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It’s Question Time at Skye Weavers!

One of the nicest things about having visitors to the workshop is the chance to chat and answer people’s questions. We’ve not been able to do that so much this year, so for this month’s blog we thought we’d share our answers to some of the questions we often get asked.

Have you got a wool or weaving question? Post us a comment on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and we’ll do our best to answer.

How many miles do you pedal a day – and does it make you fit?
We reckon about 20 miles (32 km) a day – no hills, no wind, no rain. It takes about a mile of cycling to weave a metre of tweed, and on a good day we can weave up to 20 metres of tweed or about 10 throws. Sadly though, it’s not sufficiently aerobic to really enhance our fitness levels – not like cycling up our brae anyway!

Is all your wool from Skye?
We’re really proud of our Skye Wool range, which is made entirely from local fleeces, and this makes up about 40% of our product range. Different types of yarn are suited to different types of product, however. The sheep here (mostly Cheviots) are experts at surviving the cold, and their yarn is perfect for warm throws and hard-wearing tweeds. For garments worn next to the skin, such as scarves, we often use lambswool from other breeds of sheep; and for items such as baby blankets we use ultra-soft Merino.

How many sheep does it take to make a throw or blanket?
Rather neatly, it pretty much equates to one sheep per blanket. A Cheviot fleece weighs about 2-3 kg. About 40% of this gets lost through grading and processing, leaving about 1.5 kg of yarn per sheep – the approximate weight of a blanket.

Is there a history of weaving on Skye?
Traditionally, people all over the Scottish islands would have woven woollen fabric at home for their own use. There was no commercial weaving on Skye, however, until after the First World War, when Harris weavers were invited to set up a weaving community in Portnalong. ‘Port-na-Skye’ tweed, as it was called, lasted until the 1970s and it’s a fascinating story. There was also a spinning and weaving mill in Portree until the 1970s, and other weavers at work in Kilmuir and Portree at that time. You can read about ‘Skye’s forgotten weavers’ in our blog.

How do you compare to Harris Tweed?
Like most Harris Tweed weavers we use pedal powered Griffith looms – in fact we bought our first loom second-hand from a former Harris Tweed weaver. We couldn’t call our products Harris Tweed though as it is a strictly protected cloth (identified by its ‘Orb’ trademark), meaning that all processes have to happen in the Outer Hebrides. Most Harris Tweed weavers are self-employed but they tend to work for one of the three spinning mills on Lewis and Harris, to agreed designs. However there are some independent weavers who create their own designs and sell direct, like us. The joy of running our own business is that we can basically do whatever we like! We particularly enjoy challenging our looms (and ourselves) to create inventive weaves and different products such as scarves and throws.

Is everything made in Skye?
It’s really important to us that we keep things local and rooted in Skye. Everything is designed, woven and sewn here in our workshop on the croft, with the exception of our tweed caps. Hat-making is a specialist process so these are made for us by long established British manufacturers Olney Headwear, using our tweed.

Where else do you sell your products?
We like to have a direct relationship with our customers and primarily sell direct to the public. In a normal year about 80% of our sales are through our small shop on the croft (though of course that has been very different this year), with the rest online. We do also occasionally do special commissions for Skye’s boutique hotels such as The Bosville, Monkstadt House and Marmalade. You can even find us in London, adorning the luxury bedrooms of One Aldwych. But while we love working with these creative clients, we strictly limit these collaborations as we don’t want to overwhelm our small business.

What inspires your designs?
We’re lucky to live in a stunningly beautiful part of the world, providing an inspirational backdrop to everything we do. The landscapes and seascapes are magnificent of course but actually it’s often the small details – such as lichens, heathers, pebbles and moss – that provide the most direct starting point for our weaves. I take a lot of photographs too, and these provide a valuable reference point when we’re planning a new design. If you’d like to know more have a look at our recent blog about the design process.

How did you get started?
We didn’t originally intend to be weavers – it was something we came across by one of life’s wonderful turns. We met while working at Ardalanish, an organic farm on the Isle of Mull. The farm set up a weaving mill to use the fleeces of their Hebridean sheep, and we both became fascinated by the weaving process and excited about the potential of using local resources to make a sustainable product. I also fell in love with textiles and making things, particularly with wool. We later decided to move up to Roger’s family home on Skye, and set up our own business. By that point we had come across pedal-powered looms and knew we wanted to work with them. And now we’re looking forward to the 10th anniversary of Skye Weavers next year!

What’s it like living on Skye?
We feel so lucky to be living here, doing something we love doing – though running a small business has its share of stresses too! Roger says his favourite aspects are: ‘Winter, light and peacefulness’. For me it’s the hugely varied landscape and endless opportunities for outside activities – swimming, cycling and walking. We also feel very fortunate to be part of a friendly and welcoming community. If you’re a city-lover, Skye is probably not for you, but we wouldn’t change it for the world!

People often ask us how we come up with our designs. I’ve been putting off trying to answer this question! But it’s time to go behind the scenes and take a peek inside our heads.

There are two main components of a weaving design: the weave structure and the yarn colour. The weave structure is the interlacement of warp (vertical threads) and weft (horizontal threads). Depending on the structure, the warp or weft threads may be more dominant, or they may be visible in equal proportions. It’s possible to achieve lovely effects even with just two colours. Our Skye Wool Grey and Peat Throw is a good example.

There are lots of other variables: the density of the warp and weft and the thickness and type of yarn for example. We use only woollen yarns but even then there’s a huge variety: worsted spun vs woollen spun; different types of wool from different sheep breeds; how much twist there is on the yarn; and whether or not the yarn is plied (individual strands twisted together).

But before we start designing the first question is: What’s it for? Throws need to be thick and warm; tweed has to be hard wearing; shawls require a lovely soft drape; and scarves want to be nice and soft. These considerations are uppermost when we choose our weave structure and yarn.

Even then there are plenty of design choices to make. Sometimes we like to keep it simple and let the yarn speak for itself – as in our grey Skye Wool throws, woven from pure, undyed local wool. At other times we want to challenge ourselves. Our 8 shaft loom allows us to create some unusual weave structures. We love herringbone but also want to throw something different into the mix – creating fabric that is both traditionally Scottish but also very specific to us. Our Plaited Twill and Diamond Tweed are two of these more complex structures.

The question of overall design is more difficult to pin down. Everyone has their own design approach. Some people create mood boards, or scan ‘trend watch’ forecasts for the next hot look. For us it’s more about looking at what’s around us. I’m always taking photographs of Skye landscapes and nature, and these are often the starting point for a design. Sometimes it’s the colour combinations, sometimes the patterns and textures – particularly in close-up details.

We are also inspired by our materials, particularly the natural colours we get from local wool. But to be honest we haven’t got a very organised design approach; we just spend a lot of time looking at things, making sketches and thinking about possibilities. Fortunately the act of pedalling away on the loom seems to create a stream of ideas!

From design to weave

When we’ve decided the basics we need to develop the design and then work out to how to weave it. While most designs can be worked out on squared paper, we also use a computer program which makes it very easy to see the effect of changing one component.

We also have a small table loom where we can weave samples and decide which works best.

Design in action

A good illustration of the design process I’ve just described is our new wedding shawl. We knew we wanted the shawl to be light, lacy and textured, but with our looms we’re limited to a 16 pick repeat. We chose ‘huck lace’ as the weave structure as it provides varied patterns and textures even on a small number of shafts.

I started by weaving a huck lace sample blanket on the table loom, using every possible pattern variation that our big loom could manage. We’re limited to two different textures on our looms so we decided which two we liked best and then experimented with different ways of distributing them across the width of the shawl.

Here I’m weaving the huck lace sample for the wedding shawl.

Once we’d settled on the design it was time to work out the detail of how to weave it.

That means things like how many warp threads (‘ends’) per shawl; how many ends per texture; the heddling set-up (which ends get threaded onto which shaft); how many cones to wind for warping, and so on. That whole process will have to be the subject of another blog, but you can find out a bit about it in the Story section of our website.

Then finally, it’s time to get weaving!

If you’d like to know more about designing fabrics have a look at my favourite book on the subject, Designing Woven Fabrics by Janet Phillips. I went on one of her courses a couple of years ago and loved it! It was great to take some time out to experiment and try new techniques.

Now, what shall we design next?!

Lichens are one of our favourite sources of inspiration. The clean air here means they’re in great abundance in the Highlands & Islands. I love photographing them and though I have hundreds of pictures I can never resist taking another one – especially when it comes to the striking yellow Xanthoria parietina.

This lichen inspired two of our latest throws, just arrived in the shop. We had a yarn dyed specially to match the colour.

Many different varieties have made their way into our weavings over the years. This one was inspired by ochre-coloured lichens in the Cuillin Hills.

A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to know more about the biology of these fascinating organisms. So I signed up for an introductory lichen identification day at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. One of the first things I learnt is that it’s actually very hard to identify many lichens! You often have to look close up under a microscope or even use chemical testing.

We covered a lot in the day and some of the information was quite overwhelming, but here’s my handy checklist of Things I Learnt About Lichen:

What is lichen? It’s a fungus living in a symbiotic relationship with an algae and/or cyanobacteria. Most of what we see when we look at a lichen is the fungus.

How does it grow? The fungus ‘farms’ algae: it protects the algae from UV light and gives it a place to live, then ‘harvests’ the sugars that the algae produces by photosynthesis. Fungi don’t photosynthesise themselves, so this symbiotic relationship is their way of getting energy.

What types of lichen are there? Lichens have a number of different growth forms. The most basic ones are fruticose (with algae all around), foliose (leaf-like) and crustose (very closely attached to a stone or rock). But as is the case with anything to do with lichens, it’s not straightforward and there are many cross-over types.

What’s behind the names? Most lichens only have Latin names, but there are quite a few with common names, especially those that have a medical or a practical use. For example, Lungwort was used to treat lung disease, and Dog Lichen was a cure for dog bites – and also looks like dog’s teeth underneath. Crottle or Crotal is one we’re very familiar with as weavers – it refers to a number of lichens used for dyeing wool, which was common in Scotland in the past though it’s now not allowed commercially. The word comes from the Gaelic word for lichen.

All in all, it’s a totally fascinating subject. Being able to identify the more complicated lichens takes years of study, but spending a day learning more about these complex symbiotic organisms made me appreciate them even more.

If you’re been inspired by lichens too, you’ll find a few lichen-related weavings in the shop at the moment. As well as our Xanthoria throws there’s a Grey Lichen tartan wrap and Map Lichen scarf.

Just to finish off the Lichen lesson, here’s a short video of us weaving our Map Lichen scarves.

From front-garden singing to TV life drawing, the current crisis seems to have sparked a (home-based) creative renaissance. And many people have been channelling creative energies into sewing projects. Restricted shopping opportunities give us all another reason for dusting down the sewing machine – whether making something from scratch or giving older items a new lease of life. So this month’s blog is dedicated to … the joys of making and mending.

Getting started
If you’re new to sewing or a bit out of practice, we suggest you don’t leap into creating a tailored jacket straight away! Have a start with something relatively simple that doesn’t need any lining or fitting. A purse, tea cosy, cushion cover – these are all good to begin with and have the bonus of not needing a lot of fabric. And of course we would highly recommend the wonder-fabric, tweed. Here we’re making cushions with Plaited Twill Wine.

There are plenty of instructions online. The BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee has some great little videos, and the Women’s Institute has produced some how-to films specially for lockdown. If you’re nervous about making mistakes why not do a dummy run with a discarded sheet or other old fabric.

Scale it up
Feeling a bit more ambitious? Curtains are one of the most popular things people make with our tweed. They are actually surprisingly easy once you get your head around dealing with so much fabric. They work equally well lined or unlined, and with any kind of heading. For extra warmth you can even use thermal interlining – learn how to in this National Trust video.

We love seeing what other people have created with our fabric. This Skye couple used our herringbone tweed to create thermally lined divider curtains in a draughty house – and also give a new lease of life to some 1970s chairs.

On a practical note in regards to upholstery – we’ve put representative samples of our tweeds through the industry-standard Martindale Abrasion Test and they are all suitable for ‘heavy domestic use’ upholstery. The only one we wouldn’t recommend for upholstery is our Brushed Tweed, as with wear it would lose its brushed finish. The brushed tweeds are a favourite for curtains or soft furnishings such as cushions.

Tweed is a great fabric for clothing projects too. Our fabric lends itself to trousers, jackets, waistcoats and more. Here are some more pictures from our creative customers.

You can find some excellent patterns online. As well as established makes like Burda there are a number of independent pattern makers springing up such as Alice & Co (we think their ‘Copenhagen Coat’ would look great in tweed).

Making it last
Today we are all starting to question our society’s throwaway culture; there’s a definite move towards buying things that will last, and towards sharing and handing down. And for fashion, that means rediscovering the art of mending. You know something has entered the Zeitgeist when Scotland’s design museum, the V&A Dundee, is on to it. Check out their Sewing Box for the Future web page where you can download ‘recipe cards’ on darning and other repair tasks and find out how to customise your own garments. You’ll find some good advice on the Fashion Revolution website too – from how to sew on a button to how to refresh your wardrobe.

Mending has actually become an art form in itself. Witness the new trend for ‘visible mending’ – making rips and mistakes beautiful. Scottish knitwear designer Flora Collingwood-Norris is something of a visible mending guru and runs online tutorials on the subject; here are a couple of her creations.

If you’re feeling inspired why not take a visit to our online shop where you can order samples of all our tweeds. We’re also now selling a pack of three matching tweeds suitable for cushions, so you can mix and match. We hope you enjoy getting creative – and don’t forget to share with us online!

There could only be one subject for this month’s blog. We’ve all had our lives turned upside down in the last few weeks and have had to rapidly adjust to the new normal. We’ve had so many concerned emails from our lovely customers, wanting to know how we’re coping on Skye. So we thought we’d share a glimpse of life here as we enter our fourth week of lockdown.

We’re feeling incredibly lucky to be self-isolating in such a glorious landscape with plenty of space around us. We’re all social distancing of course, and limiting ourselves to short local walks and bike rides for our exercise ration. No one is complacent though – our health services here do an amazing job but are stretched at the best of times. And the impact on Skye’s tourist-reliant economy is going to be huge.

Still, resilience and resourcefulness is something we have in abundance in the island. Our local community has sprung into action to reach out to those in need. As soon as the crisis hit, local volunteers set up Skye Community Response to ensure that vulnerable people could get food and prescriptions – and they’ve been overwhelmed with offers of help. We’re looking forward to putting our sewing skills to good use through Skye Scrubs, joining other volunteers in making scrubs for Portree hospital and using patterns from the wonderful For the Love of Scrubs.

Businesses have rallied round in imaginative ways, too – from Isle of Skye Distillers making hand sanitiser to restaurants baking bread. A repurposed Local Food Links van is helping keep local producers in business while the rest of us get to enjoy locally sourced food at a safe distance. While all non-essential retail outlets have closed, our local shop and post office has been holding the fort and working round the clock to keep us supplied with all our essentials.

As elsewhere around the world, digital technology is proving a lifeline on both a personal and a business level. While we all get used to Zooming and Skyping neighbours, family and friends, new online initiatives are springing up. One of our favourites is #COVIDCeilidh, initiated by fiddle player Duncan Chisholm, where traditional musicians have been sharing tunes on social media to keep us all uplifted.

Another fantastic initiative is Isle20, a not-for-profit website listing businesses across the Scottish islands who are selling online. Started only a month ago, it now features hundreds of suppliers selling everything from gin to jewellery to online Gaelic classes. At a time when we’ve all had to close our face-to-face retail, this virtual shop window is a real boon.

We’ve also been taking the opportunity to spend more time working in the garden, cooking, baking and watching the little lambs appear in the glen. You can’t stop spring even during a pandemic, and it’s been uplifting to see the primroses peep through under the hedgerows and hear the birds going berserk in the bushes.

While this crisis has forced us all to stay local for the time being, it’s also highlighted how connected we are globally. And though we can’t meet people face to face at the moment we’ve been really touched by the many messages we’ve had from around the world. Our hearts go out to all those who are really suffering at this difficult time. Wherever you are reading this, we hope you and your loved ones stay safe and well, and we look forward to a time when we can welcome you in person once more.