Being an island nation, the sea has a special significance for most of us Brits. Not only is the coast synonymous with holiday time it is also a lure to artists. This season we’ve woven together these two themes and created an exciting new cloth and tailored collection. All our summer fabrics are woven in Scotland using fine Merino worsted wool in an elegant palette of creams, blues and yellows.

Intricate weave designs always fascinate us, from afar they look like a single block of colour but as you move closer the geometric weave patterns and our play of colours lends an exciting geometric effect not unlike the work of Op artist Bridget Riley. In fact we have named our new beautiful blue cloth Riley in honour of the pioneering Cornish artist. The cloth weighs in at 12oz, good for summer evenings out and wear throughout the year.

Checks are a staple for weave designers and are probably the earliest of all woven patterns. Each season we add something exciting to our library of new checks and this year won’t disappoint. We have used our season’s colours for a deceptively simple window pane design. Small squares in blue and cream are latticed by a three inch yellow overcheck in our 11oz Lanyon cloth. Peter Lanyon, the abstract landscape painter was born by the sea in Cornwall. His works are considered amongst the most original and important reappraisals of modernism in the country and his views from an aerial perspective often resemble textiles.

Our summer stripe named Heron is a new take on a perennial classic that never dates. The balance is perfect with the stripes running an assured two inches apart and featuring a yellow twill nestled between a patina of fine blue lines. The cloth is of a comfortable 10oz weight, ideal for a summer two piece suit. We’ve name the design after Patrick Heron the influential British abstract and figurative artist who lived and worked throughout much of the 20th century in the idyllic Cornish cove of Zennor. His exploration of colour and light has been a great influence to us as we strive to bring you ever more interesting colourful fabrics.

From the beginning we gained notoriety by weaving reflective ‘lumatwill’ fabrics. These were created by us using retroreflective threads woven with fine Merino wool and finished to be rain resistant. The original concept for our ‘Raver Tweeds’ was for use when cycling at dusk, perhaps heading off to dance the night away. These 13oz designs are always in demand and we occasionally release new colours.

To complement our fresh new collection for the summer we are releasing a Denim Blue Raver design. Seen above in daylight and below with a flash light.

For more information or to get swatches of the new collection, please do drop us an email: info@DashingTweeds.co.uk. All our fabrics are available by the metre or through our made to measure tailoring.