Evidence of a regional motif in old plaids from Appin and Lorn

[M. A. C. Newsome]

From a Highland perspective I am unaware of any guild system and it would seem very unlikely given the rural nature of the culture and so it is much more likely that it was a family tradition in a glen or district in the same way that there was the miller, blacksmith etc. This differed greatly from the Braelands and Lowlands; for example, Crieff (well actually a separate township that is now part of the town) was famous for weaving plaids, where there were established guilds with a Deacon, Masters and apprentices.

The division of labour is much more tricky to define but I have read somewhere that the women used to doing the spinning and dyeing (the former being something that could be done with a distaff whilst carrying out other home duties or even when walking) whereas the weaver was generally male.

That's how I understand it, as well, Peter. I borrowed a video from Marjorie Warren once that was about the weaving tradition in a Scottish town (could it have been Kilbarchan?) and it followed the story of a family. The father was the master weaver, bringing up his son in the trade. His wife and daughters did the spinning. I don't recall if they also dyed their yarns or sent them out to be dyed, it has been so long. But that video mentioned that weaving was generally a male trade while spinning and dyeing were performed by women. Does this video sound familiar to you? I borrowed it from her for a presentation at a school once and it worked excellently for that purpose. I should ask her about it again.

[creagdhubh]

Very interesting indeed, thanks Peter, et al.

Cheers,

[figheadair]

That's how I understand it, as well, Peter. I borrowed a video from Marjorie Warren once that was about the weaving tradition in a Scottish town (could it have been Kilbarchan?) and it followed the story of a family. The father was the master weaver, bringing up his son in the trade. His wife and daughters did the spinning. I don't recall if they also dyed their yarns or sent them out to be dyed, it has been so long. But that video mentioned that weaving was generally a male trade while spinning and dyeing were performed by women. Does this video sound familiar to you? I borrowed it from her for a presentation at a school once and it worked excellently for that purpose. I should ask her about it again.

Matt, don't know the video in question but it was quite possibly Kilbarchan which has a working loom as part of a National Trust property. They do weave tartan there but that's very much a C20th tradition and before that the village was a centre for more general textiles, linen, cambet etc. Details are here.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

The video was not about weaving tartan per se but rather about the old weaving trade in Scotland generally speaking. It was set in either the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. You can tell it's been a while since I have seen it, no? :-) I shall have to ask Marge if she still has it next time we speak.