Hello all,
For fellow tweed enthusiasts here are two videos on the making of Donegal Tweed by two weavers in Ireland. One is a handweaver and if you've ever seen a Hattersly loom as used for Harris you'll appreciate the extra work and older style used on a Donegal loom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ2JObK-fTw
One of only two power-loom weavers left
http://www.nowness.com/day/2011/12/6/17 ... tage-tweed
Make sure you buy genuine Donegal at all times! Not "Donegal-effect", "Donegal-style" or anything else.
Making Donegal Tweed
Cathach,
Is there genuine donegal under 14oz? Which brands would you recommend?
Thanks,
Luis
Is there genuine donegal under 14oz? Which brands would you recommend?
Thanks,
Luis
Hello Luis,
Thanks for your interest. There are some Donegals by Magee at under that weight, but thats reaching the technical limit of the spinners and weavers for this type of fabric. The same way there are 11oz & 12oz flannels but in my view there's little point in having suits made in them due to issues with drape and wear.
Magee, Molloy & Sons, Studio Donegal & Eddie Doherty http://www.handwoventweed.com/ These are all very reputable makers and then there is http://www.kevinandhowlin.com/ a renowned stockist of handwoven Donegal tweed.
Here is an excerpt from the Put This On Blog
November 21, 2011
by Jesse
Donegal Tweed at Molloy & Sons
I just got back from a visit to the UK and Ireland, and one of the highlights was a sidetrip to Donegal, and the two-man woolen mill operated by Shaun Molloy and his son Kieran.
Donegal’s in the northwest corner of the Emerald Isle, and it’s known for its distinctive tweed. Donegal tweed is easy to pick out from other styles - its hallmark is the nubby flecks of color in the weave. Fabrics that may look like one color on the surface reveal a rainbow when you get in closer. It’s a look that’s been sought after for a couple hundred years now.
Shaun and Kieran come from generations of weavers. Shaun’s father, John, founded a woolen mill in the mid-20th century, but over the years that mill has gone from making tweed to making knits almost exclusively.
A couple of years ago, Kieran brought an industrial design degree back home, and he and his father decided to take the tweed-making equipment out of mothballs and start up a tiny artisinal weaving company. They called it Molloy & Sons.
The Molloy archive of patterns stretches back into the 60s, and the pattern has to be transformed from a swatch on the page into a pallette and a set of instructions.
The process of making tweed starts with dyed wool. It’s processed into yarn in Donegal, according to the Molloy’s specifications.
Then, that yarn is taken from its spools to a huge de-spooling machine, which sets it up to be woven. (All of these machines, by the way, are forty-plus years old.) When I was there, they were working on a fabric with a pretty simple color scheme (for a company whose name rhymes with “day shoe”), but for more colorful fabrics, every color has to be in exactly the right place.
Once the yarn’s unspooled, the Molloys program the weaving pattern into the big mechanical loom. Believe it or not, they do it with punchcards.
The long threads that go through the machine are called the warp. The machine’s job is to lift these up and down while shuttling through the weft yarn, which weaves over and under, back and forth, so fast you it doesn’t even show up in video.
The flecks, which you can see even in this black-and-white pattern, come from wool that’s been washed and felted before it’s spun into yarn. Because little bits of color are felted and don’t stretch out, they just glob onto the yarn like bubble gum on a piano string.
The flecks are a built in defect, in a way. Because they’re so unpredictable, the machine runs at a quarter the speed it would if it were weaving a plain worsted wool, like you might see in a suit at Macy’s. Shaun and Kieran have to keep a constant eye on things, tending to these imperfections as they come along.
Once the fabric comes out of the machine, they load it onto a huge roller, and run it through to check for problems. Their goal is to make a product that’s perfectly imperfect.
Weaving used to be one of Donegal’s largest industries, but today it’s almost gone. Unlike Harris & Lewis, where Harris Tweed is made, there are no trade protections for Donegal Tweed. Anyone can call anything “Donegal Tweed.” If you see a tweed in the store in a Donegal style, it was most likely woven on the cheap in China or Italy.
When Shaun and Kieran started making tweed again, there was only one tweed mill left in Donegal. Their factory, if you can call it that, sits just a few steps from the house where Kieran grew up… and where his father Shaun was raised. Something like half a dozen generations of weavers have lived there, in fact.
These guys aren’t quaint, and they’re not museum pieces for tourists to gawk at. They’re two sharp businessmen determined to develop a craft that has helped define who they were, who their families were, and what their home is. I think that’s pretty spectacular.
Thanks for your interest. There are some Donegals by Magee at under that weight, but thats reaching the technical limit of the spinners and weavers for this type of fabric. The same way there are 11oz & 12oz flannels but in my view there's little point in having suits made in them due to issues with drape and wear.
Magee, Molloy & Sons, Studio Donegal & Eddie Doherty http://www.handwoventweed.com/ These are all very reputable makers and then there is http://www.kevinandhowlin.com/ a renowned stockist of handwoven Donegal tweed.
Here is an excerpt from the Put This On Blog
November 21, 2011
by Jesse
Donegal Tweed at Molloy & Sons
I just got back from a visit to the UK and Ireland, and one of the highlights was a sidetrip to Donegal, and the two-man woolen mill operated by Shaun Molloy and his son Kieran.
Donegal’s in the northwest corner of the Emerald Isle, and it’s known for its distinctive tweed. Donegal tweed is easy to pick out from other styles - its hallmark is the nubby flecks of color in the weave. Fabrics that may look like one color on the surface reveal a rainbow when you get in closer. It’s a look that’s been sought after for a couple hundred years now.
Shaun and Kieran come from generations of weavers. Shaun’s father, John, founded a woolen mill in the mid-20th century, but over the years that mill has gone from making tweed to making knits almost exclusively.
A couple of years ago, Kieran brought an industrial design degree back home, and he and his father decided to take the tweed-making equipment out of mothballs and start up a tiny artisinal weaving company. They called it Molloy & Sons.
The Molloy archive of patterns stretches back into the 60s, and the pattern has to be transformed from a swatch on the page into a pallette and a set of instructions.
The process of making tweed starts with dyed wool. It’s processed into yarn in Donegal, according to the Molloy’s specifications.
Then, that yarn is taken from its spools to a huge de-spooling machine, which sets it up to be woven. (All of these machines, by the way, are forty-plus years old.) When I was there, they were working on a fabric with a pretty simple color scheme (for a company whose name rhymes with “day shoe”), but for more colorful fabrics, every color has to be in exactly the right place.
Once the yarn’s unspooled, the Molloys program the weaving pattern into the big mechanical loom. Believe it or not, they do it with punchcards.
The long threads that go through the machine are called the warp. The machine’s job is to lift these up and down while shuttling through the weft yarn, which weaves over and under, back and forth, so fast you it doesn’t even show up in video.
The flecks, which you can see even in this black-and-white pattern, come from wool that’s been washed and felted before it’s spun into yarn. Because little bits of color are felted and don’t stretch out, they just glob onto the yarn like bubble gum on a piano string.
The flecks are a built in defect, in a way. Because they’re so unpredictable, the machine runs at a quarter the speed it would if it were weaving a plain worsted wool, like you might see in a suit at Macy’s. Shaun and Kieran have to keep a constant eye on things, tending to these imperfections as they come along.
Once the fabric comes out of the machine, they load it onto a huge roller, and run it through to check for problems. Their goal is to make a product that’s perfectly imperfect.
Weaving used to be one of Donegal’s largest industries, but today it’s almost gone. Unlike Harris & Lewis, where Harris Tweed is made, there are no trade protections for Donegal Tweed. Anyone can call anything “Donegal Tweed.” If you see a tweed in the store in a Donegal style, it was most likely woven on the cheap in China or Italy.
When Shaun and Kieran started making tweed again, there was only one tweed mill left in Donegal. Their factory, if you can call it that, sits just a few steps from the house where Kieran grew up… and where his father Shaun was raised. Something like half a dozen generations of weavers have lived there, in fact.
These guys aren’t quaint, and they’re not museum pieces for tourists to gawk at. They’re two sharp businessmen determined to develop a craft that has helped define who they were, who their families were, and what their home is. I think that’s pretty spectacular.
Thank You!
Best,
Luis
Best,
Luis
Great post
Have run into a couple of weavers, in Ireland, who knit aran style sweaters on various islands...which use Donegal tweed
Will update the faithful when the commissions are complete
Have run into a couple of weavers, in Ireland, who knit aran style sweaters on various islands...which use Donegal tweed
Will update the faithful when the commissions are complete
At the risk of incurring the ire and wrath of fellow ofrumists, given this is the "bespoke" area... Does anyone know of anyone selling good Aran tweed jackets (includign RTW) in London?
Luca,
Not at all, but can you clarify what you mean by Aran tweed exactly? Its a term most associated with knitted garments.
Two stockists from the Magee site:
Sayers A & Co
5 New Broadway
Ealing
London
W5 5AW
Phone: 0208 567 4485
The Suit Consultancy
57 Liverpool Street
London
EC2N 7QN
Bookster also have Donegal cloth http://www.tweed-jacket.com/ as do A Hume http://www.ahume.co.uk/Magee/c-1-128/
Many of the traditional 'country clothing' type outfitters would have Donegals, or at least should be able point you in the right direction. Sorry if this comes across as an advert for Magee but they're one of the very few who do any RTW Donegals and certainly the widest available. Studio Donegal also sell some jackets http://www.studiodonegal.ie/Mens-Clothing/c-1-136/
Not at all, but can you clarify what you mean by Aran tweed exactly? Its a term most associated with knitted garments.
Two stockists from the Magee site:
Sayers A & Co
5 New Broadway
Ealing
London
W5 5AW
Phone: 0208 567 4485
The Suit Consultancy
57 Liverpool Street
London
EC2N 7QN
Bookster also have Donegal cloth http://www.tweed-jacket.com/ as do A Hume http://www.ahume.co.uk/Magee/c-1-128/
Many of the traditional 'country clothing' type outfitters would have Donegals, or at least should be able point you in the right direction. Sorry if this comes across as an advert for Magee but they're one of the very few who do any RTW Donegals and certainly the widest available. Studio Donegal also sell some jackets http://www.studiodonegal.ie/Mens-Clothing/c-1-136/
-
- Information
-
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 64 guests