12/10/2011

The history of Tweed and in turn tweed clothing is a story that started in the Western Isles of Scotland making fabrics to battle the harsh winters. Hand-woven in the cottages of local islanders, the rough, closely weaved fabric was made from their own wool in the long winter evenings.

There are many different stories surrounding how the name of ‘tweed’ came about, one that its original name was ‘tweel’ but around 1830 a merchant received a letter about the material and mistook the writing for ‘tweed’. Ever since, the name stuck!

Tweed is traditionally made in plain or twill weave and can have herringbone or check. Colour effects are crafted by different coloured strands of wool in two or three ply yarn. However, modern tweeds have different variations to make them lighter in weight and different designs which made tweeds popularity escalate throughout the 20th century. Although originally aimed at the upper class with tweed jacket for outdoor pursuits such as shooting and hunting, in the 1950’s and 1960’s tweed got a makeover from designers such as Coco Chanel with her Linton tweed suits.

Tweed also moved into the equestrian clothing sector to make a key part in fox hunting clothing. The strong, hardy material provides great piece of safety equipment for the younger members of the hunting scene while its beautiful colours, quality and fit made an impression on the showing scene.