Working with Breanish Tweed

[T4phage]

Since there have been several topics on tweed floating around the fora, I thought I might share my experience working with Breanish Tweed, first with the original owner Mr. Ian Sutherland, and now with the current owners Iain MacLeod/Anna Murray.

Breanish tweed is most famously known for making the lightweight handwoven tweeds that Anderson & Shepard uses. The fabric is lightweight, probably around 12oz with a nice spongy hand, a perfect weight for a spring and fall sportscoat.

For the past few years, Ian Sutherland has been on what he calls 'semi-retirement' and was mainly doing work for A&S and doing small commissions for some private customers. I was lucky enough to be counted amongst the small group. Working with Ian was a great pleasure, he was always courteous and gave great insight into designs and colours. He has an uncanny eye for pattern and colour combinations, always coming up with the exact pattern and colours that we could only describe in words.

At the end of '07, Breanish was finally taken over by the new owners, and Ian still works in some capacity, helping in design amongst other things. Below are some pieces that my friends and I had commissioned.

Shetlands: (please ignore the two donegals on the left). As you can see I have a penchant for windowpanes.. The burgundy/brown mix I was fortuantely able to get made because of new EU laws that were passed, the dark brown dye that is used has now been banned, and Ian had just enough left to finish the commission.

One of our commissions on the loom (Lambswool):

Our latest commissions which are awaiting finishing. I don't have photos of the cloth, but the images hopefully will give you an idea. The first is a herringbone, one 'bone' being bottle green, while the other 'bone' being golden olive. It will have a rusty orangy windowpane. The second will be a herringbone, where one bone is a burgundy/aubergine, while the other bone will be an heathery golden olive. It will have a bottle green windowpane.
Here are the yarns that will compose the herringbones:

and the first herringbone will be very similar to this, but instead of the blue 'bone' it will be a bottle green.

With the new ownership of Breanish this means that such a lovely cloth will remain available for the forseeable future, and they are once again accepting commissions. So if you are interested in doing a special cloth of your own design, they are someone I would strongly recommend. The minimums are not high: 25 meters single width. And the prices are excellent for a handwoven fabric, easily below £30/mt.

www.breanishtweed.co.uk

 

[a tailor]

considering the highly skilled labor. and the amount of labor involved its a bargain.
if you like tweeds then hand wovens can be one of your treasures.

 

[voxsartoria]

Simply wonderful.

- B

 

[whnay.]

Really really great t4.

 

[oscarthewild]

Hello,

Are the yarns in the fabrics you have shown 2 ply? From the pics, it looks like it. Would it be possible to get 3 ply x 3ply.

Thanks

-

 

[TheFoo]

That's some beautiful stuff. I especially like the herringbone example. Is Breanish typically carried by tailors, or do I have to order some individually?

 

[Concordia]

If you e-mail the proprietors, they should be able to tell you if your chosen tailor is a regular client.

 

[T4phage]

Originally Posted by mafoofan

That's some beautiful stuff. I especially like the herringbone example. Is Breanish typically carried by tailors, or do I have to order some individually?

Since Ian Sutherland was in semi-retirement for the past few years, there are very few tailors who he supplied on a regular basis with the exception of A&S. However, with the restarting of Breanish under the new owners-weavers, their fabrics may soon be more widely available.

You could also contact them and ask which pieces they have available. There are not much left since Ian Sutherland had shut down their little store on Stornoway that sold tweed. The new owners are once again trying to build some stock that you can buy directly. Breanish also had some wonderful cashmeres and wool/silk blends in the past, and will do so again.

 

[Alias]

I like that orangish one at the bottom.

I had better score some of this tweed and get something made before my tailor moves to New York later this year.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Every time I see a picture of the top one, I am shocked at how good and subtle such a strong color combination can be. I would never have thought to combine the colors, but it really works well.

The others are great too, if slightly less unique, but I think the new ones promise to be the best of the lot.

 

[luk-cha]

i have some breanish tweed samples at home and they have a great feel of hand just can not wait till the ones i ordered arrive

 

[Smooth Jazz]

Nice report T4

I have used Breanish Tweed for several years -- at first -- going direct and then through A&S. The quality of the fabrics and the designs is second to none. Besides the above-mentioned windowpanes, they also have some lovely complex plaids that really blend together and don't stand out. I really hope they reissue some of those old designs -- because unlike most other tweed makers (not all!), these designs are unique and you are unlikely to find them or anything similar in any fabric book.

 

[chorse123]

Thank you for the informative post. Those really are low requirements for a commission. Hmm.....