The Story of Tweed

Discover the ancient history of tweed with Lochcarron of Scotland. Amongst our vast collection of authentic tartans, we also weave traditional tweed fabric. We have a whole library of information on the traditional craft of tweeds to share with you.

Not only specialising in the production of tartan, at Lochcarron of Scotland we also pride ourselves in producing quintessentially Scottish tweed fabric. Whether it is to sit beautifully alongside your traditional heavyweight kilt in a jacket and waistcoat ensemble, or to be worn as a lighter weight kilt and other tailored goods, tweed is another iconic woven cloth originating from Scotland.

Originating a little later than tartan, in around the 18th century, tweed is recognised as being traditionally coarse woven cloth made from pure virgin wool. Typically woven in earthy tones, dyed naturally from local plants and moss, before being washed in soft peat water. It is said that the Scottish weaver wanted to make a denser and heavier cloth, which was achieved by developing the twill pattern, a now traditional woven structure seen in tartan and tweed.

As a fabric, tweed was firstly called ‘tweel’, its now name came around after it was thought to be named after the River Tweed in Scotland, the name stuck and has been called tweed ever since. Worn commonly by the upper class when taking part in hunting, shooting and fishing due to its hard-wearing and everlasting qualities, it has now been adapted to link in with popularised designer trends with the introduction of brighter colours, making it more versatile on the runway.