Shetland Wool Week

Shetland Wool Week We just love Shetland wool! Shetland Wool Week 2026 will be going ahead from Sunday 27 September - Saturday 3 October

Nine days dedicated to celebrating the wool of Britain’s most northerly native sheep, and Shetland’s textile industries and rural farming communities. Join knitting master classes in Fair Isle and Shetland Fine Lace, workshops in hand-spinning, weaving and felting, attended by hand-knit designers and textile artists from all over the world.

🧶We love the stylish slouchy shape of , inspired by the fashionable hat featured in Stanley Cursiter’s portrait on the...
21/05/2026

🧶We love the stylish slouchy shape of , inspired by the fashionable hat featured in Stanley Cursiter’s portrait on the cover of A Shetland Knitter’s Notebook, which Helen had long admired.

This style was known in women’s fashion by 1920 as a Tam o’Shanter, after the name of the main character in the Burns poem who wore the more historical knitted blue bonnet. Both bonnets had a fitted band around the head, with the body of the hat extending outward in a round beret-style. The styles for women kept the band around the head and exaggerated the fullness of the beret crown, so that it often draped to one side. It became very fashionable after 1920 because it was becoming with short, bobbed hairstyles and was made in many types of fabrics for different occasions.

The knitted versions often did drape, depending on the width and length of the crown, and the looseness of the gauge.

We’re lucky to have several examples in our collection, including a lovely 1920s example currently on display.

📷 Shetland Photo Archives reference: 00809; ST00633; ST00581

🌟What an amazing evening we had last night celebrating the announcement of our new SWW patron, Helen Robertson!The big y...
23/04/2026

🌟What an amazing evening we had last night celebrating the announcement of our new SWW patron, Helen Robertson!

The big yellow thing in the sky even made an appearance, perfectly matching the happy mood of the night ☀️

Helen’s Birsie Beanny is finally out in the world after months of secrecy, and it’s been so lovely to see how many of you are already enjoying this fun and fresh design!

As always, it was wonderful to catch up with so many familiar faces. Thank you to everyone who came along, and to those supporting us from afar online.

➡To order the Birsie Beanny pattern https://shop.shetlandwoolweek.com/

Helen Robertson Design
Jamiesons of Shetland
Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool Brokers
Foula Wool
Uradale Yarns

📷by Alexa Fitzgibbon

📣Exciting news!!We are delighted to announce that the new Shetland Wool Week patron for 2026 is Helen Robertson Design –...
22/04/2026

📣Exciting news!!

We are delighted to announce that the new Shetland Wool Week patron for 2026 is Helen Robertson Design – and we are so excited to share her new hat pattern with you.

🌟Birsie Beanny 🌟

🧶Helen’s appointment celebrates her exceptional skill, creativity, and dedication to sharing Shetland’s rich knitting traditions worldwide as well her involvement with the event itself.

🧶She is an experienced and widely respected textile artist, designer and knitting tutor, known for blending heritage techniques with fresh modern ideas. A true champion of Shetland heritage, craft and community - we are thrilled to have her as this year’s patron.

🧶Helen’s slouchy Birsie Beanny design brings together the spirit of Shetland Wool Week with elements drawn from her own creative journey.

🧶The patterns in the hat reflect different strands of her work and inspirations. The lower motif draws from her distinctive silver knitted tiaras, above it, a pattern references one of her favourite Shetland lace traditions, Liss Hols (Lace Holes). A heart motif, adapted from her Mariner’s Compass Hat, sits above, and the crown pattern takes inspiration from the lace Tree of Life.

🧶Adding a playful touch are the optional toosks, inspired by the tassels on the Gunnister Man’s purse - an important historic Shetland find - and the look of our heritage tattit rugs. The toosks give the hat texture and personality - they are also what inspired its name, as birsie means “hairy” in Shetland dialect.

The Birsie Beanny is presented in four distinct colourways, each reflecting Helen’s interests and inspirations:

Jamiesons of Shetland
Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool Brokers
Uradale Yarns
Foula Wool

➡ Download the digital pattern for £2.50 or order a printed copy for £5 +p&p - https://www.shetlandwoolweek.com/knitting-pattern/

For customers in the US, printed copies are available exclusively through The Woolly Thistle

All proceeds from the sale of this pattern will help to secure the future of the SWW event which is so important to Shetlanders and visitors.

We hope you enjoy knitting the hat and share your Birsie Beanny with us using

📷 Kirstie.creates

Before we reveal our 2026 Patron and their hat later this evening (Wednesday 22 April), we want to take a moment to say ...
22/04/2026

Before we reveal our 2026 Patron and their hat later this evening (Wednesday 22 April), we want to take a moment to say a heartfelt thank you to last year’s Patrons, the 🫶🏻

Their dedication to the role has been truly inspiring, and the Aal Ower Toorie is a stunning achievement – beautifully designed, wonderfully versatile, and a perfect celebration of Fair Isle allover patterning.

It’s been such a joy to see everything the Guild members have brought to the community over the past year, sharing Shetland’s traditional crafts of spinning, knitting, weaving and dyeing far and wide. We know they’ve made a lasting impact and we’re so grateful for all their hard work (and, of course, their famous teas! 🧁

We look forward to seeing them tonight as they take a well-earned moment and pass on the Patron baton!

✨ We’ve seen so many beautiful Aal Ower Toories over the past year, and we’ve loved admiring all the ways you’ve made th...
20/04/2026

✨ We’ve seen so many beautiful Aal Ower Toories over the past year, and we’ve loved admiring all the ways you’ve made them your own - from creative colour choices to unique ribs, tassels, and finishing touches.

🧶We thought it would be nice to share a few more of your creations ahead of our 2026 hat pattern launch this Wednesday evening (22nd April).

We’re currently offering 20% off all our Wool Week stock, so if you’re feeling inspired to try the Aal Ower Toorie, now’s the perfect time to pick up your printed or digital copy. Offer ends midnight Tuesday 21st April - https://shop.shetlandwoolweek.com/collections/all-shetland-wool-week

Stay tuned for the launch — we can’t wait to show you what’s coming next! ✨

📸
Kathleen Treakcna Lizzie Gittoes Michelle Mead

🌼 SPRING SALE 🌼 Spring has arrived! We’ve been enjoying pockets of sunshine, spectacular rainbows, and the first lambs a...
14/04/2026

🌼 SPRING SALE 🌼

Spring has arrived! We’ve been enjoying pockets of sunshine, spectacular rainbows, and the first lambs are beginning to arrive - along with puffins too!

✨To celebrate, we’re offering 20% off all Shetland Wool Week stock - including Annuals, patterns, and merchandise.

Simply use code SWWSPRING20 at checkout

➡️ https://shop.shetlandwoolweek.com/collections/all-shetland-wool-week

🗓 This offer is valid until Tuesday 21 April.

We can't wait to visit this new exhibition at Shetland Museum and Archives exhibition - opens this Saturday!'Outwith: Va...
26/03/2026

We can't wait to visit this new exhibition at Shetland Museum and Archives exhibition - opens this Saturday!

'Outwith: Valda, MacDiarmid and Whalsay'

Our colleagues at the recently added this knitted smoking cap to their collection. It’s a fascinating blend of Victoria...
25/03/2026

Our colleagues at the recently added this knitted smoking cap to their collection. It’s a fascinating blend of Victorian and Shetland design – something we thought our Wool Week followers would enjoy. 🧶

The smoking cap was at-home leisure wear for men of a certain social standing in the Victorian period. The cap kept the head warm in drafty and poorly-heated Victorian homes and stopped men’s hair from smelling of smoke.

They were modelled on North African and Middle Eastern headwear, an exotic fashion trend at the time. They are usually made of rich materials like velvet and silk with ornate surface embroidery and a tassel, and Shetland Museum has two of this type, but this is the first fair isle smoking cap we have seen.

The cap is knitted from the centre crown to the lower band, and is lined in duck egg blue cotton sateen. It was knitted in a tight gauge using 4-ply “Scotch” wool, so-named by Shetland knitters because the yarn was bought from the Scottish mainland to make a very smooth, worsted fabric. The lining is a duck egg blue cotton sateen. It belonged to a gentleman from Unst, who was born in the 1860s but spent most of his life in Edinburgh before retiring to Unst in the 1920s. It is believed to have been knitted in Unst.

If you’re signed up to our SWW newsletter, you’ll know we’ve just started a new 2025 Annual blog series! ✨Over the next ...
11/03/2026

If you’re signed up to our SWW newsletter, you’ll know we’ve just started a new 2025 Annual blog series! ✨

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be hearing from some of our talented designers about their creative process and the inspiration behind their designs.

First up is Ella Gordon () and her beautifully bold Osla Cowl.

📸 Scroll through our images to learn more about what inspired her design.

🧶 As always, we love seeing what’s on your needles! Are you working on any projects from the SWW Annual? Have you cast on Ella’s Osla Cowl yet?

If so, we’d love to see your progress shots or finished pieces — send us a PM or tag us. Your projects are always such a joy to see. 💛

💌 If you haven’t signed up to our newsletter, follow the link in our bio and be the first to hear all our SWW news and updates.



🇺🇸 Calling all USA customers 🇺🇸We’re delighted to announce that our Shetland Wool Week 2025 merchandise is now available...
30/01/2026

🇺🇸 Calling all USA customers 🇺🇸

We’re delighted to announce that our Shetland Wool Week 2025 merchandise is now available to buy in the USA, thanks to an exclusive partnership with The Woolly Thistle

The Woolly Thistle has packaged the goodies as a complete bundle:
• Tote bag
• Notebook
• Project bag
• SWW hat badge
• Tea towel

✨ Limited availability - so if you’re keen to add this to your SWW collection, now’s the time!

Available here: https://thewoollythistle.com/collections/bits-and-pieces/products/shetland-wool-week-merch-bundle

Address

Shetland

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Shetland Wool Week posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Shetland Wool Week:

Shortcuts

Share