Reviews / Shetland Textiles – an amazing journey
Over the past year, I have been working with historians and experts to explore Shetland’s long and varied textile history. It has been a fascinating journey. We have gone right back to the early beginnings of textiles in Shetland and come all the way round to the present day.
We have looked at sheep, woven cloth, knitted socks and mittens, looms, spinning wheels, taatit rugs, Fair Isle, Shetland lace and modern tweeds. And we have considered how textiles featured in the everyday lives of folk, especially women.
All of this research has been brought together in a new book, Shetland Textiles: 800 BC to the Present. It begins with an account on the origins and development of Shetland sheep. It then traces the development of knitwear and woven cloth, bringing in key aspects of trade and culture.
The story is brought up to the present with a section dedicated to the designers and craftspeople working in textiles today, who demonstrate how the isles’ rich heritage continues to inspire and inform their work.
Roughly half of the pages present beautiful photographs of garments which range from highly-patterned Fair Isle and Shetland lace pieces to detailed images of tweed, plain knitting and archaeological finds. Also shown are the tools used to create textiles such as spindles, spinning wheels and looms.
These images are complemented by evocative historical photographs of people, sheep and rare documents.
Running through the book are special sections dedicated to the memories and stories of those people who have been, or still are, involved in Shetland textiles. In many cases these have been transcribed from audio recordings held at the Shetland Museum and Archives.
Listening to hours and hours of tape, hearing folk speaking about their lives in Shetland, was an amazing experience. It made me giddy.
There are a couple of moments that really stick in my mind, and the first time I heard Da Nortmaven Spinning Sang is one of them. I listened to the song on repeat for about an hour and it is now one of my favourite parts of the book, with the written music and lyrics printed alongside images of spinning tools.
The song is just one reminder that, while textiles have been important in economic terms, they are also inseparable from the lives of those who created them. The voices and stories describe how Shetland textiles are much more than simple masses of fibre, pieces of cloth and knitted garments; rather, they are threaded into our shared culture and society.
The book is a timely reminder of the important work of the organisations and individuals who preserve and drive Shetland’s textile heritage and culture. The Shetland Museum and Archives collections are at the core of this book, and the research also draws heavily on documents and objects held at the Unst Heritage Centre and Shetland Textile Museum.
It has been a huge privilege to bring together the people, places, knowledge and stories of Shetland’s amazing textile history in this beautiful book. One of the main aims of the work is to inspire researchers, designers and general readers to explore our textiles story further. I hope that Shetland Textiles: 800 BC to the Present will do just that, and will be enjoyed for many years to come.
Shetland Textiles: 800 BC to the Present is published by Shetland Heritage Publications and is available from the Shetland Museum and Archives gift shop, and online at www.shetlandheritageshop.com/Shetland-Textiles-800BC-to-the-Present.html
Sarah Laurenson
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