This month’s blog takes a look at a traditional tweed process that is an important part of Scotland’s cultural heritage: waulking.
Waulking (in Gaelic luadh) is an age-old method of hand-finishing newly woven tweed to thicken and soften it. In the Highlands & Islands this work was traditionally done by groups of women, working around a communal table or other flat surface while singing rhythmic ‘waulking songs’ (òrain luaidh). This activity survived in parts of the Hebrides – including in the Minginish peninsula on Skye – until the mid-20th century. Today, though, it is all done by machines.
Many waulking songs have been passed down through the generations, and you can often hear them performed by contemporary Gaelic musicians. Some passionate enthusiasts are taking things further. Sgioba Luaidh Inbhirchluaidh, the Inverclyde Waulking Group, is a remarkable group of women based on the west coast of Scotland. They believe it’s important not only to preserve these songs but to ‘work’ them to bring them alive.
The group gives regular performances combining singing with waulking demonstrations. A good dose of improvisation and gossip are an important part of the mix too. Very occasionally they will ‘work’ a proper raw tweed, which is where we come in. More on that later – but first, what is waulking exactly?
The waulking process
When woollen tweed is fresh off the loom, the weave is quite loose and the fabric can be stiff and rough. The purpose of waulking (or fulling) is to make it softer, thicker and more airtight.
The cloth is first soaked in a liquid called maistir to help set the dye and soften the cloth. Traditionally this would have been stale urine – but Sgioba Luaidh assure us that warm water mixed with ammonia does the job for them!
The wet cloth is then spread around a communal table for waulking. Women sitting around the table pass the cloth around while rhythmically beating it. The songs help keep the rhythm going. There are different songs for different parts of the process. The cloth is always moved clockwise, as anti-clockwise is considered bad luck. Each woman pulls the tweed towards her and then passes it slightly to the left before pushing it back, thumping the cloth on the table at the same time.
The process takes around three hours, so it’s not surprising that music and gossip is an important element. As co-founder of Sgioba Luaidh Inbhirchluaidh, Frances Dunlop, says: “The whole process was – is – very therapeutic. In the songs you can express your every emotion; the hypnotic thumping of the cloth on the table helps to release all your tensions and frustrations; in the company of your friends you can have a good gossip, and talk over problems. It’s great ‘female bonding’!”
Once the cloth has shrunk by about 20% and the texture feels thick enough, it is time to wash and rinse it.
It’s then squeezed out before going back to the table to be rolled up on to a board. The women work the tweed as they roll to ensure it is straight. This part of the process is accompanied by another set of songs. After one day rolled around the board it is rolled again the other way to ensure it lies flat. Then the tweed is dried properly.
Waulking at Auchindrain Township
We’ve been lucky to collaborate twice with Sgioba Luaidh Inbhirchluaidh, and hope to do more in the future. The most recent was last year at Auchindrain Township in Argyll, where the pictures above were taken. With its restored longhouses, outbuildings and visitor centre this historic farming township is a beautifully preserved evocation of 19th century Highland life.
Sgioba Luaidh Inbhirchluaidh agreed to hand-finish a 10 metre length of our Skye Wool tweed. I was lucky to join in the process, though I admit not for the full three hours. I also excused myself from the singing! It was a very special experience. Working alongside these amazing women in a hands-on process that truly involves all the senses, I felt a powerful connection to the past.
Have a look at our video to see the journey from raw tweed to finished roll.
Our previous collaboration was a few years ago when the group gave a waulking demonstration with one of our first ever lengths of Skye Wool. Our short film of that event is one of our most popular videos – watch it on YouTube.
Our hand-waulked tweeds
For obvious reasons it’s not practical to hand-finish the bulk of our tweeds today. Today this job is done for us by Schofield Dyers and Finishers in the Scottish Borders. You can find out about the process in the ‘sheep to tweed’ section of our website.
So the small lengths of hand-waulked tweed that resulted from our two collaborations with Sgioba Luiadh Inbhirchluaidh really are special. We knew we had to use them to create something exceptional – but what?
We struck on the idea of using them to make hand-fasting ribbons. Hand-fasting is a traditional Celtic ritual that symbolises a couple’s commitment to each other and is now a popular addition to many Scottish wedding and civil partnership ceremonies. Imbued with tradition, and very limited edition, our hand-waulked tweed seems the perfect way to ‘tie the knot’.
We’ve created two versions of the handfasting ribbon – the Green Herringbone version you can see here, and a Natural Diamond Twill version using the tweed from our earlier collaboration.
If you’d like to hear some traditional waulking songs have a browse through Tobar an Dualchais / Kist o Riches, a rich online resource dedicated to audio recordings of Scotland’s cultural heritage. And to find out more about waulking, Sgioba Luaidh Inbhirchluaidh’s website is a great place to start. Even better, check out their forthcoming events to watch Sgioba Luaidh Inbhirchluaidh in action!