Tweed is a rough,

woollen Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely

woven Woven fabric is any textile formed by weaving. Woven fabrics, often created on a loom, are made of many threads woven in a warp and weft. Technically, a woven fabric is any fabric made by interlacing two or more threads at right angles to one anot ...

. It is usually woven with a plain weave,

twill Twill is a type of textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and d ...

or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the

yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern ...

may be obtained by mixing dyed wool before it is spun. Tweeds are a staple of traditional Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and English clothing, being desirable for informal outerwear, due to the material being moisture-resistant and durable. Tweeds are made to withstand harsh climates and are commonly worn for outdoor activities such as shooting and hunting. In Ireland, tweed manufacturing is now most associated with

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

but originally covered the whole country. In Scotland, tweed manufacturing is most associated with the

Isle of Harris Harris (, ) is the southern and more mountainous part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Although not an island itself, Harris is often referred to in opposition to the ''Isle of Lewis'' as the Isle of Harr ...

in the Hebrides.

Etymology

Tweed making at the Leach family woollen mill at Mochdre

The original name of the cloth was ''tweel'', Scots for

, the material being woven in a twilled rather than a plain pattern. A traditional story has the name coming about almost by chance. Around 1831, a London merchant, James Locke, received a letter from a

Hawick Hawick ( ; ; ) is a town in the Scottish Borders council areas of Scotland, council area and counties of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east o ...

firm, Wm. Watson & Sons, Dangerfield Mills about some "tweels". The merchant misinterpreted the handwriting, understanding it to be a trade-name taken from the

River Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the River Tweed. The Tweed is one of the great salmon rivers ...

that flows through the Scottish Borders textile area. The goods were subsequently advertised as Tweed and the name has remained since.

Traditions and culture

Traditionally used for upper-class country clothing such as shooting jackets, tweed became popular among the

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

middle classes who associated it with the leisurely pursuits of the elite. Due to their durability, tweed

Norfolk jacket A Norfolk jacket is a loose, belted, single-breasted tweed jacket with box pleats on the back and front, with a belt or half-belt. It was originally designed as a shooting coat that did not bind when the elbow was raised to fire. Its origin is ...

s and

plus-fours Plus fours are breeches or trousers that extend four inches (10 cm) below the knee (and thus four inches longer than traditional knickerbockers, hence the name). Knickerbockers have been traditionally associated with sporting attire sinc ...

were a popular choice for hunters, cyclists, golfers, and early motorists, hence

Kenneth Grahame Kenneth Grahame ( ; 8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a British writer. He is best remembered for the classic of children's literature ''The Wind in the Willows'' (1908). Born in Scotland, he spent most of his childhood with his grandmother in ...

's depiction of

Mr. Toad Mr. Toad, of Toad Hall, is one of the main characters in the 1908 novel ''The Wind in the Willows'' by Kenneth Grahame. Inspiration The inspiration for Mr. Toad's wayward mischievousness and boastfulness was Kenneth Grahame's only child Alastai ...

in a Harris Tweed suit. Popular patterns include

houndstooth Houndstooth is a pattern of alternating light and dark check (fabric), checks used on fabric. It is also known as hounds tooth check, hound's tooth (and similar spellings), dogstooth, dogtooth or dog's tooth. The duotone pattern is characterized ...

, associated with

1960s fashion Fashion of the 1960s featured a number of diverse trends, as part of a decade that broke many fashion traditions, adopted new cultures, and launched a new age of social movements. Around the middle of the decade, fashions arising from small poc ...

, windowpane, gamekeeper's tweed worn by academics,

Glen plaid Glen plaid (short for Glen Urquhart plaid), also known as Glenurquhart check or Prince of Wales check, is a woollen fabric with a woven twill design of small and large checks. It is usually made of black/grey and white, or with more muted colou ...

check, originally commissioned by

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

, and herringbone. During the 2000s and 2010s, members of long-established British and American land-owning families started to wear high-quality heirloom tweed inherited from their grandparents, some of which pre-dated the Second World War. In modern times, cyclists may wear tweed when they ride vintage bicycles on a

Tweed Run The Tweed Run is a group bicycle living history ride through the centre of London, in which the cyclists are expected to dress in retro style traditional British cycling attire, particularly tweed plus four suits. Any bicycle is acceptable on ...

. This practice has its roots in the British

young fogey "Young fogey" is a term humorously applied, in British context, to some younger-generation, rather buttoned-down men, many of whom were writers and journalists. The term is attributed to Alan Watkins writing in 1984 in ''The Spectator''. However, ...

and hipster subcultures of the late 2000s and early 2010s, whose adherents appreciate both vintage tweed, and bicycles.

Musical instruments

Some vintage Danemann

upright piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal temper ...

s have a tweed cloth backing to protect the internal mechanism. Occasionally, Scottish

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, N ...

were covered in tweed as an alternative to

tartan Tartan or plaid ( ) is a patterned cloth consisting of crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming repeating symmetrical patterns known as ''setts''. Originating in woven wool, tartan is most strongly associated wi ...

wool. The term "tweed" is used to describe coverings on instrument cables and vintage or

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It has been argued that there is a nostalgia cycle in popular culture. Definition The term ...

guitar amplifier A guitar amplifier (or amp) is an electronic amplifier, electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a Pickup (music technology), pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce so ...

s, such as the

Fender tweed Fender tweed is a generic name used for the Fender Amplifiers, guitar amplifiers made by the American company Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, Fender between 1948 and 1960. The amplifiers are named for the cloth covering, which consists of ...

and

Fender Tweed Deluxe The Fender Deluxe guitar amplifier is a range of non-reverb guitar amplifiers produced by Fender. The amplifiers were originally produced from early 1948 to 1966 and reissues are in current production. Its predecessor was the Fender Model 26 " ...

. Despite the terminology, many of these coverings were not considered tweed but cotton twill due to the cover's design, which caused this misidentification of the design.

Types of tweed

* Harris Tweed: A handwoven tweed, defined in the Harris Tweed Act 1993 as cloth that is "Handwoven by the islanders at their homes in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides". *

Donegal tweed Donegal tweed is a woven Tweed (cloth), tweed manufactured in County Donegal, Ireland. Originally all handwoven, it is now mostly machine woven and has been since the introduction of mechanised looms in the 1950s-1960s. Donegal has for centurie ...

: A handwoven tweed which has been manufactured for several centuries in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, using wool from locally-bred sheep and dye from indigenous plants such as

blackberries BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are na ...

(whins), and

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

. * Silk tweed: A fabric made of

raw silk Raw Silk was an American dance music, dance band which originated in New York City, New York. History Raw Silk first signed to West End Records, a popular Paradise Garage, garage label for which they recorded songs that became moderate hits. T ...

with flecks of colour typical of woollen tweed. * Saxony tweed: Originated in Saxony, Germany. It is a fabric made from the wool of merino sheep. It is very smooth and soft.

Gallery

File:Harris-Tweed 1.jpg, Logo of the Harris Tweed authority File:Glen plaid.jpg,

, Glenurquhart, or Prince of Wales check, frequently used to make

overcoat An overcoat is a type of long coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment, which usually extends below the knee. Overcoats are most often used in winter when warmth is more important. They are sometimes confused with or referred to as #T ...

s and sportcoats in the 1950s File:Herringbone.jpg, Example of the herringbone pattern, a popular choice for

suit A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt su ...

s and outerwear File:Hundtandsrutor.png,

Houndstooth Houndstooth is a pattern of alternating light and dark check (fabric), checks used on fabric. It is also known as hounds tooth check, hound's tooth (and similar spellings), dogstooth, dogtooth or dog's tooth. The duotone pattern is characterized ...

, the basis of the keeper's tweed popular among the upper classes from the 1860s until the 1930s File:Tweed jacket edited.jpg, Grey

sportcoat A sport coat, also called a sport jacket (or sports coat or sports jacket in American English), is a men's smart casual lounge jacket designed to be worn on its own without matching trousers, traditionally for sporting purposes. Styles, fabrics, ...

File:Sherlock holmes pipe hat.jpg, A

deerstalker hat A deerstalker is a type of cap that is typically worn in rural areas, often for hunting, especially deer stalking. Because of the cap's popular association with the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, it has become stereotypical headgear fo ...

made of district or

gamekeeper In the United Kingdom, a gamekeeper (often abbreviated to keeper) is a person who manages an area of countryside (e.g., areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland) to make sure that there is enough Game (hunting), game for hunting, or fish ...

's tweed (contrasting mustard, green and brown checks) File:Man's silk and wool twill frock coat c. 1820.jpg, Windowpane tweed popular in the late 19th century and again in the 1970s File:The Crown Prince of Prussia and Prince Wilhelm II. at Balmoral Castle. - Oct. 1863.jpg, Frederick III with his young son Wilhelm wearing

highland dress Highland dress is the traditional, regional dress of the Highlands and Isles of Scotland. It is often characterised by tartan (''plaid'' in North America). Specific designs of shirt, jacket, bodice and headwear may also be worn. On rare occas ...

including tweed

kilt A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...

jacket File:Gustav V: fältkikare, sittkäpp, skjorta, slips röd t - Livrustkammaren - 86096.tif, Hunting apparel belonging to

Gustaf V of Sweden Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxem ...

, 1930s. File:Harris Tweed Nike.jpg, Harris Tweed Nike File:Charlie Hunter - 1863.PNG,

Charlie Hunter Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, producer and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass line ...

(''left'') watches as Old Tom Morris plays a shot in 1863 at Prestwick. Both of the players are wearing the traditional tweeds.

Notes

References

* * *
National Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE
(archive films relating to tweed manufacture in Scotland) * Anderson, Fiona (2016). ''Tweed''. London: Bloomsbury Academic Press. .

External links

* {{Authority control Wool Woven fabrics Scottish clothing