WAULKING A TWEED
We were part of the Glengarry Celtic Fair by 'Waulking a Tweed', July 2015
We were part of the Glengarry Celtic Fair by 'Waulking a Tweed', July 2015
Over the winter guild members have been busy weaving the tweed.
WAULKING THE TWEED
Waulking is a four-part finishing process that is applied to woven wool tweed. The first part, which the Twistle Guild members will be demonstrating, entails shrinking the fabric so it thickens to give a degree of wind and waterproofing. Then comes cleansing the cloth; followed by folding the cloth, the process of giving it tension; and finally came a rite of consecration. Traditionally, waulking was a daylong project and once begun it had to be finished in one session.
When cloth had been woven and removed from the loom, a session was planned. The waulking women assembled at the house of the owner of the cloth after breakfast. The tweed, up to 70 yards long, was sewn together at the ends to make a continuous loop and then traditionally it was soaked in stale urine which was saved in each house for this sole purpose. The ammonia served to deepen and intensify the dye colors but also to remove residual oils from the wool.
Waulking of cloth was done by pounding the material against a board. Women would sit around the waulking board and the cloth would be pulled towards you and beaten on the board then passed slightly to your left before pushing it back, moving it in a four-time clockwise direction as counter-clockwise was thought to bring bad luck. Cloth would be inches narrower when the process was complete in addition to being softer, thicker, and more tightly woven.
Accompanying this work were waulking songs, a musical form unknown elsewhere in Western Europe. The songs are very rhythmic and were composed to keep the beat as the cloth was being waulked. A singer would sing out the verse and then everyone would join in the chorus. The verses and choruses are very short, sometimes only a few syllables. The songs were of love, war, harvest, and daily life, often serving as a means to share gossip.
Examples of waulking songs can be seen online, such as this youTube clip from the television show “Outlander”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIKIQyCcqls
Waulking is a four-part finishing process that is applied to woven wool tweed. The first part, which the Twistle Guild members will be demonstrating, entails shrinking the fabric so it thickens to give a degree of wind and waterproofing. Then comes cleansing the cloth; followed by folding the cloth, the process of giving it tension; and finally came a rite of consecration. Traditionally, waulking was a daylong project and once begun it had to be finished in one session.
When cloth had been woven and removed from the loom, a session was planned. The waulking women assembled at the house of the owner of the cloth after breakfast. The tweed, up to 70 yards long, was sewn together at the ends to make a continuous loop and then traditionally it was soaked in stale urine which was saved in each house for this sole purpose. The ammonia served to deepen and intensify the dye colors but also to remove residual oils from the wool.
Waulking of cloth was done by pounding the material against a board. Women would sit around the waulking board and the cloth would be pulled towards you and beaten on the board then passed slightly to your left before pushing it back, moving it in a four-time clockwise direction as counter-clockwise was thought to bring bad luck. Cloth would be inches narrower when the process was complete in addition to being softer, thicker, and more tightly woven.
Accompanying this work were waulking songs, a musical form unknown elsewhere in Western Europe. The songs are very rhythmic and were composed to keep the beat as the cloth was being waulked. A singer would sing out the verse and then everyone would join in the chorus. The verses and choruses are very short, sometimes only a few syllables. The songs were of love, war, harvest, and daily life, often serving as a means to share gossip.
Examples of waulking songs can be seen online, such as this youTube clip from the television show “Outlander”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIKIQyCcqls