Shetland wool inspires textile students in Scottish Borders

WOOL from Shetland sheep has proved an inspiration to textile students in the Scottish Borders as part of a new project.

Students in Heriot-Watt University’s school of textiles and design in Galashiels were encouraged to use Shetland wool to design a range of products such as cushions, coats, dresses and scarves.

Jamieson and Smith wool brokers in Lerwick collaborated with the university on the project, which saw 18 third year students making the most of Shetland wool.

Ella Gordon, Jamieson and Smith’s marketing manager, said it was the Shetland sheep’s diet of wild heather and seaweed which made the wool so unique.

“This diet, along with the not-so-great weather, makes Shetland wool soft, strong and warm,” she said.

“Shetland wool is also very diverse: it’s perfect for hand-knitting both Shetland lace and Fair Isle, as well as for knitwear manufacture and weaving.”

Jamieson and Smith buys wool from more than 700 of Shetland’s crofters and farmers and transforms it into products including knitting and weaving yarns, knitwear, blankets and carpets.

The students, who are all studying textile design, took part in the project to give them hands-on experience of working in the industry.

Shona Cook, whose work was inspired by nature and wildlife including otters and herons and the geometric shapes of Sanqhuar Knitting.

Shona Cook, whose work was inspired by nature and wildlife including otters and herons and the geometric shapes of Sanqhuar Knitting.

They presented woven, knitted and printed textile designs that could be used in a wide range of interior and fashion products, including cushions, curtains, lampshades, throws, artworks, coats, suits, jumpers, dresses, scarves, shirts and blouses.

Student Megan Beattie, 20, from Dundee, was chosen as category winner for woven textiles and overall winner of the industry project.

She was inspired by the powerful women who played key roles in both Shetland’s textile industry and Dundee’s jute industry.

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To develop her designs, she used themes, shapes and colours from sources including old photographs of women mill workers and lyrics from songs that would be sung in the mills.

“Women dominated the textile industry so much that Dundee was nicknamed ‘She Town’, while Shetland was known as a ‘Women’s Island’,” Beattie said.

“It was nice to find that link between the two communities. I feel extremely proud to be named overall winner in this project.

“It’s been a great opportunity to work with Shetland yarn and fantastic experience in my ambition to work in the woven textile design industry.”

The category winners will each receive a £100 prize from Jamieson and Smith, while the overall winner will be invited to Shetland, where it is hoped their work will be shown in the Shetland Museum and Archives in Lerwick during Wool Week in September.

It is also hoped that a selection of student work will be exhibited at Tangled, a fibre festival in Galashiels that celebrates the area’s historical and cultural textile heritage.

This runs from Friday 30 to Saturday 31 May, when the student’s work will be displayed in the Great Tapestry of Scotland visitor centre on Galashiels High Street.