tweed

A rough—surfaced woolen material with a homespun surface effect. Tweed was originally made by hand in the homes of the country people near the Tweed River which separates England from Scotland. Yarn is usually dyed before weaving, and often woven in two or more colors to obtain some sort of pattern, check or plaid.

Tweed is the Scotch word for twill. Tweeds are closely allied to homespuns. They should be made from·a 2-up and 2-down twill weave of 45 degrees. Homespuns and tweeds can be used to shown readily the difference between the plain weave and the twill weave. In tweeds, several variations of twill weaves are often used — broken twills, straight twill weave, color effects, pointed twills, twilled baskets, fancy entwining twills, braided twills, diamond weaves, ice—crean effects and conbinations of these weaves taken in a group. Much variation of
design and color is noted in the cloth. Some of the more prominent tweeds that have won their place in the trade are: Scotch, English, Irish, Bannockburn, Donegal, Kenmare, Linton, O‘Brien, Selkirk, Cornish, Harris, Lincoln, Cheviot, Manx, etc.

There are certain cloths sold as homespuns which in reality are tweeds, and vice versa. Consequently , in the trade, it can be seen that each I cloth may be made with either weave, plain or some twill, and be accepted by the public under the name given to it. Homespuns, when used as tweeds, have the heaviest weight of the cloths in question. It has the average characteristics — yarn, feel, finish, twist, body. From this it may be gleaned that in the in the trade today the heavy homespun is classed as a tweed. Disregarding the trade and looking at the problem from the mill and manufacturing angles, the following may prove of interest: the homespun must be made from plain weave, the tweed from a twill weave. I After the cloth leaves the mill it may be called tweed or homespun to suit the whims of the public.

In many of the outlying districts of the world today, both cloths are hand—loomed and the industry is on a firm footing. Many of our Southern states make quite a little of the cloth. Asheville homespuns from the I Carolinas and other nearby sections are sold in the best stores in the large cities and bring high prices here and abroad. They have color backgrounds, tradition, sentiment, history, a psychological appeal and, best of all, are correctly advertised to catch the eye of the person financially situated who can afford to pay the rather high prices of these fabrics.

All wool, unless otherwise stated.

• Cheviot Tweed — Differs from other tweeds in that warp and filling are stock—dyed the same color. Wide range of colors are noted and quality varies much. Popular cloth.
  

• Donegal Tweed — A plain weave woolen fabric characterized by colored slubs woven into the cloth.
  

• Harris Tweed — Trade name for an imported tweed made of virgin wool from the Highlands of Scotland, spun, dyed and handwoven by islanders in Harris and other of the outer Hebrides Islands. Must be properly labeled.
  

• Irish Tweed - Made of white warp with filling of dark shades of grey,blue, brown and black. Weave is 2-up and 2—down twill.
  

• Monotone Tweed - Tweed of mixed effect produced by weaving together yarns of different shades of the same color.
  

• Scotch Tweed — Cloth with a white warp and stock—dyed filling, or vice versa. The colors used are often vivid and much contrast is noted in the garment. This tweed often has shoddy, mungo, extract wool, etc.used in its construction. Yarn is very irregular and the fibers are of all lengths. Also refers to any cotch homespun tweed.