Our Story

TirGlas Meaning

The TirGlas literal translation means "Green Land" and is an independent Welsh company based in Wales, UK. TirGlas Pronunciation - Tir (Tier) Glas (Glass).

Natural Traditional Handmade

Natural and sustainable is at the heart of all TirGlas activities from wool blankets, throws and hand dyed yarn to natural dye workshops. Whilst TirGlas has evolved and grown into new areas over the years, our Mission, NATURAL TRADITIONAL HANDMADE remains. This is our journey and voyage of discovery in traditional Heritage crafts, which includes weaving, wool – the journey of the fleece, yarn and the diverse use of natural dyes.

TirGlas “Green Land” and the Logo

We think possibly one of the hardest decisions in starting a business is your name. We believe it represents us and the message we want to convey to our customers. It should have meaning and relate to our activities and product offering.

TirGlas has connotations with sustainability and renewal it resonates with us and echoes our ethos of NATURAL TRADITIONAL HANDMADE.

Our logo is circular which represents sustainability and a circular economy. Key elements to all of our activities, both personal and for our business. TIR GLAS, which we prefer to spell as TirGlas!

Traditional Weaving

My interest was and still is weaving, we were fortunate to have a few mills still producing fine cloth in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire that were weaving on 1930’s Dobbcross looms, see below. The weavers joined the mills as an apprentice and never left; one weaver is third generation at his mill. They are totally immersed in the wonder of producing beautiful fabric still using the looms they were trained on many years ago. Their knowledge is immense; I always enjoy a visit to the mills going through our designs and colour choices for the coming year weaving diary. These are skills that need to be kept alive and passed on to future generations, not to be lost. Alas we are reduced to five mills in this part of Wales, of which only two will weave on a commission weaving basis. This has made our handwoven blankets and throws very limited in numbers and a long delay between weaving dates.

Welsh blankets, nothing says 'Hiraeth' more than iconic Welsh blankets.

Hand Dyed Yarn with Natural Dyes

I first used natural dyes as a hobby to use the yarns and fibres in my weaving process. I did try synthetic acid dyes but found the colours too harsh and not what I had in mind. I turned to natural dyes, a more time-consuming method with a few more stages but the rewards for your patience make it worthwhile. The colours are enthralling, each will depend on where the dyestuff was grown, how it was harvested, the fibres being dyed, and the method of application used by the dyer. The nuances of the dye pot do draw you deeper into the “what ifs” and “Can you dye this?” rabbit hole! I now dye, screen print and block print fabrics, I also use Shibori techniques, eco printing with flowers and leaves and bundle dyeing. A new range of products perfected over time is our Paint and Scribe range of inks, watercolours and pastels all made using natural dye or mineral pigments and ancient recipes. I dye and marble paper which I use for my bookbinding and screen-print leather journals. Basically, if it is a natural fibre can I dye it with natural dye?! All of the techniques mentioned, as I see it, are a natural progression on the natural dye journey.

Hand Dyed Yarn, dyed only with natural dyes.

Natural Dye Workshops

Following many requests from customers we started holding workshops to learn how to hand dye using only natural dyes in our TirGlas Dye House. Our hands-on workshops are held in a purpose designed Dye House. All the yarn and scarves for sale on this website have been hand dyed with natural dyes by the Tutor of these workshops.

Natural Dye Workshops - 1 and 2 day Protein and Cellulose fibres

Natural Dyes - Plant to Dye Pot

Our next project is to expand on our dye plant growing. We have experimented with different dye plants, both successfully and not so great last year. Our aim now is to be able to grow enough of the plants to use in the Dye House. Obviously not all extracts could be replaced, for example logwood, cochineal, lac, fustic and more, all of these extracts are from a trusted supplier that we know sources sustainably.

All of my working life has been in the Finance sector which does help with ratios and calculations of recipes! Being self-taught I have honed my skills and knowledge which has led to workshops in the UK and as far as North America. These various week-long or more events were rewarding both in knowledge and meeting new like-minded people who have become friends. I work with natural fibres such as wool, silk, cotton, linen, hemp. I use the traditional dyes of madder, indigo, cutch, lac, logwood etc. and natural mordants, modifiers and tannins. Although I no longer weave myself our two eldest Granddaughters are old enough and would like to learn. They have already started on their Natural Dye journey, hopefully a Heritage legacy will go on from TirGlas.

Karen Morgan Founder, TirGlas