About
ShetlandPeerieMakkers
ShetlandPeerieMakkers is a Scottish Charity Incorporated Organisation (SC 052923) and is run on a voluntary basis. The new board of trustees was formed in 2023, with the official handover including the transfer of assets from the Broch Lodge Trust taking place in 2024.
The charities purposes are the advancement of arts, heritage and culture as well as education, especially in relation to shetland’s textile culture and heritage.
Trustees:
Louise Grains - Chair
Susan Halcrow - Treasurer
Terri Leask - Secretary
Hazel Hughson
Hazel Tindall
Alastair Hamilton
Pierre Cambillard
Drew Ratter
About Us
The loss of hand knitting tuition in schools in 2010 was no doubt going to have an effect on the development of hand knitting skills in the community. Following a consultation with a group of experienced Shetland knitters and keen textile practitioners, the Brough Lodge Trust felt that the loss of these skills could be avoided if the right strategy and support were put in place. Preserving the skills were also integral to the trusts aspiration to create a “retreat” where they could be taught and celebrated at Brough Lodge, Fetlar.
In August 2014 the decision was taken to develop a pilot project which would aim to restore Shetland hand knitting into individual Shetland communities. The project was independent of the local authority and cultural organisations, but local Schools were chosen to host the pilot as safe places at the heart of each district community. The pilot was welcomed by head teachers and the local authority.
The Objectives of ShetlandPeerieMakkers:
To revive Shetland hand knitting skills and knowledge amongst young Shetlanders through free knitting tuition in small groups with expert tutors
To explain and interpret Shetland’s knitting and cultural heritage to a new generation of Shetlanders through new models of tuition and practice
To introduce young people to the cultural value and creative potential of Shetland textiles and the potential economic value of textile education, textile tourism and textile design, for future and current commercial development
To enhance young peoples experience and understanding of the intrinsic qualities of Shetland wool and the link between our economic and crofting heritage and textile production
To support young people to share and cascade their skills to others in their peer groups, and to use digital technology to share Shetland hand knitting techniques and their own successful knitting.
Running The Groups
Groups are run by volunteers, with each group having one volunteer appointed as lead tutor and the others working as skilled assistants with experience in various Shetland techniques. Lessons would not be standardised, so that each knitter developed at their own pace, and made their own decisions in colour use and forms to knit as well as learning from the tutors the intangible skills such as handling needles and yarn tensions, gaining confidence by having their own opinions on how yarn colours or motifs react together.
The less structured and non-standardised approach was taken to reflect another Shetland tradition: communities have always practiced informal skills exchange socially within families, this can be seen in various other parts of Shetland life including inshore fishing, spinning, or peat cutting. These voluntary shared skills are evident in many community marinas, rowing and sailing competitions, small businesses, agricultural shows, and social activities in local halls.
It was agreed that the first five pilot groups would run for a year and then we’d apply the lessons learned to build a sustainable model for tuition in the longer term.
Funding
Although the tutors were unpaid volunteers, various expenses would be incurred such as traditional Shetland knitting belts, notebooks, and car milage. We didn’t want anyone to be out of pocket, so we had to find support. Some of the expenses were already being sponsored locally, such as yarn from local Shetland spinning mill Jamiesons of Shetland, and a meeting space for project organisers provided by Shetland Arts. These two organisations are still offering their support free of charge, 10 years on.
To fund other expenses it was decided that crowdfunding would be used and we were amazed with the results. In just over a week we had reached the target of £4,500, with donations coming from many parts of the world. There was support from within Shetland, the rest of the UK, USA, Canada, Norway, France as well as other countries.
Buoyed by that success, we decided that we should raise our target to pay for a second year of tuition. This would allow us to refine the tuition method and to develop and document a unique project-owned tuition “blueprint” or “toolkit” with equipment. We called it the “Sockbox”. By the time we closed the crowdfunding appeal in December 2015 £7194 had been pledged and the second year of the pilot could go ahead and could include another three communities.
Further fundraising took place including:
£27,480 from the LEADER programme in May 2017
£20,100 from a private donor who wished to remain anonymous
£8,000 was generating from furthering the crowdfunding efforts
With all of this in place we were able to plan a phased extension of the scheme with the aim to include 28 primary schools by 2020.
Although tuition had to be suspended in March 2020 due to the pandemic, groups resumed in September 2022. By then we had received many more offers of support including annual sponsorship from a wide range of Shetland businesses. We are enormously grateful to them and to all other donors who have been involved. We are also, of course, indebted to the many volunteers who have come forward to teach the children as well as to our volunteer taskforce and working group members and consultant coordinators who have managed the program so far.
The Brough Lodge Trust
Soon after knitting tuition in primary schools ended in 2010, a local trust was developing ideas for the restoration of Brough Lodge, a substantial lairds house on the island of Fetlar dating from 1825. The Brough Lodge Trust concluded that the building would make an excellent centre for the celebration and teaching, or the handing down through generations, of the important aspects of Shetland’s heritage, including hand knitting and music.
However, local consultation with knitters highlighted the very real risk that the hand knitting skills - on which the project would rely - were decreasing at that time and may soon be lost. Sharing that concern, the Trust explored the possibility of resuming hand knitting tuition for children, with the aim of securing the future of that very special textile heritage we share with our Nordic neighbours, in Faroe, Iceland, and other Scandinavian countries.
The trust was dissolved in 2024 after the sale of the building and the transfer of assets to Shetland Peerie Makkers was complete.
It’s very easy to join all those who’ve already supported ShetlandPeerieMakkers. You can donate to our secure Just Giving account below. We will be grateful for whatever you can afford.
As we are a charity, your donation can be set against tax and your donation may also be subject to Gift Aid.
If you wish to contact us, please email info@shetlandpeeriemakkers.org
You can also follow the ShetlandPeerieMakkers project on Instagram and Facebook
How you can help ...
Our Patrons
Dr. Aly Bain MBE
In May 2007, Dr. Aly Bain, the world-renowned Shetland musician, agreed to become the patron of Brough Lodge Trust. His patronage is a clear endorsement of the project, which combines the rescue of an historic landmark with a celebration of the cultural wealth of Shetland’s North Isles.
Kaffe Fassett MBE
Our second patron is for textiles, the world-renowned textile artist Kaffe Fassett. Find out more through his website.