The traditional techniques used to create Donegal tweed have helped it garner an international following and how new fibre blends are transforming the fabric for a new generation.
Donegal tweed is world-famous for its unique character, reflecting the rugged landscape of Donegal, in the most North West corner of Ireland. Here at Magee Weaving, we are surrounded by this breathtaking scenery looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean where the next port of call is America.
It is a wealth of colour, hills purple with heather, mountains white with quartz, golden beaches, rich green pastures and peaty moors ranging in colours from brown to black. The weather patterns change the colours and perspective of the countryside almost by the hour.
Established in 1866, Magee Weaving is one of the oldest family-owned mills in Ireland. Its origins lie in handweaving and it is this heritage and location which have influenced the mill’s work for the last 144 years. Although Magee has developed into an international design house with a worldwide reputation, today’s young team within the mill never forget their provenance.
Originally all of Donegal tweed was hand-woven and this ancient craft can be dated back to the middle ages in Ireland. From one generation to the next, the traditional skill and craftsmanship of hand-weaving has been passed through families in Donegal. Magee takes great pride in supporting this ancient craft and offering bespoke hand-woven cloth.
In earlier times hand-weaving was part of rural life, along with farming, thatching and fishing. The original tweed was a white warp, with a weft speckled with colour across it, which reflected the granite speckled hills of the surrounding countryside.
As dyeing cloth was such a laborious process with vegetable dyes, the art of dying small balls of wool fibre was developed, which were then combed into the wool before being carded and spun into yarn, thus creating Donegal yarn.
Traditionally, the yellow gorse flowers, orange rock lichen, red fuchsias, purple black berries and black turf would be gathered to dye the wools before they were hand-spun into a unique blend of colours. It is these highlights or flecks of brightly contrasting colours which burst gently on the surface of the yarn which give Donegal tweed its distinctive appearance.
Donegal tweed was originally woven from Donegal yarn which was spun from the wools of the sheep that roamed the hills and moors of Donegal. A true Donegal yarn is always made from natural fibres and these were always pure new wool.
The weaves in Donegal tweed were named from the patterns the weavers saw around them in nature. Fish bones from the wild Atlantic Ocean were the inspiration for herringbones, while fields of barley were the inspiration for barleycorn. The mountains, speckled with quartz, inspired the pattern for salt and pepper, which as the name implies is a plain weave of black and white with sparkling flecks of silver, camel and taupe that glint gently from the cloth.
Once the cloth has been woven in the weaver’s cottages in the mountains of Donegal, the cloth is collected and brought to the Magee mill in Donegal Town. The location of the mill is particularly advantageous in this respect, as the water for the washing of the cloths comes from the peaty River Eske which flows from the Bluestack Mountains through raised bog lands of peat on its journey to the Atlantic Ocean. The peaty water makes the cloth beautifully soft and the handle of the cloth reflects this.
Each hand-woven length carries the label that bears the signature of the weaver and is a mark of the pride taken in lovingly creating Donegal tweed.
Today Magee’s tweed has come a long way from the rather coarse and scratchy tweed that was woven in the 1800s for both farmer and landowner alike. The Magee mill has also developed significantly from those early days. It is still a small mill owned by the Temple family, now in their fourth generation, offering hand-woven cloth on original wooden looms in weavers’ cottages. However, Magee has also developed into a world-class weaving mill, famous for its design of innovative fabrics while staying true to our heritage.
Donegal’s remote location does not stop the design team’s quest for the latest trend, fibre or art exhibition that may inspire the development of a new yarn, reflecting a rich blend of fibres with Donegal flecks in the latest fashion colours crackling on the surface. We have also moved on from the original 100% wool Donegal yarns to include new luxurious natural fibres such as mohair, cashmere and lambswool. Reminiscing through our archives, we take great pleasure in recreating the traditional Donegal wool yarns in cashmere or new lightweight lambswool.
Donegal tweed has a strong following of traditional customers from London’s Savile Row to New York’s Madison Avenue, but it is just as likely to be seen in a Jimmy Choo shoe or a quirky, preppy deconstructed jacket for the younger generation, who are discovering tweed for the first time and enjoying its expressive sense of colour and fun.
Magee Weaving is a team made up of 51 families who take great pride in creating Donegal tweed, whether for our international fashion customers or those looking for the subtler charms of the gentle hand-woven fabric. Donegal tweed reflects what is unique about the rugged landscape, the relaxed lifestyle and the Irish character.
Take the tweed between your thumb and forefinger; close your eyes and imagine the peat’s ancient aroma, the roar of the Atlantic Ocean and the click of the old wooden loom...This is Donegal tweed.