Outer Hebrides Wool Festival announced

A pilot Outer Hebrides Wool Festival is being launched next month.

A range of woolly related events kicks off in June with many activities taking place in Grimsay.

Events are also scheduled for Benbecula, South Uist and Berneray.

It includes a sociable day-long get-together for people interested in wool and craft in Balivanich Hall on 10 June with a marketplace, craft and chatter, talks and demonstrations along with archival film screenings.

There’s free entry for mid-week open days at Birlinn Yarn Studio. The studio produces locally sourced naturally blended and organically dyed knitting yarn supported by bespoke patterns that take inspiration from Hebridean and Scandinavian knitting designs.

Opportunities to take a peek at what happens behind the scenes at the community owned wool mill in Grimsay are available on 16 and 30 June.

A free exhibition titled Knitting the Uists: Knitting inspired by photographs of Uist runs between Monday and Friday over the month at Ceann na h-Àirigh.

A series of practical workshops led by local crafters are also planned in Ceann na h-Àirigh centre, passing on techniques such as painting with wool, felting a reversible hat with Uist felt, making Dorset buttons, and knitting gansey fish.

Other activities involve weekly craft café on Wednesdays over the month.

Spinning in Uist are holding meetings in Kildonan Museum.

Knit and crochet with natter events will be hosted in Daliburgh on Fridays.

This summer’s wool festival is a pilot project, delivered by volunteer effort, without any grant funding, to test the water.

Feedback from the event will help assess the risks and inform a funding bid for grant support to develop a year-round wool trail and annual festival in future years.

The project is a partnership of woolly-based organisations in Uist, with an initial focus on delivering events across Uist and Barra, with potential to expand the geographical focus in future years.

The project aims to support local wool culture, from croft to couture, by facilitating inclusive collaboration, sustainable enterprise, wool tourism development and education throughout Uist and Barra.

Wool festival with a Hebridean twist

15 May 2023