Up Helly Aa makes up a large part of Shetland’s social calendar and keeps us all entertained through the dark winter months. With the events starting in January and running until mid March, we certainly know how to celebrate our Viking heritage. We would like to give a special mention to the outfits worn by the Jarl Squad at the main Lerwick Up Helly Aa 2024 event. Each year the design and colour of the suits are a closely guarded secret until the day – we always look forward to seeing whether they incorporate any Shetland knitwear……and this year did not disappoint! All photos by @martin ..read more

To celebrate International Women’s Day 2024 we shine a light on Ann Harriet Pottinger, née Hunter, one of many unsung, hard-working Shetland women who made a difference to their community and family. In Ann’s case, she also contributed in a small way to world events. She was a businesswoman, mother of eleven, and wife of the schoolmaster in Brettabister, Nesting at the end of the 19th century and the beginning decades of the 20th century. The family, 1906, top left: sister-in-law Liza Irvine, Bella, Liza, Ella, William Jnr., James, Frank, Harriet, William Snr., Maggie, Bob, Ann, baby Vera. Ph ..read more

The book is the result of a three-year project undertaken by Shetland Museum to assess its knitted lace collection and record traditional designs and historical research to expand upon descriptions held by the Museum. The craft of Shetland knitted lace-making involves fine openwork knitting, used to make shawls, stoles and scarves, among other garments. These were considered luxury items because of their fineness, complexity of design, and the length of time required to make them. The book reveals historical knitted lace pieces held in the Shetland Museum collection. It details individual lac ..read more

We’re certainly in need of one after the seemingly relentless bad weather we’ve experienced here in Shetland over the last few weeks which has kept us indoors. Thankfully Alison Rendall, our SWW patron, has come up trumps and has designed a pair of distinctive mitts to match her popular Buggiflooer Beanie, last year’s official SWW hat. The pops of colour in the flower motifs are so bright and cheery and the turn down cuffs with keep you super cosy. Alison has designed them using the same colourways as she did for the beanie – using Shetland wool from Jamieson’s of Shetland; Jamieson ..read more

Winter is upon us, there is a chill in the air and it’s time to wrap up in our cosiest knitwear and embrace the elements – you are sure to spot gorgeous woolly wears wherever you turn in Shetland at this time of year! Although we have weathered a few winter storms already, we have also had the most beautiful calm days in-between. We also experienced a few spectacular displays of the Northern Lights, and we’re reminded how lucky we are to live here! SWW Winter Offer To spread a bit of festive joy we are offering a 20% discount on our Shetland Wool Week Annuals and all SWW Merchandise&nbs ..read more

Thanks again to everyone who attended Shetland Wool Week 2023 and for supporting us as we return to having a full programme of events. It was lovely to see so many of you in person again over an amazing 9 days of programming. We’d also like to extend a huge thanks to those of you who joined us online, whether via our online streamed talks or through your messages, likes and photos – we really felt the love from our online community. We can’t believe that it’s all over for another year, but we’re looking forward to doing it all again in 2024! Here is a reminder of next year’s dates: 29 Septembe ..read more

If you followed us on social media last week you’ll have spotted that we created a range of exclusive new SWW merchandise. This year, inspired by Alison’s Buggiflooer Beanie, we developed botanical themed goodies – all based on plants and wildflowers that form part of a Shetland Sheep’s diet. The illustrations are the work of the very talented Sarah Leask who created these stunning illustrations for us of wildflowers, seaweed and grasses that have been applied to a variety of handy items including bags, washi tape, coasters, notepads, keyrings, badges, tea towels and more! The post Now for ..read more

And just like that, another Shetland Wool Week is over. We had the best time and it was so good to be back to full strength in person once more! Shetland Wool Week 2024 dates But first things first, here are the all-important dates for next year. Sunday 29 September – Saturday 5 October 2024 You’ll notice that this is in fact seven days. Don’t worry the Hub will still be open for the full nine days and there will no doubt be woolly happenings; we just won’t be running any classes on the first Saturday and last Sunday. 2023 Woolly Round Up We had a sea of Buggiflooer Beanies – this has to be ..read more

Create your own user feedback survey The post 2023 Class Feedback first appeared on Shetland Wool Week ..read more

We still have some tickets available for our late afternoon and evening talks. This year they are taking place in Mareel’s auditorium to give us extra capacity – it’s an ideal chance for locals to come along too and take part. Mon 25th Sep, 4:30pm to 6pm – Shetland Heritage Through a Designer’s Eye With Helen Robertson Join Helen Robertson as she extracts stories and legends from Shetland’s rich history and illustrates it with textiles and jewellery. Get a glimpse into her design process and original techniques. Mon 25th Sep, 7.30pm to 9pm – A Talk With SWW Patron Alison Rendall Our 2023 Patro ..read more