Tartan is the brightly checked, woollen cloth synonymous with Scotland, yet Scotland has offered more to the world of woven textiles.

Weaving is the process by which two sets of threads are interlaced at right angles to form a continuous web. Using different threads, whether animal, vegetable or mineral and mixing different colours and structures, different cloths are achieved. This article outlines the history of distinctly Scottish woven cloths.

Development and expansion
The earliest weaving industry in Scotland was based mainly on making linen from home-grown flax on cottage handlooms. In addition, by the 16th century, rough woollen cloth was being produced in the Lowlands, and in the Highlands wool was used in Clan Chief’s tartans. England had restricted exports of Scottish wool to England, and after the Act of Union in 1707 English wool imports into Scotland were encouraged. During the 18th and 19th centuries sheep replaced cattle on the Highland Estates, further encouraging the use of wool fibres.

Shepherds from the Borders wore a woollen cream and bluish checked plaid that they introduced to the Highlands. The later black and white version was made popular by the novelist Sir Walter Scott. In the 1830s, as she was not entitled to a Clan Tartan, Mrs Ellice (nee Balfour) of the Highland Estate of Glen Feshie, added a red overcheck to differentiate her ghillies from the shepherds. This led to many variations of colour and weave effects, known as District Checks. In the 1840s blended colours were introduced for lovat mixture camouflage cloths used in hunting, fishing and shooting, and later in the Army. In the 1840s Lady Dunmore introduced Harris Tweed from the Outer Hebrides to her aristocratic friends as sportswear. Most of these cloths were based on twill/tweel weave, which possibly became known as tweed due to a wrongly written invoice from William Watson of Hawick in 1826 to James Locke, a London merchant.

Sir Walter Scott also popularised the modern use of tartan. After the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, the wearing of tartan by men had been banned for 35 years, but he persuaded George IV to wear it on the Edinburgh state visit of 1822. Prince Albert created a Balmoral tartan for the Royal Family, who have continued to be enthusiastic supporters.

Technological growth
The industrial revolution was based on the introduction of power, technological improvements and new materials, with production concentrated on fewer, but larger, sites. Scottish mills with power looms were smaller than their English counterparts but specialised in a quality product.

In the west of Scotland jacquard looms were introduced to Paisley (in the 1840s for shawl making) and the Irvine Valley (in 1877 for lace weaving); local inventions by Thomas Morton (Kilmarnock 1824) and James Templeton (Glasgow 1839) helped the expanding woollen carpet industry; and cotton imports led to flax and silk being superseded. Silk weaving had rivalled that of England and France in the mid 1700s.

In the east new improved linens were produced in Edinburgh, Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy. From the 1820s in Dundee, imported jute began to replace flax.

Elsewhere wool gained in importance, particularly in Galashiels and the Borders. Finer spun wools, known as worsteds, were achieved, and used in Thornproof and Bannockburn cloths and by Reid and Taylor in their manufacture of ‘the most expensive twist suiting in the world’. Crombies of Aberdeen specialised in heavy double cloths with a fine appearance, exporting to Russia. Much later, in the 1960s, modified shuttles were used by Bernat Klein to produce exotic fancy tweeds of mohair and velvet ribbons for haute couture.

Decline and regeneration
In addition to changes caused by foreign competition and lack of investment, loss of markets has also been caused by changes in fashion, eg the demise of Paisley shawls coinciding with the end of the crinoline in the 1870s, and modern lifestyles requiring lighter fabrics than the original Harris Tweeds. Fashion designers such as Vivienne Westwood are now using lighter weight Harris Tweeds and tartans.

In the 1960s and 1970s many companies chose to diversify into furnishings; Bute Fabrics in Rothesay made the switch from fashion to woollen furnishings for the international contract market, often collaborating with furniture designers. In the 1980s Laura Ashley used the Victorian lace jacquards for soft furnishings. Recently Stoddard International collaborated on the film ‘Titanic’ by remaking carpets to their original designs.

New blood
Students have come from the Scottish colleges of art and design, encouraged by placements in industry (mainly organised by The Scottish Woollen Publicity Council during the 1980s and 1990s), as well as in studios such as the Edinburgh Tapestry Co. (This studio, largely under the leadership of Archie Brennan in the 1960s and 1970s, encouraged a Scottish tapestry renaissance.) Some graduates have set up their own businesses, eg The Thrie Estaits, returning to traditional values using computerised looms. Others have studios with computerised handlooms for weaving craft items.

Books and Articles
Books

Background reading
In addition to a general history of Scotland read to put industry into its historical political and social context, the following texts set Scottish weaving in its industrial background.

Ferguson, W, Scotland 1689 to the Present (Edinburgh: Mercat Press, 1994)

Hamilton, H, The Industrial Revolution in Scotland (London: Frank Cass & Co Ltd, 1966)

Lockhart, J K, The Life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart (London: A&C Black, 1893)

Scott, P H, 1707 – The Union of Scotland and England (Edinburgh: Chambers, 1979)

Smout, T C, Scottish Trade on the Eve of the Union 1660-1707 (Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1963)

Smout, T C, A History of the Scottish People 1560-1830 (London: Fontana Press, 1985)

Smout, T C, A Century of the Scottish People 1830-1950 (London: Fontana Press, 1987)

Whately, C A, The Industrial Revolution in Scotland (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997)


Specific Reading on Weaving in Scotland
Bathurst, B, The Lighthouse Stevensons (London: HarperCollins, 1999): 111-113

Butler, L (ed), Scotland’s Crafts (Edinburgh: National Museum of Scotland Publishing, 2000)

Butt, J and Ponting, K, Scottish Textile History (Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1987)

Durie, A J, 'The Fine Linen Industry in Scotland 1707-1822' in Chapman, S D (ed), The Textile Industries Vol 2 (London: I B Tauris, 1997): 582-596

Grimble, I Scottish Clans and Tartans (London: Hamlyn, 1977)

Gulvin, C, The Tweedmakers: A History of the Scottish Fancy Woollen Industry 1600-1914 (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1973)

Harrison, E S, Our Scottish District Checks (Edinburgh: National Association of Scottish Woollen Manufacturers, 1968)

Harrison, E P, Scottish Estate Tweeds (Elgin: Johnstons of Elgin, 1995)

Knox, Dr W W, Hanging by a Thread: The Scottish Cotton Industry 1850-1914 (Preston: Carnegie Publishing, 1995)

Mackay, J A, Rural Crafts in Scotland (London: Robert Hale & Co, 1976)

Morton, J, Three Generations in a Family Textile Firm (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1971)

Murray, N, The Scottish Handloom Weavers 1790-1850, a social history (Edinburgh: John Donald, 1978)

Oakley, C A, The Second City (Glasgow and London: Blackie & Son Ltd, 1946): 170-173

Reilly, V, The Paisley Pattern (Glasgow: Richard Drew Publishing Ltd, 1987)

Scarlett, James D, The Tartan Weavers Guide (London: Shepheard-Walwyn, 1985)

Scottish Crafts Now (Edinburgh: Scottish Development Agency, 1980)

Sutton, A, British Craft Textiles (London: Collins, 1985): 132-135

Sutton, A and Carr, R, Tartans: their art and history (London: Bellew Publishing Ltd, 1984)

Thompson, F, Harris Tweed – A Story of a Hebridean Industry (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1969)

Zaczek, I, Clans and Tartans of Scotland (London: Collins & Brown Ltd, 1998)

Rivers of the North – Their cities and their commerce (The London Printing and Engraving Co, 1894)


Articles

Mellis, R, ‘Great Cloths’, Spectrum (September 1991)

Reed, P, ‘Scotched Myth’, Sunday Times (25 August 1991)

Watson, J, ‘Tartan’s not dyed-in-the-wool Scots’, Scotland on Sunday (11 January 2004)

Whyte, D A, ‘Edinburgh Shawls and their Makers’, Costume No 10 (1976)

‘Designer puts modern shine on traditional garment’, The Times (25 July 2000)

‘Fabric of the Nation: Harris Tweed frays at the Edges’, Observer Scotland (18 February 1990)

‘Fabric of the Nation: lifting the gloom with a return to classic styles’, Observer Scotland (25 February 1990)

‘How tweed was freed’, The Herald (8 November 2003)

‘The Other Side of Tartan', The List (27 March–10 April 2003)

‘Salvation looms- high tech boost for pattern of the Isles’, Daily Express (1 December 1992)

‘21st Century Kilts’, Schuh Millennium Magazine No 8 (3 December 1999–31 March 2000)


Brochures and Catalogues

Morton, J, The Mortons: three generations of textile creation: Alexander Morton & Co, Morton Sundour Fabrics, Edinburgh Weavers (London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1973)

Rhodes, T E, Bute Fabrics (Polster Fashion, September 1991)

Harris Tweed (Harris Tweed Association)

Scottish Woollen Publicity Council, Scottish Wool Cloth Sample Book (London: Dept of Education and Training, United Kingdom branch, International Wool Secretariat)

Websites
Bernat Klein, woollen and synthetic textile manufacturer, Galashiels
www.hw.ac.uk/archive/html/bernatklein.html

Harris Tweed Authority, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis.
www.harristweed.com

Mill Tours, Johnstons of Elgin, Tel: 01343 554 099
www.johnstonscashmere.com

Mill Trail Visitor Centre, West Stirling Street, Alva, Tel: 08707200 605

New Lanark Mills, New Lanark World Heritage Site. 18th Century Cotton Mill.
www.newlanark.org.

Paisley Museum and Art Galleries, High Street, Paisley
www.renfrewshire.gov.uk

Scottish Borders Textiles – weaving and knitwear companies from the Scottish Borders
www.scottishtextiles.com

Scottish Crafts Permanent Collection, Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh.
www.nms.ac.uk

Scottish Tartans Authority - information on tartan and District Checks
www.tartansauthority.com

Scottish Tartan Museum, Keith, Tel: 01542 888 419
www.keithcommunity.co.uk/site/museum.htm

The Scottish Tartans Society
www.scottish-tartans-society.co.uk

Scottish Textiles – Scottish Enterprises’ Textiles website
www.scottish-textiles.co.uk

Tartan Weaving Mill & Exhibition, Edinburgh Old Town Weaving Co, Castlehill, The Royal Mile, Edinburgh.
www.tartanweavingmill.co.uk

Verdant Works – A museum dedicated to Dundee’s textile industry
www.verdant-works.co.uk

Weaver’s Cottage, The Cross, Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, National Trust for Scotland Tel: 01505 705 588.
www.nts.org.uk