Tweed Caps - Product Story

Yarn:  Spun from a blend of British Scottish Wool (Lams wool & Vicuna)

Fabric: Tweed

Weavers:  Hand-woven on a Hattersley loom in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK

Lining: Organic Hemp & Silk blend, USA

Cutters, Sewers and Finishers:  West Yorkshire, UK

8-Piece 'Rambler' Tweed Cap

Having fallen for the charm of a cloth cap almost a decade ago, the story of Cock & Bull's 8 piece 'Rambler' cap is the story of  one man's desire to create an update of  very classic British cap. 

Step 1

The story of this cap began with the hunt for exceptional fabrics for the outer cap tweed and an inner lining that would render the cap indistructable (well almost).  And so the journey began in the outer Hebrides islands of Scotland - known worldwide for their excellent production of wools and tweeds, and specifically for the British Isles' most famous heritage textile - Harris Tweed.  However the story took a surprise turn when we discovered a tweed mill on the Isle of Lewis. What we wanted were hand-woven woolen tweeds in arresting patterns and palettes that would seriously blow away any hat lover.  And we certainly got that!  Technically they cannot carry the Harris 'Orb' trademark, as they use a finer yarn brought from the mainland, however, they are every bit as special as their more famous cousins from the Isles.  In fact we say they are much NICER than Harris Tweeds due to their finer touch. To date we have used 10 designs from the range.

Step 2

Next was the challenge to find the daddy of all linings.  Having worked with hemp previously, I knew there was nothing that could better it for durability and strength and sourced the 70/30 blend from the USA.  Not only was this fabric a royal purple and seriously sexy, the hemp and silk were both organically produced.  We will line our caps and other items with this stuff as long as we can get it!

Step 3

We are seriously committed to producing Cock & Bull's entire range in the UK but finding a hat manufacturer really did prove a bit of a challenge.  Rob and his team were eventually discovered in Yorkshire and are producing our 8-Pc Rambler to exacting standards.  We are thankful for Rob's committment and passion that he brings to our humble cap.*

In all, the development of Cock & Bull's first Tweed cap took 6 months (of love, sweat + some tears), but we hope that you agree it was a journey well worth taking.

A A Lindsay

January 2013

* A footnote to this story is found in Luton. Once a major player in the hat making game, in its day there were well over 300 hat factories, commonly employing 50+ people each. We talked to one manufacturer there who said his was the last of this dynasty, employing himself and 4 staff. We have since learned there might be 1 other milliner hanging on by his fingernails in Luton. This is a common story in the history of manufacturing in the United Kingdom.