Happy National Tweed Day!

Yes, it is National Tweed Day! I might be thinking about spring sewing and sitting on the edge of my seat for the new Summer Vogue patterns to hit the stores and/or go on sale. But shall we take a moment to swoon over some tweed in honour of this day?  

Vivienne Westwood Heart shaped collar Tweed blazer
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This day of honouring tweed fabric comes at a time when it is still nippy outside. Perfect for a good tweed jacket. The fabric blocking on this Vivienne Westwood blazer is beautiful.   

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Or how about a tweed handbag? 

So what is it about tweed that makes it so special that it calls for it's own special day? 

Well, tweed encompasses a wide range of rough textured, sturdy wool fabrics characterized by fibre-dyed, marked with spots of colour effects. Originating from Scotland, this fabric's colour effects were traditionally vegetable dyed yarns. Harris Tweeds is the most famous of tweed for its traditional hand crafted wool fabric.   

Chanel Suit {Source}

Coco Chanel, after discovering the exquisite qualities of tweed, played a part in making this a highly sought-after fabric using it in her iconic cardigan jacket. There is a lot of celebrate about tweed. It's a fabric rich with history and upholds a quality that is sadly becoming rare in a marketplace filled with wool blends and man-made fibres.    

Is there any celebratory tweed sewing going on in your workroom?  

Happy Sewing!