Lady Dunmore & Harris Tweed
Harris had long been known for the excellence of the weaving done there, but up to the middle of the nineteenth century, the cloth was produced mainly for home use or for a purely local market. |
In 1846, Lady Dunmore, Catherine Herbert, widow of the late Earl of Dunmore . had the Murray tartan copied by Harris weavers in tweed. This proved so successful that Lady Dunmore devoted much time and thought to marketing the tweed to her friends and then to improving the process of production. This was the beginning of the Harris Tweed industry.
Equally important were Lady Dunmore's society connections, which she exploited to the full in order to promote Harris Tweed amongst the upper class hunting, fishing & shooting set. The island tweed was even adopted by those in Queen Victoria's royal circle, and the image of the tweedy country gentleman was born. Through her efforts and those of various organisations, Harris Tweed was firmly established by end of nineteenth century, not only as an industry but as a product with historical, social and artistic value - it became a status symbol to possess it.
The Following was the method for making the cloth at this time:
The raw material, wool, was produced locally and part of it would have been used in its natural uncoloured state, the rest was dyed. In the 19th century vegetable dyes were used. Following dyeing, the wool was mixed, the shade being regulated by the amount of coloured wool added; then it was oiled and teased; the latter process involves pulling the wool apart to open out the fibres. The next part of the preparation, carding, results in the fibres of the wool being drawn out preparatory to spinning. This was a very lengthy process followed by spinning carried out on familiar spinning-wheel by women. Until the turn of the century a very early type of handloom was used for weaving with a manually operated shuttle. The final process is finishing where the tweed is washed and given a raised compact finish.
At about the turn of the century the primitive small loom was replaced by the improved "fly-shuttle" loom. This was made of wood and heavier than the earlier loom tending to make weaving an occupation for men rather than women. Although originally imported from the Galashiels a local joiner started making the new type of loom in 1903.
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