The soft touch

Words by SALLY COFFEY

Scottish cashmere is considered the best in the world, thanks to a combination of our textile heritage and natural landscape

Cashmere, that super-soft wool from the Kashmir goat, a breed that originated in the Kashmir region of India, has long been considered the nest material for knitting and weaving cosy scarves and jumpers.

The wool is so soft as it is the downy undercoat grown beneath coarser, weather-proof hair by the goats, which keeps them warm in winter, and which is then shed in spring and summer.

Empress Joséphine, wife of Napoleon, is said to have popularised the wearing of Kashmir in the French court after her husband brought her back a pashmina Kashmir shawl from an expedition in Egypt.

It’s easy to see how the fashion travelled from the French court to the Scottish court (with the name becoming anglicised along the way) encouraging Scottish mills to begin spinning the yarn into ne fabric to exploit this new trend. But what’s harder to see is how a little what’s harder to see is how a little country in western Europe became country in western Europe became the world leader (at least in terms of quality) of luxurious garments spun from a raw material that originally comes from Asia.

Jenny Urquhart, Chairman of Johnstons of Elgin, says the truth is, many people don’t know exactly why the cashmere industry in Scotland has proved so successful, but that the outstandingly soft water but that the outstandingly soft water that runs through our country plays a that runs through our country plays a big part.

Jenny says: “The soft, Scottish water near our Jenny says: “The soft, Scottish water near our Elgin and Hawick mills is part of what makes our cashmere so unique. It’s one of the reasons why Scottish cashmere has acquired a reputation the world over for its natural softness.”

Hawick

If anyone knows Scottish cashmere, it’s Johnstons of Elgin, a name that’s almost as synonymous with cashmere as cashmere itself is with Scotland.

And Jenny is right in that Scottish cashmere is classed as such as it is washed and softened in Scottish water and spun and knitted here.

Jenny says that having such good quality water means that Scottish cashmere can be treated more gently than cashmere produced in other parts of the world, reducing the need for chemicals.

“This is in sharp contrast to other regions,” Jenny says, “where the cashmere is often softened artificially at the end of a process which has involved significant chemical damage to the fibre. Scottish cashmere is the real thing. The best quality cashmere in the world.”

And aside from our natural assets, Scotland’s long heritage of weaving and knitting has also served us well.

Johnstons of Elgin has been in operation since 1797, when its founder, Alexander Johnston, established Elgin Mill on the banks of the River Lossie, in Moray, in the northeast of Scotland. The company first produced cashmere products in 1851 and since then it has spent many, many years fine-tuning the processes.

Jenny says: “We have been working with the world’s finest cashmere for almost 200 years, and we continue to use the gentlest manufacturing processes, along with soft Scottish water, to protect our delicate fibres.

“We take care creating our iconic cashmere knitwear, so our customers can enjoy beautiful, luxurious products that last for more than a lifetime.” The Elgin mill is one of the last few vertical mills in the UK, and Johnstons of Elgin still carries out all the processes from raw cashmere and fine woollen fibres right through to the finished product.

Good quality water means that Scottish cashmere can be treated more gently than cashmere produced in other parts of the world

Today, Johnstons of Elgin’s original mill is complemented by a knitting mill in Hawick, a Borders town that has long been associated with the knitwear industry.

Johnstons of Elgin was relatively late to arrive in Hawick, only opening its second mill here in 1980. Other cashmere makers have had mills in the Borders town for much longer.

Located at a meeting place of two rivers – the Teviot and Slitrig Water – Hawick had plenty of water to power its mills, plus its green fields provided plenty of grass for sheep, and so when Bailie John Hardie began introducing stocking frames here in 1771, it wasn’t long before others started to follow suit.

By 1815, spinners and weavers began to move from the home into mills, including big names such as Pringle, with cashmere first produced in Hawick in the 1830s by John Laing and Sons.

Hawico, formerly known as The Hawick Cashmere Company, opened its mill on Duke Street in the town in 1874 and has been making cashmere here ever since.

The Hawick Cashmere Company (now Hawico) opened its mill in 1874 and has been making cashmere ever since

Though, like Johnstons of Elgin, Hawico has since expanded out of the mill town to open shops in Edinburgh and even London, each piece is still made in the Hawick factory, and it remains a family business.

To produce its cashmere cardigans, sweaters, and scarves, Hawico draws on over a century of traditional skills, which combined with technology advancements, mean customers can be assured of LEFT TO RIGHT: high-quality cashmere garments – if you’re looking for cashmere gifts to take home from At Johnstons’ Hawick mill you can book a

Edinburgh, take a trip to Hawico’s upmarket shop tour; cashmere on Grassmarket. is washed and

William Lockie, known affectionately as ‘Lockies’, is another family knitwear business that softened in water before it is spun and knitted into has been operating in Hawick since Victorian garments

times and prides itself on employing skilled workers from the same local families, who have been employed for generations.

Like Hawico, it opened shop in 1874, and it is revered for the quality of its cashmere knitwear today, which is made to last and keep its shape, and the company supplies cashmere garments to the shops of Savile Row.

But what about the Scottish cashmere of the future? Like all well-made garments, the cashmere industry is having to compete with cheaper products, often of inferior quality.

Another firm based in Hawick, Barrie, came close to closing in 2012 but was saved by Chanel, a loyal customer eager to secure the future of its cashmere sweaters going forward.

The hope is that as cashmere prices continue to rise across the world, customers will return to the high-quality garments made in Scotland, but the key is in ensuring these heritage skills don’t get lost in the meantime.

Jenny says: “In a world where processes are becoming automated, we work hard to attract all individuals, from all walks of life into our hands-on apprenticeship programmes. We share skills passed down through generations while providing training in cutting-edge technology to allow our highly skilled craftsmen and women to produce the finest quality, beautiful products.” You can play your part in supporting the Scottish cashmere industry by buying cashmere garments and visiting some of the heritage sites in and around Hawick (madeinhawick.com), including taking a tour of Johnston’s Hawick mill, where you can see the craftmanship that makes Scottish cashmere the best in the world. S

The hope is that as cashmere prices continue to rise across the world, customers will return to the high-quality garments made in Scotland

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:

Cashmere is made using traditional methods; Hawico has been making cashmere since 1874; skilled craftsmen add finishing touches to the garments; cashmere is spun and dyed to make colourful garments