ISLE OF SCALPAY, UNITED KINGDOM
\n\u201cWhen you see tweed on the runway, you don\u2019t expect it to come from here,\u201d joked 38-year-old former banker Alexander MacLeod as he set up his loom in a converted barn on the shores of a Scottish loch. MacLeod became a weaver two years ago, joining residents on the islands of Lewis and Harris, off Scotland\u2019s northwest coast, in helping to rejuvenate the tweed industry after a significant period of decline.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a good thing to keep the tradition going,\u201d he told media. Tweed is a symbol of Scottish heritage and has \u201calways been part of the culture\u201d on the Outer Hebrides, added MacLeod, who hails from the island of Scalpay, which is connected to Harris by a bridge. It\u2019s now \u201can attractive sector to be in\u201d, he said.
\nHe left the Hebrides for seven years to work in banking but the pull of his roots proved too strong. During the day, McLeod now works for a small local cosmetics company. In the evenings, he puts on a podcast, usually about espionage, and patiently begins to weave. Only the steady hum of his machine disturbs the calm of the old stone barn.
\nHarris tweed, traditionally made from 100 percent wool, is the only fabric protected by a 1993 Act of Parliament.
\nIt must be \u201chandwoven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLE OF SCALPAY, UNITED KINGDOM \u201cWhen you see tweed on the runway, you don\u2019t expect it to come from here,\u201d joked 38-year-old former banker Alexander MacLeod as he set up his loom in a converted barn on the shores of a Scottish loch. MacLeod became a weaver two years ago, joining residents on the islands […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-481703","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n