Tweed

What is tweed? Tweed is a high-quality wool fabric with light yarn knobs on the surface. It is commonly used for sturdy outerwear such as coats, jackets, and hats in typical herringbone or check patterns. One handwoven quality is Harris Tweed, which is exclusively produced on the Outer Hebrides, an island group off Scotland. The trademark, which has been protected since 1910, is still manually crafted from local wool and bears a Maltese cross as its hallmark.

Tweed originates from the river of the same name in Scotland and is attributed to a coincidence. Allegedly, a London merchant could not decipher the handwriting of a Scottish textile manufacturer who corresponded with him about "Tweel" (Scottish for English "twill," referring to a wool fabric with a characteristic weave structure). He interpreted it as a brand name for the regional wool products along the River Tweed.