This is Donegal Tweed The Traditional techniques, the history, the people behind the famous textile - Judith Hoad

Since she came from Wales to Ireland in 1981, Judith Hoad, as a fellow Celt, has found a close affinity with the people of Donegal where she and her family now live. This has proved a springboard for the study of tweed which has absorbed so much of her time in recent years. Long experience of spinning, dyeing and weaving, as well as teaching these skills, has given her an invaluable insight into the many aspects of tweed-making.

Her account of techniques used by generations of tweed-making families has been made from the personal recollections of men and women of Donegal. The ancient craft of spinning, dyeing and weaving were practiced even within the lives of people who are less than fifty years old today. Judith Hoad’s knowledge of these skills has enabled to fill the gaps in the story and pursue theories to prove facts which were no longer remembered, like how green dye is obtained from lichen and where the so-called Donegal spinning wheels originated.