Harris Tweed, Tolastadh a chaolais.
Following a loud clackerty clack led me to a garden shed and this chap.
The noise inside the shed was something else, can't imagine he would have much hearing left after a few years of it.
He tells me that there are only twenty or so people on Lewis and five on Harris still weaving the Tweed.
The sheared sheep wool is taken to a co-operative, cleaned, weighed, dyed, carded and turned into a basic yarn before having a twist put into it and wound onto large bobbins.
The bobbins are then sent to a home weaver who sets up the Treadle loom, and makes the cloth which is then sent back to the factory for final cleaning and finishing.
Only cloth weaved this way on the Outer Hebrides can be called Harris Tweed.
Harris Tweed, Tolastadh a chaolais.
Following a loud clackerty clack led me to a garden shed and this chap.
The noise inside the shed was something else, can't imagine he would have much hearing left after a few years of it.
He tells me that there are only twenty or so people on Lewis and five on Harris still weaving the Tweed.
The sheared sheep wool is taken to a co-operative, cleaned, weighed, dyed, carded and turned into a basic yarn before having a twist put into it and wound onto large bobbins.
The bobbins are then sent to a home weaver who sets up the Treadle loom, and makes the cloth which is then sent back to the factory for final cleaning and finishing.
Only cloth weaved this way on the Outer Hebrides can be called Harris Tweed.