The Weave Shed: 100 Jackets ‘Performance Art & Craft’

Visit our Artist in Residence Daniel Harris of London Cloth Company on Saturdays to see a completely self-contained, vertical garment production line, where Daniel will weave, wash, cut and sew 100 garments entirely on site.

This pop-up factory will be a display of perpetual activity making it a fun and engaging, inspiring and educational experience for visitors, encouraging people to think more carefully about how clothing is made, where it comes from and the impact it has on the world.

Visitors will be able to experience the entire production process at close quarters, following the path of the fibre as it is converted from yarn into cloth, washed, shrunk, marked, cut and sewn into a finished garment. Daniel will be on hand to offer more in-depth explanations of each stage to deliver a greater understanding of the time, work, techniques & waste that goes into clothing manufacture.

Fabric by the meter, blankets and scarves will be available to buy.

For large group visits, please email Daniel: info@londonclothcompany.com

130 years old

The loom on display is a Lancashire cross rod loom made by Butterworth and Dickinson sometime around 1890 and it's about 90% original.

Michelin star restaurants textiles

The London Cloth Co restores looms to working condition and then finds a job for them to pay for the restoration. This loom is mostly used to weave napkins for high end /Michelin star restaurants.

Cost

Daniel bought this loom from a closing down mill in Clitheroe in October 2014. It cost several thousands of pounds to refurbish: apart from a good clean many parts had to be completely remade.

Speed

The loom it running at 120 picks per min, that means the shuttle goes from one side to the other twice per second.

Daniel Harris started building the London Cloth Co in 2011 with one 1920’s loom. Since then the mill has gone on to encompass over 45 tons or carefully restored machinery dating 1870 to 1990, while simultaneously designing and weaving fabrics for brands both large and small throughout the world.

Since its conception there has been an emphasis on education, transparency and sustainability, each year while in London received hundreds of visitors to the mill for tours & workshops from throughout the UK and the world.

The London Cloth company is currently the only place in the UK where you can see the entire history of mechanised weaving in one place and we think it is important that people can access this.