{"id":672454,"date":"2026-11-02T07:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T07:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/672454\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T07:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T07:36:16","slug":"designers-get-back-to-beetling-with-a-little-help-from-irelands-oldest-linen-mill-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/672454\/","title":{"rendered":"Designers get back to beetling with a little help from Ireland\u2019s oldest linen mill \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The thunderous sound of machinery like the pounding of hundreds of Lambeg drums hits you before you even enter the world\u2019s only beetling mill. Situated in the historic village of Upperlands in Co Derry<\/a>, about an hour\u2019s drive from Belfast<\/a>, the area was once home to more than 600 people who worked in William Clark & Son, Ireland\u2019s oldest linen mill, established on the river Clady in 1736. There is a wonderful photograph on display in the adjacent Flax Caf\u00e9 Visitor Centre taken in the early 1920s of the staff all dressed up for their annual outing to Portrush.<\/p>\n

We are here with fashion<\/a> designer Amy Anderson and her husband Joel of Kindred of Ireland, who are now among the most enthusiastic supporters and users of beetled linen, having rediscovered its shimmering qualities and craftsmanship. Amy\u2019s grandmother Winnie had worked in Moygashel Linen Mills with Paul Costelloe, and it was memories of her stories that led Amy to found her brand in 2020 using linen sourced locally. <\/p>\n

At around the same time, Sarah Burton, then artistic director of Alexander McQueen, had visited Clarks to understand the process, persuading them to beetle finish linen for the brand\u2019s spring summer 2020 collection.<\/p>\n

The machinery is awesome. Huge cast iron and vertical wooden beams (made from sycamore or beech tree trunks) called wipers rotate rolls of dampened linen, which are systematically pounded by 40 giant wooden hammers called beetles. This flattens the fabric\u2019s fibres and makes the linen lustrous and strong. It was once part of standard requirements, according to author Bruce Clark, scion of the family, and used in tailoring for parts of suits to create shape without weight. <\/p>\n

When William Clark & Sons was liquidated in 2024, the beetling mill and all its machinery, which had lain idle for a year, was bought by one of its biggest customers, Wilson Agri, for its coating capacities. Andrew Wilson has now had the engines revved up and made the mill a viable enterprise, \u201csaving something very special from our history\u201d in the process, he has said. He has ambitious plans for establishing a linen festival in the area.<\/p>\n

Kindred of Ireland\u2019s shiny, stylish clothing from beetled linen in limited quantities has been printed and even coated with gold leaf, as the Andersons have experimented with beetling and pushed the boundaries of what\u2019s possible. For summer their pressed flower print was brought to life on linen where it was beetled under the guiding hand of the last remaining master beetler in Ireland, Willie Smyth. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe relationship with linen enables us to push limits,\u201d says Amy\u2019s husband and business partner Joel. \u201cIt enables you to go really deep with it. Different weights and different techniques breed innovation, and historically the beetling process came from innovation \u2013 how did you make linen sturdier for people working in the fields? So you can know the fabric intimately, but push it innovatively.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0How Alexander McQueen has found inspiration in Irish linenOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Their latest campaign for winter, combining linen with tweed and knitwear, is called Sunday Best, photographed in Mullaghfad Church, a remote early 19th century Church of Ireland building near Fivemiletown, Co Tyrone. \u201cSunday best was the one day of the week that was different \u2013 you dressed up. So there is nostalgia for things that were kept for good \u2013 I think we have lost a bit of that,\u201d says Joel. <\/p>\n

The theme runs through everything in playful, often mischievous ways. Tinsel tweeds including a cape and puff shorts are flecked with lurex, white \u201cchoir boy\u201d shirts have big bows, \u201cstained glass\u201d dresses come in Emblem linen from Wexford, and what\u2019s called \u201cthe anointed coat\u201d is in pink and red beetled linen. \u201cThe bell ringing dress\u201d is black beetled linen, and the \u201clocking up jacket\u201d in knobby Mourne tweed. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe ‘stained glass’ rose dress \u20ac670 \"KindredKindred of Ireland Bell Ringing Dress in black beetled linen, \u20ac600 \"KindredKindred of Ireland Anointed Coat in Lionnir pink beetled linen, \u20ac1,500 \"AranAran knit in linen\/cotton with hand-crochet edged collar, \u20ac510 \"BellBell Ringing Dress in black beetled linen, \u20ac600,with Mourne jacket, \u20ac1,190 \"LockingLocking Up Jacket in Mourne tweed \u20ac1,190; Twinkle tweed puff shorts, \u20ac700 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe new luxury is handmade with the human touch,\u201d says Joel, who explains that everything is made locally with seamstresses who take pride in making beautiful clothes. \u201cAnd you develop a deep relationship with Stephen [of Emblem Weavers] and Mario [Mourne Textiles] \u2013 that is what gets lost in supply chains \u2013 so you feel a responsibility to them.\u201d <\/p>\n

[\u00a0From the archive: Weaving a winning style with Irish linen and flaxOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Amy\u2019s design style, with its capacious but practical proportions, has been described as Japan versus Copenhagen, reflecting its oversized shapes which are fundamentally functional. She comes up with the concepts and has enjoyed creating new ways with an almost forgotten craft. Beetled linen now makes up about 30 per cent of her collections, which currently include a shimmering black shirt, an oversized jacket with slouchy high waisted trousers, along with some bridal looks. Her new take on the classic Aran sweater, their first knit, has been worked in linen and cotton rather than wool and features a crochet-edged collar.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to keep going deeper rather than wider, building on our bespoke pink beetled linen and our new tweeds this season,\u201d says Joel. \u201cAnd strengthening a supply chain that stays local, working closely with family run mills and makers we know by name.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visit the Kindred of Ireland shop at 52 Hill Street in Belfast\u2019s Cathedral Quarter, or online kindredofireland.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The thunderous sound of machinery like the pounding of hundreds of Lambeg drums hits you before you even…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672455,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,709,43],"class_list":["post-672454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-magazine","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}