Cloth, care, mending, buying
A swatch book for clothes you mean to keep
Mills used to send out books of cut samples, each with a stitched edge and a paper ticket saying what it was. Tweed Yard works in the same spirit. Every article here is one sample of useful knowledge about British wool and the clothes made from it, mounted so that you can find it again.
We write for people who would rather wash a jumper properly than replace it. Start with how to check Harris Tweed, or go straight to the moths if you have found a hole this morning.
Photo: tanakawho, CC BY 2.0, source on Wikimedia Commons.
This season's bunch
All articles, by sectionBuying, No. 06What to check before buying a second-hand tweed jacketWalk around the jacket from the shoulders inward. Where to look, what can be fixed, and your rights.
Mending, No. 05How to darn a hole in a jumperA blunt needle, matching yarn and a hoop. Drawings show each stage of the weave.
Care, No. 04How to wash a wool jumper without shrinking itTen minutes, lukewarm water, no wringing, no radiator. And what to do when it has already gone wrong.
Care, No. 03How to get rid of clothes moths and keep them outAdults are not the problem. An order of work that goes after the larvae, starting with the freezer.
Cloth, No. 02What is the difference between tweed and herringbone?One is a cloth and the other a weave. Drawn diagrams show why a jacket can be both.
Cloth, No. 01How to tell if Harris Tweed is genuineThe Orb is the test. What the label proves, what it leaves out, and the sales words that prove nothing.
Learn to read a cloth
Most of the names on a rail describe either the yarn or the crossing of the threads. Four weaves cover a lot of what you will see, and our drawn guide shows how each one is built.
- Plain
- Twill
- Herringbone
- Houndstooth