The Harris Tweed® Journal

Harris Tweed® Treasures

31st March

In our recent visit to Seaforth Harris Tweed we found this strange looking utensil.
Iain Martin explained that a spoon was used in the traditional wool dyeing to scrape the crotal (lichen) from rocks. Over the years, the spoons took on their unusual shape.
The colour produced by the crotal is a firey gold. Although it is no longer used in today’s dyeing processes, it does give this Harris Tweed® cloth its name: Carloway Crotal.

Photography: Alison Johnston/Encompass

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