FABRIC: HARRIS TWEED

Fabric Name:
Harris Tweed, clò-mòr or the ‘big cloth’ in Gaelic

Origin:
Blackface and Cheviot sheep, Ovis Aries

Who made our fabric:
Iain Màrtainn of Seaforth Tweed, Airidh 'A Bhruaich, Isle of Lewis, Scotland

Natural history and ecology:
Made of 100% British wool, Harris Tweed is the only fabric in the world protected by an Act of Parliament, the Harris Tweed Act of 1993. Numerous small scale weavers, wool dyers and blenders, yarn spinners and warpers, cloth finishers and stampers are a part of the ecosystem of fabric production that has been here for centuries.

What makes this so special: Harris Tweed is an exceptional fabric that is moisture resistant, breathable, plus wind and waterproof, made only in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Iain Martin of Seaforth Harris Tweed on the Isle of Lewis is a fourth generation weaver who still weaves on the Hattersley MK1 loom his grandfather acquired in the 1920s, one of the oldest in use on the island.

“From the land comes the cloth.”