Scottish friends and neighbours in the recent independence vote had filled me with horror. I therefore wanted to mark the outcome of the referendum, and the preservation of the United Kingdom, with a Scottish special.

I'm grateful to Alan Moore of ten30 and Dauvit Alexander, jeweller, aka the Justified Sinner, who have collaborated on this photographic project celebrating tweed, jewellery and Scottish creativity. They rushed these images to me to help me mark this momentous occasion.

All images Simon Murphy, 2013

Alan told me about the project:

"My name is Alan Moore, I am a Glasgow School of Art graduate and I started my own label, ten30, in 2011. In the beginning the focus was on womanswear, using a lot of digital printed silks and embroidery on simple shapes. The brand was quite conceptual and I did a lot of exhibitions, films and photography as well as artist collaboration. The womenswear days were a lot of fun and very expressive as a designer, but ultimately, not working as a business. 

My ethos has always to produce garments in Scotland, using raw materials sourced from the UK. This caught the attention of Harris Tweed Hebrides, one of the biggest producers of the cloth, and they approached me with a commission proposal. The idea was to produce a small collection of men's jackets, 100% made in Scotland with a strong concept of heritage and story behind them. This is the kind of brief I relish and I got really into it. I was given three tartans to work with, a burnt orange and grey check, a modern Mackenzie hunting-look tartan and a white Stewart look tartan. 

My initial idea was to look at the cloth and develop a concept and story around that, then a garment would come naturally. With the orange cloth, it instantly reminded me of smoked salmon (a very strange correlation, but it was the first thing into my head and I usually trust my first instinct) I ran with the fishing theme and thought it went well with the cloth, the heritage of the Scottish fishing industry and the fact that it's still relevant today. So around this concept I designed a double breasted peacoat, complete with a thick quilt lining and waxed cotton collar and pockets, making the jacket as practical as it as aesthetical.

The Mackenzie tartan reminded me of the Scottish landscape, for me it was a real example of Scottishness. From this I looked into the history of Scottish kings and Nobles. Although he had a colourful and controversial history, the story of Robert the Bruce picking himself up after defeat after defeat at the hands of the English was inspiring to me. I called the single breasted 2 button, The Bruce. It has leather detailing on the pockets and is a traditional square cut jacket. The final jacket was the white Stewart tartan. This cloth was multicoloured, slightly garish and almost arrogant. I had to find a concept or character that would fit into the cloth, and who could pull it off. 

With the Stewart connection, I looked to racing driver Jackie Stewart as my inspiration. A double breasted, peaked lapel 4 button seemed to fit the bill, as the wearer would need to have a bit of confidence about him to pull it off.

The jackets were photographed by Simon Murphy, one of the best photographers in Scotland at the moment, and published on the front cover of the Scotland on Sunday magazine. Since then people started to ask about buying the jackets and asking for more options in menswear. The womenswear came to an end round about January this year when I decided I no longer loved that part of the industry. The label has been gaining strength and popularity since then and I have grand plans for the future".

See ten30 and Dauvit Alexander for more information, or to buy.

Made in Scotland

Harris tweed - keeping warm with a hip flask

A Harris tweed hip flask provides an alternative way to keep warm. Clad with this Outer Hebrides-made cloth, one of my favourites, they're available in various patterns from buyahipflask.com. With prices from £25.68, they make excellent gifts for the tweed lover (and, of course, the whisky connoisseur). As is pointed out on the website -

These flasks are a small link to the tradition of the Outer Hebrides, where whisky is also an essential ingredient in the islands’ history. So the combination of Harris Tweed outside and whisky inside is a perfect match in a hip flask.

'Hear, hear!', I say.

Image Grey Fox

This flask was provided by buyahipflask.com for this review.

Desirable objects 2 - Harris tweed tuck box and steamer trunk

I remember, all those years ago, being packed off to school with my tuck box full of cakes and sweets to see me through the first few days of the new school term. I therefore couldn't resist showing you this Harris tweed tuck box and steamer trunk from John Lewis. It's nostalgia - indulge me please - mixed with an unquenchable thirst for Harris tweed.

I'm grateful to Mossman Trunks for drawing my attention to these - I assume they make them, but I haven't yet ascertained that. [Edit. They are made by Mossman Trunks here in Great Britain - see website here].

A. Wainwright and Harris tweed - become a stylish hill walker

Anyone who has walked in England's beautiful Lake District will know Alfred Wainwright's beautifully-produced guides. The early editions contained not one letter of print, even the prices were handwritten by AW.

Fell walkers of his generation would wear tweed and carry a cotton mac in case of wind and rain. Here AW has sketched himself on Lanthwaite Hill, overlooking Crummock Water, wearing his trusty Harris tweed jacket (carefully labelled as such). Naturally he has a pipe clamped firmly in his jaw.

Tweed can be worn in all weathers; it's warm, breathable, shower-proof, robust and you don't rustle like a paper bag. Properly layered., it can be used on most (cooler) days in the UK.

[Post edited to add a bottle of Thwaites Wainwright beer].

Italian men would sell their mothers to achieve this level of genuine sprezzatura:

Vintage oatmeal herringbone Harris tweed suit

A vintage Harris tweed suit.

Pocket square (vintage): Hornets. Tie (many years old): Gap. Shirt: Charles Tyrwhitt.

Middle-aged man wears vintage Harris tweed suit

Vintage oatmeal herringbone Harris tweed two-piece suit.

Image by Carole Evans photography - cropped by Grey Fox!

An outstanding example of middle age style by David Eustace photographer

I was very grateful to David Eustace for giving me permission to reproduce his image of Scottish playwright, theatre designer and artist John Byrne in a Harris Tweed suit designed by Deryck Walker. 

David's e-mailed comment to me was that, 'the most stylish folk these days are often middle aged or older men (or women)....Often the difference between style and fashions.' What more can one say and what better inspiration for the older man in search of style?

Image © David Eustace

David mentioned that this portrait now sits in the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh. A visit to David Eustace's website is much recommended. I can find little information about Deryck Walker; there seems to be no obvious website.

Rarebird - designed and made from tweed in the Hebrides

London Collections Men has now got into its stride. But let's remember that fashion is not all household names and super-cool catwalk models. Much of what we wear finds its origins in more humble places, where quality materials and craftsmanship mean more than a mere name.

I'm a real fan of local businesses designing and making products from local materials, especially when they are as stylish as the Harris tweed bags, shawls, accessories and ties made by Rarebird in the Hebrides.

I asked to see their ties and they kindly sent me these images. See their website here for more information.

And here is an example of the look you can achieve with a tweed tie (this is not one of Rarebird's).

Harris tweed - it isn't just used to make clothes...

It's been a few posts since I mentioned my favourite fabric. And not just mine; Harris tweed garments have been the darling of the catwalks recently. As a result, other uses have been explored and it is now used to make a wide range of products, from iPad cases to car upholstery. Here are a few of examples.

A list of suppliers is at the bottom of the post.

Tweed Vixen

Notebook Tweed Vixen

Kahn Land Rover Defender Harris Tweed Edition

Suppliers
Tweed Vixen
John Lewis
Hebridean Store
Otis Batterbee
The Harris Tweed Shop
Baines and Fricker
Timberland
Breagha
Urbanears
Kahn Design