Review: Textiles of the Islamic World

Textiles of the Islamic World
by John Gillow, 2010
Thames & Hudson

Reviewed by Eddie

This book seems to mark the culmination of a personal journey for John. As a schoolboy in the 1970’s he first came across the rich heritage of Muslim textiles in Istanbul. Now 40 years later, he makes a living of buying and selling textiles from across the world and in doing so he is also keenly interested in the same textiles, their prominence and their history.
John has written several books introduction us to textiles across the world (see my earlier review of African Textiles) and has now returned to the place where this fascination began, the Islamic World.
Islamic textiles are defined by John as textiles made or used by those of Islamic faith.
This brings him from Morocco to China, Russia to Cameroon. Islamic textiles can be identified as displaying ‘aniconic art’, meaning an avoidance of human and animal forms but with a wide use of abstract designs, calligraphy, plant life and geometric forms instead.
John gives a short history of the Islamic World and its textiles before taking us through a fascinating journey region by region to explore the material at hand. In each region he looks at the techniques or the people and has a section about the present. Each part of the book is wonderfully illustrated with images of the textiles along with images of the people who wore them.
This is another book that I can highly recommend both to the person wishing to learn more about this subject, but also for anyone looking for inspiration in their own work. I for one feel inspired to try and weave some of these intriguing motifs.

Review: African Textiles

African Textiles - Colour and Creativity Across a Continent
by John Gillow, 2009
Thames & Hudson

Reviewed by Eddie

This book aims to be an illustrated general survey of textiles of the whole African continent. The chapters divide Africa up, region by region, to look closer at each local weaving, dyeing and embroidery tradition.
Gillow examines the history of the textile tradition across the continent as well as comments on the current state of it. One valid point he makes is that while selling crafted items to tourists or through export is a great way to keep these crafts alive, there is still a need for a strong local demand in order to ensure that a high standard is maintained.
I have learned many new things from this book. Among others, the West African concept of strip-weaving which I must admit I had never heard of before. This is a technique of weaving narrow bands of fabric on a double-heddle loom, which are then sewn together selvedge to selvedge to create a large rectangular wrap.
Another technique I have discovered through this book is stitched resist dyeing, where you fold a piece of cloth and use raffia thread to embroider a pattern. The cloth is then dyed and when the thread is removed you are left with a beautiful regular patterned cloth.
This book has also allowed me to learn more about the bead-work of Southern Africa. A type of decoration that has fascinated me from a very early age. It is often used to make belts, necklaces and aprons to go with the customary skin clothing or just on its own. The beads themselves were of European or Indian manufacture and were introduced by traders and Christian missionaries. Nevertheless, the people of Southern Africa have made a unique technique and style of their own out of it.
I think this book is of equal interest to those who want an overview of African Textiles as well as those who are looking for new inspiration in their own craft-work. I for one have discovered new techniques that I wish to experiment with.

Review: Scandinavian Weaving

Scandinavian Weaving: Projects to Make for Your Home
Tina Ingell, 2010
A&C Black Publishers

I seldom find a project based book with so many projects in it that are all so attractive to me. I brought this book with me on holiday home to Denmark so that I could have a look through it with my mother. She used to weave 20 years ago and we have great plans of setting up her old floor loom and have a go on it. This book was just the inspiration we both needed. I can see us trying out quite a few of the projects over the next couple of years.
This book, though put together and written by Tina Ignell, is really a collection of 45 patterns published in Vävmagasinet - The Swedish Weaving Magazine. The patterns include everything from blankets to hammocks. The style of the items in the book are very Scandinavian modern. They might not be to everyone's taste, but I love them!
I feel that the book is really brilliant when it comes to showing off the product of different techniques. However, be aware that there is not much in terms of explanation of the techniques themselves. Scandinavian Weaving is not, in my view, a beginners book in terms of learning to weave. But it is great for getting that all-important inspiration!

Review: Mastercrafts

Mastercrafts series 1
BBC 2, 2010

Reviewed by John Roued-Cunliffe

“Mastercrafts” is a new show on BBC 2 that celebrates the traditional crafts that molded the Britain of today. From the little that I read about the first show beforehand I wasn’t sure what to expect. In each episode three keen volunteers are brought in to learn a new technique. During the show they are taught and then towards the end they have a competition to see who has learnt the most. I was really looking forward to learning about these ‘lost’ crafts but the prospect of competition within each episode was a bit confusing.

Episode 1: Greenwood Craft
Three volunteers spent a considerable amount of time learning the craft of greenwood carpentry from an expert – Guy Mallinson. Guy knew his stuff and I can only imagine how much fun it was to learn from him. He taught them a number of basic principles which they needed to be competent at before moving onto a project; making a chair.

The competition element raised its head when the three volunteers were asked to design and make a greenwood chair using the techniques they had been shown. After seeing the show I’m still not sure about this aspect of it. As far I’m concerned, learning a craft isn’t a competition or a sprint, but more like a marathon of learning. Surely to learn a craft it takes time and practice, and to ask three novices to compete against each other, maybe does more harm than good for their technique.

If you can look past the presenter (Monty Don) and the competition element of the show I’ve no doubt you will enjoy it. I learnt a lot about the craft and maybe it will inspire me to try my hand.

Episode 2: Thatching
I wasn’t aware that the process of thatching involves using previous thatch on the roof, and simply layering new thatch on top of existing thatch (assuming that the existing thatch is suitable of course). This fact was emphasised when the presenter, Monty Don, was shown Medieval thatch in the roof of a cottage. It was amazing to see the blackened straw dating back hundreds of years!
This weeks mastercrafters were Matt Williams and Dave Bragg from Rumpelstiltskin Thatching Company. These guys do everything themselves when it comes to long straw thatching and they introduced this weeks three volunteers to thatching from the very beginning – making yealms (the roof tiles of straw). Although the volunteers didn’t seem to enjoy this part, I think they all realised how important it is to the process. The volunteers were taken through their paces in all elements of thatching during the six weeks that followed. They were taught how to lay the yealms, how to blend them and how to twist a Hazel spar. There was even time for a ‘waterproof’ test, were Matt and Dave illustrated where rainwater would flow on the volunteer’s practice roofs.

Throughout the episode the volunteers were working towards thatching someone’s house. Fortunately for the home owner, if it wasn’t good enough, it wouldn’t be left on the roof. I won’t tell you how it ended, but the volunteer who laid the best thatch was given the opportunity to help thatch National Trust properties. I’m sure they’ll relish the chance.

In this episode you got a sense that these guys were not ready to thatch a roof by themselves, but instead, a real idea as to why it takes 4 years to learn this craft to a point where you would be able to put a roof on a house.

Episode 3: Blacksmithing
Once again, Monty Don opened the show by saying that blacksmithing had always interested him; that he always wanted to do more; and that he was really excited by this craft. This week’s volunteers were put straight to work in the forge by the master blacksmith, Don Barker. They were set the task of making ten nails in an hour. At its height, a blacksmith would have been expected to make around 60 nails an hour (that’s one every minute...ouch!). Don made one nail as a demo for them and set them to work. Early on the volunteers were told how to look after the forge and the temperature of the metal. They were put through their paces making various shapes and practicing different techniques, offering varying results. They also had the chance to work on a restoration project that Don and his team were working on.
Towards the end of the episode the volunteers were set the task of designing and making an iron gate for local homeowners. The skill that the volunteers achieved on their gates was amazing. They all designed the gates and made them in the forge after collaboration with the ‘client’. On completion, the gates were judged by Bob Hobbes; the only living Gold Medal holder of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths in Great Britain As well as learning these new skills, the volunteers were witness to an experiment to obtain iron from iron ore. The stone was heated to create iron ore, and then the ore was heated and worked in the smithy to create iron. Quite an incredible process and so old too.

After watching this episode I realised just how detailed and artistic the process of blacksmithing can be. Yes, it is hard work, but with practice, novices can achieve beautiful results.

Episode 4: Stained Glass
It's not something that I ever really looked at and thought 'how do they do that?' Yet I found it fascinating. The level of detail that the mastercrafter could achieve is incredible. From the distance you see them in situ, but you never really have any idea of the intricate nature of each piece of glass. Some are painted, many are coloured, and all along, the pieces of glass are handcut in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
This weeks mastercrafter was a woman called Sophie Lister-Hussain. Some of her own work was in the studio where the volunteer would be working, and it was clear that she was a very skilled artist. She put this weeks three volunteers to work cutting glass; first in straight lines, and then in curves. After grasping the technique they were given a small project of their own to reproduce a set pattern.
During the later stages of the course the volunteers were asked to design and make a stained glass window for a school. They were given a brief and a time-frame and left to it. The results were amazing, but I won't spoil it for anyone...let's just say that there were three excellent windows to choose from.

Episode 5: Weaving
I've seen looms before, but I had never seen a finished piece of cloth still attached to one, so I found it difficult to imagine how it all worked to get the finished object. It was interesting to see just how complex these hand looms are to set up. I can't be sure that this is the case, but one of the volunteers appeared to really struggle to get their loom set up ready to start weaving.
Margo Selby took charge of the volunteers this week. She is one of only 200 people in Great Britain today that are making a career out of hand weaving. Margo showed the volunteers how to set up a loom, use the loom and some of the different patterns you can easily make with one. After getting to grips with the techniques, the volunteers were asked to make something to sell. The idea being that they would gain an insight into what the market was like. Each one of them struggled to make a sale.
The volunteers were then set a task to weave a 3 meter length of fabric that they had to design themselves. While the weavers designed their fabrics (one even using their mac to help them out), Monty Don ventured to Hampton Court to look at the tapestries there. Looking back, it was pretty stupid of me, but I always thought that tapestries were made in a similar fashion to cross-stitch. It never dawned on me that they were actually hand woven. Now I think about it though it makes perfect sense; of course they were woven. The intricate details that they achieved on the tapestries is a testament to the skill of these practitioners of such a complicated craft.

Episode 6: Stonemasonry

The final episode of the series exploring traditional crafts was all about the work of a stone mason. The buildings of the past were predominantly built of stone. Each piece of stone had to be crafted to suit the purpose they were designed for. On building projects in the medieval period there would have been many stonemasons carving and placing the stones to build the structure.

Andy Oldfield has been working with stone for years, and now is responsible for the upkeep of Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. Hardwick Hall is an Elizabethan Stately Home that now needs constant care to maintain it's stature. All of the stone used on the building is taken from the quarry within the grounds. The first job for the volunteers is to see where the stone comes from and use a freshly quarried slab to create a flat surface. Although that sounds relatively simple, if they can't get this right, they won't be able to do any of the more complex stuff.

It's obvious from the start that with stonemasonry you can't hold back, but at the same time you don't want to be too bold and break the stone. There is a middle ground, that with practice, becomes second nature. As the volunteers progressed, the carvings became more difficult as the level of detail increased.

The project this episode was to design and make a sun-dial that would sit in the grounds of Hardwick Hall. All three volunteers developed very different designs. Ranging from the large and bold, right through to the more traditional style. As usual, I'm not going to spoil it for you, but my favourite won.

The series

In each episode we watched three volunteers developing skills in each of their chosen fields. Some were better than others, but I think that they all got something out of the experience and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they are all trying to keep their 'hand in' with their craft. I found it refreshing to see people from all walks of life taking an interest in some of the crafts that used to be such a big part of our society.

All in all, the series propelled the six crafts into the public domain. We've all seen the success of 'Time Team' and the effect that it has had on the public perception of archaeology. Time will tell if 'Mastercrafts' can have a similar effect of crafts. I hope that the BBC decide to follow up this series with a second series. There are many more crafts out there that are not as well known but that play or at least used to play a major part in everyday life. Crafts such as Cobblers, Basket Weavers and Dry Stone Walling are all being left on the shore as we carry on our human voyage.

The series chose six crafts that people would instantly know and be able to associate with something from their everyday life. Although people may have recognised the crafts, they may be less likely to recognise the time and effort that masters of these crafts commit to it. Recently there has been a trend to knit or make more and more things for the home, rather than buying newly made items. The growing interest in all things crafty has been reflected in this BBC series. They investigated the crafts just to the point where peoples interest may have been kindled and I would be willing to bet that Google searches, course applications, book and magazine sales relating to the crafts have all increased substantially. Congratulations BBC for an excellent series, and I hope to see a new series on our TV's in the near future...although, maybe you could wait till after summer so that I can get outside for a bit whilst the sun shines.

If you saw any of the series, please let me know what you thought of it. You can use the comments box below and I'll get to see what you thought. Who knows, maybe you disagree with me...

Look closer at Swaziland

This post is linked with a look closer sibling post on Eddie's Room about current crafts people in Swaziland

History of Swaziland
The Kingdom of Swaziland is a small landlocked country in Southern Africa, named after the 19th Century king Mswati II. It is bordered to the North, South and West by South Africa and to the East by Mozambique. The area was once home to nomadic Stone Age hunter-gatherers who left behind rock art paintings dating to around 25,000 BCE. Modern Swaziland was formed during the Bantu migrations from East Central Africa in the late 15th Century. After the Anglo-Boer war the British declared Swaziland a protectorate. In 1968 Swaziland gained independence are now ruled by King Mswati III.

Sisal Baskets
Sisal (Agave sisalana) is an Agave from which a rather stiff fibre is made. In Swaziland Sisal is an invasive weed and therefore the harvest of it does not threaten the country's natural biodiversity. Sisal is traditionally used to weave baskets and make rope, rugs and cattle fences. The titja basket is a traditional gift basket and the weaving of it is very labour intensive.

Thatching and fencing
The traditional Swazi homestead consists of several beehive huts thatched with dry grass and each surrounded by a reed fence/palisade. The reed fence is embodied in the reed dance (Umhlanga) where unmarried and childless Swazi girls collect tall reeds for the Queen Mother to repair holes in the royal village's palisade. Following the reed collection is the reed dance where the girls dress in traditional costume and parade in front of the royal family.

Do you know of more traditional Swazi crafts? If you do I would love to hear about it in the comment section below or as an email.

Portrait of a Textile Artist

Deborah Robson has agreed to let us do a portrait of her as a crafts person. We decided to call her a textile artist as her answer to the first question about what she sees as her main craft was: 'spinning, weaving, knitting, crochet, braiding, sewing, basketry ...'. Apart from textiles Deborah also loves books. She is an essayist and short-story writer and is the editor of Nomad Press. She blogs on The Independent Stitch about her passion for textile crafts and independent publishing. She is currently working on a book about animal-grown natural fibers that will be released by Storey Publishing next spring. You can also follow her on twitter (effortlesszone) - we are!

Have fiber crafts always been a part of your life?

Well, the women in my mother's family always sewed, and I began to sew before I could read. When I was about 9 years old, my grandmother taught me to knit. I already knew the basics of crochet, although I don't remember when I learned them. I also had my first taste of weaving when I was given a child's loom. Unfortunately, when the warp ran out no one knew how to replace it and I didn't have another opportunity to weave until I was in my early 20s and worked as a camp counselor. Not long after that, I took four lessons in weaving, using a rented loom that I carried back and forth to the classes on the bus, and then I bought a table loom and began teaching myself using books from the public library. I took up spinning at around age 25 when a friend brought over a spindle and some wool, gave me an introduction to the ideas, and left the stuff behind. Working with textiles is a permanent part of my life.

How do you feel about learning new craft techniques?

I'm eternally curious about the things one can do with yarn and thread. Basically, if I haven't tried a technique . . . I have just not gotten to it yet. I am learning new techniques all the time. While I learn primarily from books, I have also attended a few classes and am always learning new things from friends.

What materials do you prefer to work with?

I am very passionate about fibers. For years I have been studying natural fibers, especially those produced by animals and with an emphasis on the vast diversity of breeds of sheep. I am worried about the survival of these traditional breeds, some of which are already extinct. There are aspects of traditional crafts that we will not be able to maintain if we lose access to these materials.

Do you have any preferences when it comes to tools?

None whatsoever--except that they must be comfortable to use. I use my hand spindles and my spinning wheel. I have both floor and table looms (Glimakra and Schacht), along with knitting needles, crochet hooks, inkle looms, cards for card weaving, frame looms, combs, carders, flickers, nostepinnes, ballwinders, and swifts. My philosophy is that if it looks like it will do the job, then I'll use it. I do prefer aesthetically pleasing and functional tools.

Why do you think crafts are important?

I think it is important that we as a society remember how to MAKE things that are useful to us. In addition to remembering how to make things, we must also remember how to make them well. It is culturally essential that these skills are not lost and I think doing crafts has a strong positive effect on the individual crafters. The only way to keep traditional crafts alive is to enjoy and share what we do - both the skills and the crafted items themselves. I also think it is important to keep traditional crafts alive in their traditional forms. Otherwise we lose knowledge of what they were, and are. Creativity grows from skill, and there's a lot of skill to be found in traditional crafts.

Do you think much has changed in textile crafts since you began?

I am really heartened by the number of people who are currently engaged with textile crafts. There are so many more than there were in the 1970s when I really got going with these activities! Now we have access to materials and tools that those of us who were doing these things back then couldn't even imagine. Having said that, I have been quite dismayed recently that I can't obtain linen for handspinning of the quality that was available 40 years ago. The more people who engage in traditional crafts, the more ability we will have to support the suppliers of the finest materials!

The photo in this post is copyright of Deborah Robson. If you wish to use the images please request permission from Deborah.

60 Years of Hampshire Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers

Special article put together by Dawn Dunlop for the Hampshire Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers Guild's Jubilation Exhibition. The information in this article is collated from documents from  Hampshire WSD Guild Archives.

As a member of the Hampshire Guild of just 13 months, it has been very interesting looking through the archive at photographs, and slides and minutes books from the last 60 years. It certainly seems as though the guild has been very active over the years, and successful in bringing the skills to the public.
There has been involvement in many exhibitions since its early years and this is set to continue with the Jubilation exhibition in Winchester this year. The Guild has attended many shows too including the Romsey show for many years where members demonstrate their skills, display items they have made and introduce visitors to the world of weaving, spinning and dyeing. These shows are a great way to showcase the work of the Guild and its members.
Other major events over the years have included the Art for Everyone project (A4E), Fibre Fun and community events such as the dyeing day at Hawthorn Urban Wildlife Centre on Southampton Common. Another large project was the weaving of the Altar cloth for St Swithuns which will be on display at the exhibition in August.

[caption id="attachment_2108" align="aligncenter" width="498" caption="Woven Altar cloth for St Swithuns Church (from Hampshire WSD Guild Archives)"][/caption]

Hampshire Guild has great success in sharing their knowledge and skills within the community and especially with children who seem to love having a go at these crafts. Days such as A4E, fibre fun and the weaving afternoons at Hilliers have all been successful in introducing children to the crafts. The Guilds open day in September also attracts a good turn-out of members of the public. A real success story of Hampshire Guild has been the inception of the Junior Guild (see article later in newsletter), who meet in holidays and always seem to have so much fun learning from members of the Guild. The future certainly is bright and I personally look forward to being involved with the Guild for many years to come.
Dawn Dunlop, Guild Newsletter Editor

The day it all began, 15th July 1950

Many Weavers, Spinners and Dyers resided in Hampshire and an idea was born that a Hampshire Guild should be formed. Students from the Schools of Art in Winchester and Southampton were invited to an inaugural meeting at “Sandy Shoot” Burley, the home of Mrs Eileen Richards in the New Forest on July 15th 1950. In spite of the shocking weather, 31 attended the meeting bringing samples of weaving, spinning and dyeing.
Miss Hester Viney, Hon Sec of the Dorset Guild, brought messages of goodwill and assurances of help from the Guild. After some discussion a temporary committee was formed. Mrs Hodgson Chairman, Mrs E Richards Hon Sec, H.Thurston-Dale Hon Treasurer; Miss R Allen, Miss Aylivin County Art Advisor, Col A J Harris, Miss A Hendson, Mrs Hughes and Miss O Spencer-Smith. The subscription was 5/- per annum. The first meeting was held at the Southampton College of Art where Miss R Allen was Weaving Tutor, the second was held at Winchester School of Art and these were the venues for some time. Meetings were quarterly, and gradually membership increased and in 1952, at the AGM, Miss O Spencer-Smith was elected chairman and Mrs Ray Hon Sec.
1953 being Coronation Year, the Guild decided to have a four day Exhibition and Sale at the Southern County Show on Southsea Common. This was a great venture as little money was available, however a marquee was ordered and insurance arranged. Woven articles flooded in to the Selection Committee - stoles and scarves, lengths of tweed, cushion covers, table mats, bags and rugs. Weaving and Spinning demonstrations were arranged for stated times and a rota of Stewards drawn up for the four days. A week before the Show opened, a letter was received from the Duchess of Gloucesters Lady in Waiting stating the Duke and Duchess wished to visit the Exhibition. The Royal Visitors were very interested in the Exhibits and the spinning of flax by Miss Cox. The Duchess purchased a child’s skirt and accepted a knitting bag woven by a member of the Guild. The Duke and Duchess were received by Miss O Spencer-Smith and Brigadier Lucey who had served under the Duke.

Lady Cooper from Hursley was the Duchess’s Lady in Waiting, she was most interested in the exhibits and promised to return the next day, which she did and bought £100 worth of goods. The then Duke of Wellington was with the Duke of Gloucester and was most interested in the display of hand-woven tweeds. He asked me to put him in touch with a tweed weaver. I informed Miss O Spencer-Smith and she sent him some samples, he duly ordered tweed for three suits and wrote of his satisfaction in the material also that his tailor enjoyed making up such excellent cloth. The public were most interested in the demonstrations and Exhibits, at the end of the show the expenses were covered and a tired but happy Committee were glad the effort had been made.
Exhibitions and Sales were held at the Avenue Hall Southampton, the Romsey Show, Milner Hall Winchester, the New Forest Show and Southampton Show.
Gradually the membership declined. The School of Arts were no longer able to accommodate the Guild for meetings so a few were held at the Red Triangle Club Winchester and Portsmouth College of Art and the Winchester Centre.




[caption id="attachment_2106" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="AGM Garden picture from the archive (from Hampshire WSD Guild Archives)"][/caption]




The AGM during Miss O Spencer-Smith regime was always held in her garden at High Mead Bursledon during June. It was a pleasant social occasion, after the business was finished, and the speaker also, tea was served by Burseldon WI. Miss O Spencer-Smith allowed members to visit her workroom in the garden.
Membership gradually increased and good work was done. The Guild was fortunate having Miss A Hindson, Miss Allen and Miss Aylivin who gave good advice and the Guild had a name of good work.

Words by Margaret Ray from the Guild Archives

Learning to weave

I have been wanting to learn to weave for a while now but have also been keeping it of because I wanted to wait till I had access to my mothers six shaft floor loom again. Nevertheless, my friend Dawn decided to book me onto a weaving weekend with Mary Keer a fellow member of the Hampshire Weavers, Spinners and Dyers Guild. I didn't know what to expect, but I must admit it was one of the best experiences I have had in a long time. Mary is such a great teacher and in a weekend I managed to set-up a four shaft table loom and weave about a third of my 2.5m long wall hanging.
I borrowed the loom to take home and finish the wall hanging. I am so proud of the result and I am still a bit high on the feelings that weaving brought out in me. I have so far thought of myself as someone who is more into the finished product than the craft process itself. At least that is how I feel about knitting and crochet. But with weaving it seemed to be different. I just loved the process of passing the shuttle back and forth. It also gave me a weird sense of connection with my mother and other weavers in my family history.
So am I on my way out to buy my own loom? Well my husband was surprised to hear that I hadn't already bought one. But I must admit that they are a bit to expensive for me at the moment. I also still have my mothers I can use. But I will be looking into making my own table loom so watch this space for more on that.

The images in this post are copyright of Eddie Roued-Cunliffe. You are hereby granted permission to use them for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit Eddie and link back to this page. If you are using them and talking about this post I would love to hear from you in the comments.

Weavers, Spinners and Dyers Jubilations

This August the Hampshire Weavers, Spinners and Dyers (WSP) Guild are celebrating their 60th Anniversary with the exhibition "Jubilations" from the 17th-30th August (10.00-17.00) at the Great Hall in Winchester. Admission is free.
Come along and enjoy weaving, spinning and dyeing demonstrations, learn about the techniques and see what the members have created over the years.
The Historic Crafts Weaving, Spinning and Dyeing theme ends with this exhibition at the end of August.
Here is a look at other what other WSD guilds have come up with to celebrate their anniversaries:

The Shetland Guild of Spinners, Weavers, Knitters and Dyers did an open day for their 20th anniversary.
The Kent Guild of Spinners Dyers and Weavers all joined together to make a banner.
The Weavers Guild of Greater Baltimore's members together made 60 scarves and published it in a book, "Sixty Scarves for 60 Years" to celebrate their 60th anniversary.

UK National Weaving, Spinning and Dyeing week

The UK Weavers, Spinners and Dyers Guilds are this week (1st-7th May 2010) celebrating the National Weaving, Spinning and Dyeing week. We at Historic Crafts are using this as a good excuse to update the site with material on these three fibre crafts: Spinning, Weaving and Dyeing.

As for event's, this has been difficult to find on the Internet. The Hampshire Guild will have members at Hilliers Gardens (Romsey) demonstrating the skill of spinning mainly. We know this because we will be there.

The Peterborough Guild are doing demos at Nune Park.

If anyone knows of any other demos or events being held this week by guilds around the country we would appreciate a comment about it below.