Wm. Barbour and Sons - Linen Thread
This is the first in an in-depth series on goods and suppliers common in the leather working industry. The series will cover the different components that can be used in the goods of the many independent leather goods makers that have sprung up.
Use and Qualities of Barbour Thread
When hand-stitching leather, the quality of the thread holding together the pieces of leather of your handmade wallet or belt is important if you don’t want your wallet or belt to fall apart. Barbour’s linen thread is an all-natural thread, made from the flax plant and is considered to be some of the strongest and most durable thread available for stitching.
Barbour’s thread comes in different cords (technical term for thickness of the thread), colors, and in right/left hand twists. Depending on your hand-sewing technique, it may matter which twist you purchase as the thread has a chance to unravel, but for the two twists are more important for goods makers that use machines. The thread is usually unwaxed, which means the goods maker must treat it with beeswax to preserve the life and strength of the thread.
History of the Wm. Barbour & Sons
Wm. Barbour and Sons was established in 1785 to manufacture twisted and braided linen thread. The company was founded by a Scotsman who migrated to Ireland near Lisburn. In 1865, the company opened an mill in Paterson, New Jersey in response to import trade restrictions. Within a few years, the thread industry became intense and Barbour joined forces with American companies Marshall Thread Company and Finalyson, and British thread company Knox to form Linen Thread Company Ltd.
Linen Thread Company supplied shoe, boot, and carpet industries. By the twentieth century, the company also manufactured specialty threads for automobiles, upholstery, bedding, as well as netting used for snares and fishnets. It continued to operate until the end of the twentieth century, even as other thread manufacturers closed down, merged with other firms, or struggled to compete with newly discovered synthetic fibers. In 1999, the firm Coats Viyella purchased the Barbour Thread division of Linen Thread Company. In May 2006, Barbour’s in Lisburn, Ireland closed after two centuries of production.
For those that want to read more, the NY Times wrote an extensive company profile, complete with information aobut Barbour’s production and New Jersey facilities in 1886. It noted that the mill produced an incredible 75,000 miles of thread each day, which is enough to circle the world three times over.
(Information sourced from Irish People, Irish Linen [Kathleen Curtis Wilson], pictures sourced from Etsy)
