Scottish Tweeds and District Checks

About class

Tweed cloth has been woven in Scotland for centuries, using natural sheep colors and local plant dyes that imitate the colors of the heather hills. The earliest simple patterned cloth was the Shepherd’s check, from which many simple variations have been created. All the great houses of England’s Borderlands and the Lowlands of Scotland had woven tweeds or checks that were woven in quantity to clothe their groundsmen, grooms and foresters, even Downton Abbey has a registered tweed pattern! In this class we will sample these patterns and discuss their history, traditional finishing techniques and their possibilities for modern weavers in a round robin fashion. A mini-waulking can be held at the end of class!