Where does Donegal Tweed come from?

Donegal Tweed comes from County Donegal, Ireland, first documented in the 1800s.

Plate No. 103fabric

Heathered ground; classic Donegal flecks color the surface.

First documented: 1800s
Origin: County Donegal, Ulster, Ireland
Fiber: wool
Weave: plain or twill, flecked yarn
Family: twills

Plate No. 103 · fabric

Donegal Tweed

Donegal tweed is the speckled tweed: a handwoven Irish wool flecked with little knots of bright color, the signature neps that nineteenth century Donegal weavers spun in from leftover dyed wool. Against a heathered grey or brown ground, the flecks of red, blue, and gold read at close range as scattered confetti and at a distance as depth. Like Harris Tweed it grew from a cottage industry on poor land where weaving supplemented crofting, and it remains the tweed you recognize by its colored specks rather than its pattern.

Illustration: a Donegal cottage doorway in Ireland, a weaver at a distance at a loom inside, baskets of flecked wool, a stone wall and green hills under grey sky — A Donegal cottage doorway in Ireland, a weaver at a distance at a loom inside, baskets of flecked wool, a stone wall and green hills under grey sky.

Named for

Named for County Donegal in the northwest of Ireland, the cottage-weaving region the cloth comes from.

Common questions

What is Donegal Tweed made of?: Donegal tweed is the speckled tweed: a handwoven Irish wool flecked with little knots of bright color, the signature neps that nineteenth century Donegal weavers spun in from leftover dyed wool.
Where does Donegal Tweed come from?: Donegal Tweed comes from County Donegal, Ireland, first documented in the 1800s.
What is Donegal Tweed named after?: Named for County Donegal in the northwest of Ireland, the cottage-weaving region the cloth comes from.