St Kilda tweed is more than a cloth — it is the physical expression of a remote island community and the materials available to them.

Historically, the tweed woven on St Kilda was made entirely from the wool of the island’s own sheep, spun and woven by hand for everyday use. The cloth was practical rather than decorative: hard-wearing, weather-resistant, and suited to the harsh Atlantic environment in which it was worn. The tweed was typically woven in a simple straight twill structure, producing a dense yet flexible fabric.

The last known examples of St Kilda tweed were woven around 1930, shortly before the evacuation of the island’s remaining inhabitants. Since then, the craft has not been practised on St Kilda itself.

This project seeks to return tweed weaving to the island for the first time in almost a century, using historically appropriate materials, structure, and weaving methods. The aim is not to modernise or reinterpret the cloth, but to recreate it as faithfully as possible — respecting its origins, simplicity, and purpose.

Every decision, from wool selection to loom choice, is guided by the surviving historical evidence and by an understanding of the island’s unique conditions.