Harris Tweed

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Tuesday, August 1. 2017

Label photo via Salt Water New England. She seems to like Harris Tweed. It lasts forever, except moths.

"Hand-woven in the Outer Hebrides from Scottish wool." It's still a cottage industry on Harris and Lewis. No factory. I am not sure where the garments and hats, etc. are actually constructed, though.

A Harris wool sports jacket is heavy, water-resistant, and heathery-looking, perfect for Isle of Harris summer or winter weather.

Scotland, they say, has no summer and no winter. The wool just keeps growing. Was that a mutation in sheep?

Mrs. BD and the gals forced a sports jacket on me at the Harris Tweed shop on the harbor in Tarbert. Nice lining in it. Nothing really in the tiny village of Tarbert but a ferry dock, a whiskey distillery (where they suggested coming back in 5 years when they will have something good) and the little Harris Tweed shop.

Pics of a weaver, the shop, and bustling downtown Tarbert below the fold.

The loom is driven by foot pedaling. The way they change patterns after a skein is complete is too complex for me to explain. The key idea to computers lies in the loom pattern-shapers.

Downtown Tarbert. A two-lane road is a highway on Harris.

Harris wool:

Posted by Bird Dog in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation, Travelogues and Travel Ideas at 17:55 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0)

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I have always wanted to make the trip you just finished. Probably won't happen for us so I am grateful for your pictures.

Second item:

Do you remember several years ago you put in a plug for waders. Very, very nice waders. I think they were French, but am not sure. Anyway there is a local distributor here in the US and I have loved these boots. They have gone missing. Can't find them anywhere and do desperately desire another pair. Would you please reprint the name of those boots? Thank you very much.

#1 Apple Pie on 2017-08-01 18:09 (Reply)

Dad had 2 Harris Tweed jackets. Wore them 30 years until he retired and then gave them to me. I made some repairs to the liners, and wore them the next 20. We moved to southern Italy where it's just too hot to wear them. I passed one to my son and another to a friend.

Somebody once said "once in your life, own a convertible." I think that applies to Harris Tweeds too.

Timeless.

#2 Don on 2017-08-02 06:04 (Reply)

Down here in south Florida there is no time of year cold enough to wear a Harris Tweed jacket so I've had to do with a cap which I only wear in Scotland. The strange thing is in our travels around the Herbrides I'm usually the only one wearing a Harris Tweed cap, the locals sure don't wear them.

#3 FRP on 2017-08-02 07:24 (Reply)

I only wear a suit or sport jacket once a week to church, but they look very nice on a Harris Tweeds website. I'm curious how much you paid for the jacket because the site I looked at was surprisingly reasonable.

#4 Jack Walter on 2017-08-02 07:26 (Reply)

I don't know what I paid for it in Tarbert. For one thing, it was in Pounds. Also, Mrs. BD bought it for me.

#4.1 BD on 2017-08-02 08:16 (Reply)

They look nice on women too, if well fitted, tho maybe they no longer sell them as many places now? I still have a couple from college days. Better looking and more versatile than sweaters, tho obviously only for dressup or casual wear NOT hiking, etc (too warm)

You can still find 40 year old Harris Tweed Jackets in perfect condition in my local thrift shop, as idiot minimalist children throw them out to buy tacky disposable fashion instead.

The oily wool is actually relatively UNappetizing to moths(at least compared to merino, cashmere, and lambswool sweaters). Don't have it dry-cleaned, as this is not only poisonous but might remove some of the natural oils which help water repellency and moth deterrence. You can let muddy dog pawprints dry and brush off carefully, and regular airing out, and rain falling on it while you are out walking keep it clean.

#5 retriever on 2017-08-02 12:13 (Reply)

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Tuesday, August 1. 2017

Harris Tweed