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Harris Tweed Day
"Lichens are among the world’s oldest living things, some thousands of years old, living slowly, imperceptibly, on stone and bark."
~ Robin Wall Kimmerer, “Gathering Moss”
Harris Tweed, handwoven by islanders in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, is a fabric steeped in tradition and craftsmanship. Though often mistaken for tartan, it differs in both purpose and design. While tartans are defined by their crisscrossed bands of color tied to clans and history, Harris Tweed is known for its earthy tones and subtle patterns inspired by the Scottish landscape—heather hills, mossy rocks, and stormy seas.
Long before synthetic dyes, the islanders of the Outer Hebrides turned to nature’s palette, using plants, mosses, and most notably lichen to dye their wool. A particular lichen called crotal (Parmelia saxatilis), gathered from rocks and trees, produced rich purples, reds, and browns when boiled—a slow, fragrant process that infused the cloth with the very essence of the Isles. These natural dyes gave early Harris Tweeds their signature earthy tones, mirroring the moorlands, peat bogs, and storm-washed shores of the Hebrides. In this way, every thread carried not only color, but a deep connection to the land—a living heritage woven into each yard.
The design for the Lichen and Stone tartan is intended to represent the complex organism that is lichen that grows on the ancient stones in a kirkyard. Shades of greens, yellows, greys, blues and white adorn memorials to lives that were once upon this earth. 💚 💛 🤍 💙 ⛪ 🪦 🌿
In the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, the production of Harris Tweed represents not merely a textile tradition but a living embodiment of cultural heritage, shaped by geography, ecology, and craftsmanship. As an artisanal fabric handwoven from pure virgin wool in the homes of island weavers, Harris Tweed derives much of its distinctive visual character from the natural environment. Central to its chromatic richness are the subtle, earthy hues, historically achieved through natural dyeing processes, particularly those involving lichens—a diverse and ecologically significant group of symbiotic organisms comprising fungi and photosynthetic partners such as algae or cyanobacteria.
Lichens have long served as a primary source of dye in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, especially prior to the advent of synthetic alternatives in the 19th century. Species such as Parmelia saxatilis and Ochrolechia tartarea—locally known as "crotal"—were commonly harvested for their ability to yield a range of colors, including browns, greys, reddish purples, and rich pinks. These lichens typically grow on rocks and boulders in exposed, upland environments, thriving in the cool, moist climate that characterizes much of the western Scottish seaboard. The Outer Hebrides, Wester Ross, and parts of Argyll and Perthshire are particularly rich in lichen diversity, due to their relatively low levels of air pollution and long-standing ecological continuity.
The traditional method of lichen dyeing often involved maceration and fermentation, occasionally using urine as a catalyst—a practice that, while unpleasant by modern sensibilities, produced remarkably fast and durable pigments. These natural dyes were historically used not only in the creation of Harris Tweed, but also in the dyeing of wool for tartans, the patterned cloths emblematic of Scottish clans. While tartans typically feature structured grids of contrasting colors, Harris Tweed is characterized by a more nuanced intermingling of tones—often described as “heathered”—reflecting the variegated hues of the local landscape. The chromatic kinship between the two textiles underscores their shared origin in the flora and geology of Scotland.
For a beautiful photograph tour of Scotland's historic graveyards covered in moss and lichen, click the photograph of the Trumpan graveyard on the Isle of Skye, by author and photographer Nellie Merthe Erkenbach from her special website.