Welcome to our first Guest
Blogger - Christine Macleod from the famous Kilbarchan Weaver's
Cottage where she's curator, weaver and gifted enthusiast of all
things tartan and the little village of Kilbarchan which used to
house over 800 individual weavers.
Went to the Isle of Bute with my daughters Iona and Cara on the
day the weaving Society of William Wallace tartan came off the
loom.
The building , now Bute Fabrics, was once a convent and an
orphanage with the
addition of the workshops to hold the ten or so looms This west
coast island mill works to create beautiful cloth, which is sent
all over the world. It produces fabric now furnishing places like
Hong Kong airport, The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and The Queen's
Gallery in Holyrood Palace.to name ut a few.
I met the managing director, James Sprint and a number of other
friendly staff, but spent most of the time with designers Catherine
and Fiona. They gave us a fascinating tour of the weaving shop and
all the techniques involved in production. It was amazing to see
how weaving has developed today from the old traditional handloom
that I use in a village just a few miles over the water. When I
first saw the piece of cloth for the Wallace Society being woven,
it was an emotional moment. From the initial ideas for shades and
thread count, designed to include important links with our patriot
William Wallace, came a beautiful piece of cloth that I'm sure that
many people will be proud to wear.
The attention to detail was immense. The cloth is woven on a
rapier loom, the first time that I have seen such modern technology
in action! Stuart, the weaver is a man of Bute and his equivalent
in 1298 would have gone with Wallace to the Battle of Falkirk.
We were then shown all of the processes of inspection that the
tartan will go through before it leaves the island bound for the
finishers in Galashiels and Selkirk, before being returned to Ken
MacDonald's shop in Paisley for uplift by he members of The
Society!
One of my daughters present said that she could see that Bute
Fabrics was "my kind of place", believe me, that's a huge
compliment! It was an unforgettable day, and the very first time
that any cloth that I have designed has ever been commercially
produced. It is not done for profit or gain, but because it means
omething very personal to many people. I wish that they could all
have been there to see it happen and produced on an island so close
to home that has such historic links with Wallace. It is a small
place that takes the tradition of Scotland and Scottish fabrics to
the wider world and breaks barriers between traditional and
contemporary design. It is roducing top quality fabrics to suit
today's environment and expectations. I could think of no better
place this to have this tartan woven.