From Alpine Herdsmen to the Habsburg Court

A Short History of Loden & How it's Made

Loden wool clothing originated centuries ago in the Alpine region of Tyrol, Austria, where Loden wool fabric was designed to keep the people of the high Alps warm and dry through the freezing, wet winters.

The loosely woven thick yarns from the mountain sheep were put through a wet finishing process (German: walken) using heat, tension and soap to shrink and thicken the fabric by up to 66%. The result was a dense impermeable fabric, perfect for the harsh climate, which today could be considered the first high performance fabric.

But in the early 19^th Century the much-adored Habsburg Archduke Johann, brother of reigning Emperor Franz II, would change the image of Loden forever. In 1800, after leading the Habsburg army in a disastrous defeat against French revolutionary forces at Hohenlinden, he was posted to Tyrol to represent his brother.

There he fell in love with the mountains, their inhabitants, and their culture. He went so far as to adopt their local style of dress and even married a commoner. Back in the Habsburg Court in Vienna, his sartorial style aroused suspicion that he was too close to the people, but also praise. It was, after all, the age of romanticism, and eventually the style caught on among the aristocracy. Later, Emperor Franz Josef, would wear hardly anything but Loden.

More than a fashion trendsetter, Archduke Johann is still celebrated in Austria today as a champion of the common people. The region of Styria, where he would spend most of his years, benefited from many civic and industrial projects sponsored by the so called “Styrian Prince.”

Today the Loden fabrics of the remaining Austrian Loden mills are experiencing a resurgence in popularity as the benefits of pure natural wool are being rediscovered. However, Loden today is not the Loden of centuries ago.

By using more advanced carding and spinning techniques and finer wool fibers from Merino Sheep, Alpaca or Cashmere the quality of the Loden has improved dramatically. Also spurring the surge in popularity are the environmental and wellness benefits of wool, especially when compared to synthetic fabrics.

Loden is a fabric in harmony with the Alpine lifestyle.

Authentic Loden when kept clean can easily last a lifetime and even be passed down to the next generation. The pictures below are from the Loden Steiner Mill in Mandling, Austria and show the carding, spinning, preparation of the warp, weaving, fulling and finishing steps.

The Steps of Making Loden

1. Dyed wool ready to be carded

2. Metal 'combs' carding the raw wool

3. Carded wool makes a fleece ready to be separated into filaments

4. Carded wool separated into filaments and coiled on spools - still no strength yet

5. The spinning process spins and spools the coiled filament - now it's thread

6. Preparingthewarp (threads that run the length of the fabric) for weaving - every warp thread has to be individually attached

7. Preparing the loom

8. Threading each individual warp thread into the loom

9. Old fashioned fulling machine pounding the wet woven wool with wooden hammers

man pulling out loden from hammer walker

10. Removing fulled wool fabric from traditional hammer 'valker'

The hours of pounding hooks the microscopic barbs on the wool fibers to each other, making the fabric dense and strong.

11. Every inch of fabric must be carefully inspected

12. Tiny knots or fiber clumps are removed

13. Metal brushes raise up fiber ends on fabric surface

Loden can also be brushed specifically for water resistance by brushing all the fibers ends in one direction resulting in something like short fur. This method is used in our overcoats and is called a 'strichloden' finish.