Teasle raised tartan

[M. A. C. Newsome]

One of the cloth finish options I am able to offer for my Heirloom quality kilts is "teasle raised."

For those not familiar, a teasle is a plant (related to the thistle, I am told), the dried heads of which are commonly used to give a brushed finish to woolen fabrics. You can read about the teasle raising process here on my web site:
http://newhousehighland.com/heirloom_about.html

It's a good option for those who like a softer, more "fuzzy" hand on their kilts. I just received today a length of my own New House Highland tartan with a teasle raised finish, so I thought I'd give a review of my first impressions. It is similar to (though not exactly like) some of the older heavy weight saxony kilts I have dealt with. This is a worsted cloth, to be sure, but the brushed finish does give it more of that saxony feel; it's also similar to some of the older regimental weights.

The feel is more tweed-like than the usual smooth feel we typically associate with worsted, but not quite as "hairy" as Harris tweed, for instance. It's an in-between sort of texture. I rather like it.

Actually, what it reminds me the most of is a length of heavy weight worsted I ran through the washer and drier once, just as an experiment in seeing how much the cloth would felt up. The texture is near identical to how that "felted" length came out, the only difference being that there was also some slight shrinkage that occurred with my washed & dried length. No shrinkage is involved in the teasle raising, which you can see from these photos.

These are comparison photos, showing two lengths of my tartan, which were woven together. The cloth was cut in half, one length to be teasle raised, and the other to receive the standard finish.









I took several close up shots, to give a good view of the texture of the weave. The last shot is from more of a distance, to give an idea of the overall effect, and how a kilt may look made from such a cloth, compared to the standard finish. In that final photo, the teasle raised cloth is on the bottom.

[Chirs]

Thanks. That looks interesting. One question: what about the itch factor? Is the teasle raised more itchy than wool generally is?

[artificer]

Thanks. That looks interesting. One question: what about the itch factor? Is the teasle raised more itchy than wool generally is?

That would be my only potential issue with it as well.

The look, either way, is gorgeous. I can totally see a tartan in reproduction colours finished this way. It really softens the hard lines in the weave and gives it a 'much-loved', broken-in, look.

ith:

[sydnie7]

I imagine they only "teasle" the good side of the cloth, Matt? Or it could probably be ordered that way if need be. So unless you are sensitive to (say) your arms brushing against the outside of the kilt, there wouldn't be any difference on the side that's normally against your nethers.

All guesswork on my part. It does have a well-loved look to it.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

The teasle raised finish is on both sides of the cloth.

As for "itch factor" I'd say that if you are sensitive to wool to begin with, then yes, the tiny raised fibers would be more likely to irritate your skin, much like they would in a tweed cloth. (Though, as I mentioned in my first post, this cloth is not nearly as "hairy" as a typical Harris tweed is). So, if you can handle a tweed, you should be able to easily handle this.

But if you are not normally sensitive to wool, I don't think you'd have any problems with this. The treatment actually softens the cloth quite a bit. Handling it myself here, the word that comes to mind is "snuggly."

[davidlpope]

Matt,

Do you have similiar photos for unfinished cloth, similiar to the old hard tartan?

It would be great to see a visual comparison between the three options that you have available.

Cordially,

David

[davidlpope]

Matt,

Is this the same shade of green that Dalgliesh uses for their WOB colors?

[creagdhubh]

Very nice!

[piperdbh]

Did it turn out the way you and I discussed it a few weks ago?

[sydnie7]

The teasle raised finish is on both sides of the cloth. [snip]

That's interesting, I wonder why both sides? I suppose if the teasle fixture is set up to do both sides at once it wouldn't add cost (other than the teasles themselves, which I assume "wear out" and have to be replaced periodically). Perhaps that saves them figuring out which side the user will consider the "right" side!

Just idle thoughts, nothing more. Thanks for the further info.