The problem with a hand crafted item is continuity - a lot of cloth has been stockpiled after a long run of manufacture, and there is now none being made.
When the present stock runs out it might not be possible to get more made.
As I get older I find that if I want to do something I need to maintain a regular routine of working, otherwise it is a real effort, mentally, to return to the skill levels I had. If it is combined with physical effort, then it is even more important to work little and often.
Perhaps it is all to get the definition of Harris tweed changed, as the people doing the weaving are getting older and few youngsters want to learn to make something which is not going to be regular work but subject to the whims of a 'foreigner'.
Simply moving stocks of the cloth to China indicates that there will no longer be the Harris tweed jackets made on Savile Row available for their clientèle, and I suspect that the whole tradition and its reputation and the desirability of the product will just evaporate.
I presume to dictate to no man what he shall eat or drink or wherewithal he shall be clothed."
-- The Hon. Stuart Ruaidri Erskine, The Kilt & How to Wear It, 1901.
Originally Posted by Mipi
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