Harris Tweed - Traditional clothing and materials

Harris Tweed

Tweed is a traditional, woven, heavy woolen outerwear fabric first made in Scotland. The name comes from tweel a Scottish word for twill and not the river Tweed as often thought. It is the fabric that was worn by many of the early Antarctic explorers and also the mountaineers who first attempted to scale peaks in the Alps and Himalayas.

Tweed that is made in the Scottish Outer Hebridean islands of Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra and called Harris Tweed, is widely acknowledged as being the finest available. In its homeland, this revered material is known in the original Gaelic as

Clò Mór, "The big cloth."

Today Harris Tweed is manufactured on the islands, still often woven in the homes of the islanders on their own looms.

The Harris Tweed Act, was passed by the British Parliament to give international protection to this unique international industry. The tweed is made in accordance with strictly controlled processes that combine traditional skills with modern methods.

Finished rolls of cloth that pass the strict criteria are submitted to the independent Harris Tweed examiner, who will certify that it conforms to the legal definition. If all is well, then the tweed will stamped with the Orb and Cross logo of the Harris Tweed Authority and the famous and exclusive "ORB" garment labels will be issued.

The Certification Mark was originally granted in 1909, registered in 1910 and stamping of the rolls of tweed began in 1911. Originally the cloth was made from wool that came exclusively from the islands where it was produced, but demand soon outstripped the supply from this source and in June 1934 amended regulations were made:

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