The Isle of Skye is home to a vibrant creative community of artists, designers and makers, and we love to collaborate when we can. So we were delighted when we were invited to take part in a joint textile art and weaving exhibition at Aros, the cultural centre in Skye’s capital Portree.

All four of us taking part are very different, but share a passion for weaving and deep connection to the landscape around us. To celebrate the opening of the exhibition on 4 March, we asked those taking part to give us an insight into their working methods and inspiration.

Maggie Williams is a hand weaver who lives and works on a windswept croft at Ellishadder, on Skye’s stunning north-east coast. “I take my inspiration from my surroundings,” says Maggie. “The play of light on inky seas, the ever-changing weather, lichen encrusted rock, the delicate tapestry of wildflowers on machair, undulating lines of ancient lazy beds, or the stark beauty of the rugged landscape – all these influences can be found in my designs.”

Maggie weaves on a 16 shaft dobby loom using high quality natural fibres, predominantly merino and lambswool. She adds: “By using traditional time-honoured skills and craftsmanship, I aim to create timeless, heirloom quality pieces, produced in a sustainable and ethically responsible manner.” As well as weaving Maggie runs the Ellishadder Gallery and Tearoom, where you can find her work alongside that of other Skye artists and makers.

Chris Leighton started weaving almost by accident. “I began when I inherited a loom and some wool,” he explains. “I was drawn to tapestry weaving, and now use this method in all my work. I’ve taken ideas from Turkish rugs and kilims, and later from weaving I saw in Bulgaria which led me to new techniques.” He adds: “I’ve also been involved in a quilting group that meets regularly in Portree. That inspired me to interpret patchwork into weaving with additional embellishments and by adapting the warp.”

Chris weaves using a rigid heddle loom. ‘It’s versatile, easy to dress and portable,” he says. “It’s quite old and has become warped – no pun intended – but I’ve got quite used to it so I’ll be sticking with it for the foreseeable future.”

Caroline Dear is an artist who trained as an architect. Living in Skye since 1986, she has exhibited internationally and received numerous awards. “I like responding to particular landscapes and habitats, and make work which highlights our changing relationship with the natural world,” says Caroline. “I am interested in structures made using plants and traditional techniques. I use simple early techniques such as rope making and looping to create cloth like pieces. I am excited by the transformation of, say, grass, from thin small loose stems into a loose flexible structure with an individual character, strength and atmosphere.”

You can see a gallery of Caroline’s work and find out more on her website.

For us at Skye Weavers, the land and landscape are both a source of inspiration and raw material. From seashore to mountain top, the colours and textures of our surroundings all make their way into our designs. We’re particularly proud of our Skye Wool range, which is made entirely from wool from local farmers and crofters. Whether it’s throws or scarves, baby blankets or lengths of tweed, we hope that those who buy our woven products will take with them a tangible connection to our very special island.

We weave on a bicycle pedal-powered loom in a small weaving shed next to our old croft house. We use a double-width Bonas-Griffith rapier loom, similar to those used by Harris Tweed weavers but adapted by us to create a wider range of fabrics. Find out about the journey from sheep to tweed on our story page.

The exhibition continues until 29 March and is free to enter. To find out about many of the other artists and creatives on Skye visit the Art Skye website.

There’s lots we love about our work at Skye Weavers. But one of the most satisfying things must be when a roll of tweed comes back from the finishers. Especially when it’s a new design.

So it was very exciting to take delivery of three new tweeds this week – more on that later. It got us talking about what makes tweed so special. It’s warm, natural and hardwearing of course, as well as extremely versatile. But what is tweed exactly?

A bit of tweed history

Collins Dictionary defines tweed simply as ‘a thick woollen cloth, often woven from different coloured threads’. It’s said that the name originates in a 19th century misunderstanding. A manufacturer in the Scottish Borders sent some samples of ‘tweel’ (Scots for twill) fabric to a London merchant, who mis-read the word as ‘tweed’. Perhaps he was thinking of the River Tweed – but whatever the reason, a fortuitous rebranding was born.

People in the Scottish islands had been weaving woollen fabric at home for their own use for centuries. But it was much further south, in the Borders, that the tweed manufacturing industry developed during the 18th century Industrial Revolution. The English well-to-do started to discover this hardwearing fabric on their hunting trips to Scotland. And when in 1848 Prince Albert designed a tweed exclusively for the Royal family’s Balmoral Estate, the fashion really took off. Aristocratic estate owners began designing their own ‘Estate tweeds’, often introducing blended colours for camouflage.

The most famous of all tweeds is of course Harris Tweed. The iconic cloth originated in the mid-19th century after Harris landowner Lady Dunmore had her family tartan made in tweed by local weavers. Recognising its potential she helped promote it in London, where it became much sought after. In 1909 the Board of Trade granted Harris Tweed protected status to save it from imitations and ensure consistent standards. The cloth’s authenticity is today guaranteed by the Harris Tweed Authority, established in 1993 by Act of Parliament, which ensures that only genuine Harris Tweed can be stamped with the distinctive Orb trademark.

Today there are around 170 Harris Tweed weavers, who work in their own homes across the Outer Hebrides. They use manually powered looms, either the treadle-powered Hattersley or the more modern double-width pedal-powered Bonas-Griffith. Together they produce over a million metres of cloth a year. At Skye Weavers we use Bonas-Griffith looms too, but we don’t produce tweed in quite that quantity!

Tweed with a twist

We also differ from Harris Tweed weavers in that we’ve modified our looms so that, besides tweed, we can weave scarves, throws, shawls and different types of cloth. We love to experiment and push our equipment – and our imagination – to the limits.

For our new tweed we’ve taken two of our favourite patterns, windowpane and diamond twill, and introduced some punchy new colours. While we love natural shades and earthy tweeds, it’s great sometimes to have a more vibrant palette. For the diamond twill we used a bright pink and turquoise weft (horizontal) yarn with specks of other colours.

In coming weeks we’ll be making these tweeds into soft furnishings, accessories and garments – watch this space. Meanwhile you can buy it by the metre for your own projects. Just as we’re inspired to invent new patterns we hope our tweeds will inspire you too. We love to hear what people have made with our tweed. Share your ideas and designs with us on Facebook and Instagram – and don’t forget to tag us @skyeweavers.

Visit our online shop to check out our current range of tweeds.

While the rest of us were taking down the Christmas tree and planning our Veganuary menus (you weren’t?), the country’s dedicated style-setters had other things on their mind. Because the first week of January is also London Fashion Week Men’s – the bi-annual menswear showcase that reveals what’s going to be hot next season.

And the big news – caps are on the catwalk. One leading label presented an entire collection inspired by Peaky Blinders, the cult BBC drama about peaked flat-cap wearing gangsters. Style-watchers at GQ report that David Beckham, no less, is a big flat cap fan. And as British Fashion Council ambassadorial president, Beckham should know a thing or two. We’re sure he would love our own version of the classic eight-piece design, made naturally from 100% pure new wool Skye Weavers tweed.

Our own caps are sewn for us by traditional British company Olney Headwear. The firm has been making hats and caps for more than 100 years and is owned by the fourth generation of the Olney family. They are based in the Bedfordshire town of Luton, the centre of UK hat making for nearly three centuries. Making headwear is a skilled and specialised business, and we wanted to choose the very best professionals to work with. We were really impressed by Olney’s craftsmanship and eye for detail when we went to visit them.

All this got us looking into the history of the cap. We call ours a baker boy but the eight-piece is known by various other monikers including the newsboy, paperboy, cheese-cutter, Gatsby, Irish and cabbie cap, as well as the peaky blinder. The cap might be a modern classic but it’s been around for hundreds of years. It’s said that caps derived from the Scots bonnets and the flat caps worn by Irish farmers in the 14th century. Mass immigration to North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries helped popularise the cap in the USA. In Britain it became part of the working man’s uniform but was also adopted by the aristocracy for hunting and shooting on their country estates. And it seems the cap also came in handy in the days before motorcycle helmets!

In our more gender fluid age, our tweed caps are great for both men and women. Fully lined with a curved peak brim, they’re available in Moss Check or Silver Birch. Check them out in our online shop.