The Joy Of Welsh Tapestry

Tweed is a medium-to-heavy weight fabric, usually rough in surface texture, and produced in a great variety of colour and weave effects.  The names of these weaves are largely determined by the place they were  manufactured.  The descriptions “Scottish,” “Welsh", "Cheviot,” “Saxony,” “Harris,” “Yorkshire,” “Donegal,” and “West of England,” for example, cover an extremely wide range of woollen and mixture cloths. Most tweeds are made entirely of pure wool; but an increasing number consist of blends of wool and cotton, wool and rayon, or wool and man-made fibres, each of which adds a special property such as crease resistance.

For this particular blog I would like to focus on Welsh tapestry tweed only because I love it. It isn’t traditional like checks and herringbone it is woven into beautiful intricate patterns using a much more adventurous colour palette. It is still produced today but was especially popular in the 1960s for coats and capes. Some of the patterns remind me of snowflakes others look really quite opulent. The edges of the 1960s and 1970s garments were often bound in a contrasting edge. Welsh tapestry bedspreads have been woven for over 100 years. The coverlets (carthenni in Welsh), were traditionally given as wedding presents and handed down as heirlooms. Take a look at our Welsh tweed vintage bags & vintage coats.