Tartan weaver on the Royal Mile

[labricoleuse]

Yesterday, a friend of mine and I had planned a tourism day, checking out St. John and St. Giles Cathedrals, St. Cuthbert's Burying Ground, and Edinburgh Castle. Thanks to a driving freak storm, we also ducked into a tartan weaver's Here are some photos from that portion of the day, since they're topical for this blog:




Cutting table and antique sign.


These creels and yarn cones...


...create this warp beam for a tartan plaid.


Two mechanical looms weaving tartan plaid yardage.

Mind you, this place is primarily a retail location, not a museum. They sell bespoke and off-the-rack traditional attire, tartan by the meter, clan memorabilia, jewelry, photos of yourself in Highland dress, and souvenir stuff. It was a great serendipitous adventure!

Comments

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

Cool that they have is set up so that you can see the operation.

[zomboy.livejournal.com]

Not really related to this at all, but I thought this might be the sort of thing you would like to see (if you haven't already).
http://laughingsquid.com/wedding-dress-made-from-wwii-parachute-that-saved-husbands-life/

[naeelah.livejournal.com]

Woah, that's awesome! I look forward to catching up on your adventures.

A quick dye related question for you, if you have a chance: I have two garments made from a yarn that's 70% linen and 30% silk. Do you think a fiber reactive dye would turn out alright, or should I suck it up and use an acid dye? (I prefer fiber reactive because it's room temp.) With linen being the main fiber, do you think fiber reactive dye would shift as much as it normally might, on silk?

FWIW the fabric is beige and I'm dyeing one black, one black cherry. I'm okay with the black turning out a little 'off', and I don't have a highly specific shade in mind for the other. I just want to make sure I end up in the right ballpark.

[labricoleuse.livejournal.com]

Sorry to be so late in replying to this! Scotland really took all my attention, and net access was limited. Fiber reactives should work on that fiber content, but you might not get as deeply saturated colors as you would if it were 100% cellulose content. Though, i think many of the reactives, you can boost them with white vinegar (acetic acid) and make them function as acid dyes on protein fibers (silk). Of course, you have probably already dyed these things and it's moot by now, i'm so tardy with my response. Hope it turns out!

[naeelah.livejournal.com]

Ok cool, thanks! I haven't even bought any dye yet (been busy with other things), so that is good to know. I decided that if the silk took the color differently, the contrast might be kind of cool. If the color isn't 100% saturated, I don't mind, because a slightly faded look would suit the effect I want. I'm especially curious to see how the black will turn out, so I might just try it straight, for the sake of experimentation. If I hate it, I'll re-dye using vinegar and see if that helps.