wool – KDD & Co

ooskit!

By: Kate Davies Designs October 15, 2021October 15, 2021

textilesbritish wool, circular economy, Kate Davies designs, KDD, manufacturing, new yarn, ooskit, recycled, sustainability, wool, yarn20 Comments

it’s yarn-launch day!

ooskit is coming

By: Kate Davies Designs October 14, 2021October 14, 2021

manufacturing, wool, yarn, yarnBritish manufacturing, british wool, Kate Davies designs, KDD, KDD and co, manufacturing, new yarn, ooskit, sheep, wool, yarn1 Comment

new yarn! tomorrow!

behind the mask

accepting that not everything works out is key to the (slow) creative process

weaving with Milarrochy Tweed

By: Kate Davies Designs May 7, 2020May 7, 2020

Milarrochy Tweed, process, weaving, wool, yarn, yarninkle weaving, making, Milarrochy Tweed, process, weaving, wool35 Comments

Good morning! I spent yesterday afternoon sat outside on the freshly painted decking, weaving in the sunshine. Which really felt like quite a treat. I’ve been wanting to weave with my own Milarrochy Tweed for a while, and yesterday I decided to finally take the plunge. I was a little nervous for two reasons: first,…

Crafting Futures: in the Hebrides

Today I’m sharing the first of series of images and recollections from the Applied Arts Scotland residency I was part of last September – which seems, for so many reasons, like a very long time ago. This residency was part of the British Council’s Crafting Futures programme, bringing makers from Scotland and Mexico together, to…

Coracle

I’m really excited to reveal something which has been a long time in development and of which all of us at KDD are really proud – Coracle. Before I became a manufacturer of yarn and knitwear I was a consumer of both these things. And, as a consumer, I often found myself deeply troubled by…

a fresh new shade

By: Sam Kilday April 26, 2019April 26, 2019

Milarrochy Tweed, yarnmilarrochy heids, Milarrochy Tweed, wool, yarn39 Comments

I’m very excited to reveal a wonderful new shade of Milarrochy Tweed yarn.

Introducing Cowslip.

New Lanark owls

By: Kate Davies Designs November 3, 2018November 3, 2018

design, knitting, wool, yarnAlan Barraclough, knitting, New Lanark, Owligan, owliversary, owls, spinning, wool, woollen spinning, yarn31 Comments

Back in the spring, I knew my ten year owliversary was coming up, so I decided to knit myself a new owl sweater. These photographs were taken while we were in Berneray, back in May. It’s quite weird seeing myself with my ‘old’ hair – I suppose that must mean I’m now completely used to…

making things “locally”

As my business has grown over the past few years I have learned a lot about making things locally. Working with Scottish, Irish, and English producers, I’ve made my own books, and yarn, and knitwear. I’ve collaborated with many different types of manufacturers, from printers and spinners to dyers and wool producers. Being able to…

at Uist Wool

By: Kate Davies Designs May 9, 2018May 9, 2018

industry, manufacturing, textiles, wool, yarnindustry, manufacturing, north Uist, scouring, Uist, Uist Wool, wool, yarn, yarn production44 Comments

When you get involved in manufacturing yarn for hand knitters, one of the first things you learn about is just how bloody difficult it is just to get some elements of wool production done. I’m talking about the messy, dirty, non-glamorous things; the things like wool sorting, grading, and scouring (washing) or things that involve…

croft, craft, creativity

One of the many things I really like about the communities and cultures of crofting is their distinctive effect on the way people work. What I mean is this: in towns and cities, jobs tend to become more and more specialised, people do what they do within smaller and smaller categories, individual work occurs in…

Shetland Oo: making a book

Hello – it’s Tom here – for a change. Kate is busy working on her Islay project, and I’m taking a break today from shipping out orders. I wanted to say thanks so much for your interest in our Shetland Oo book. Apart from being my first major project as a photographer, Oo is the…

Gudrun Johnston & Mary Jane Mucklestone

One of the best things about working in the field of hand-knit design is that it really is an industry which abounds with good eggs. In my view, two of the very best eggs around are Gudrun Johnston and Mary-Jane Mucklestone: great friends, talented designers, and Shetland enthusiasts. Gudrun spent her early years in Shetland,…

sound and vision

My good friend Felicity Ford (aka Felix) is as enthusiastic as I am about Shetland and its wool industry. In 2013 (when she was patron of Shetland Wool Week) Felix worked on a number of field recordings for her important project, Listening to Shetland Wool. From the baas of lambs caught on the breeze, to…

GlobalYell / Shetland Tweed Company

Shetland abounds with wonderful creative spaces, but surely one of the most inspiring has to be the charity that Andy Ross has established, nurtured, and developed in Yell. From its beginnings as an organisation focused on music and music teaching, GlobalYell expanded its focus a decade ago to textiles, and to weaving in particular. Over…