The sun has been shining here in Stonehaven, so while you might expect knitters to steer well clear of Shetland wool in favour of knitting sumptuous silk summer tops, light cotton baby knits, or even the odd Sophie Scarf or two, you’d be in for a surprise! Instead, knitters everywhere are digging into their yarn stash to find their finest Shetland yarn (Baa!’s fave is Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift, in case you were wondering). Why? Because we’re all busy furiously knitting up the Islesburgh Toorie in time for this year’s Shetland Wool Week celebrations, of course!
Opening night of SWW ’23 saw a sea of knitters all wearing their Buggiflooer Beanies. Photo credit: Shetland Wool Week
Shetland Wool Week (SWW) isn’t just a hit in the UK; it’s a worldwide celebration! The wonderfully woolly week-long event honours the hardworking farming community of the beautiful Shetland islands and Britain’s most northerly native sheep. Since its launch in 2010, thanks to Jamieson & Smith, SWW has since transformed into a wonderland of creativity. Initially tied to the Shetland Flock Book Society’s annual sale, the festival is filled with a fantastic mix of exhibitions, creative classes, and exciting events covering all things crafty—like weaving, spinning, dyeing, Fair Isle, and lace knitting just to name a few.
This year, the wool-based festivities kick off on September 29th and run through to October 5th and the Baa! Team can’t wait to celebrate here in Stonehaven!
Janice knit up her first sample in the Sunset Over the Cuilins colourway.
Since the very first knitting pattern in 2014, the Shwook Hat by Hazel Tindall, it’s become tradition for knitters to keenly await the annual release of the Shetland Wool Week hat pattern. Each year, SWW teams up with a different patron to bring a fresh, new design for the knitters to descend upon.
This year our awaited knit design, the Islesburgh Toorie, came from the Doull family, from Islesburgh Farm in Northmavine. The family are recognised for their dedication to the Shetland Flock Book and passion for Shetland wool. And so, are perfectly placed as the patrons behind the 2024 festival.
Named after the family farm, the Islesburgh Toorie was designed by Margaret and daughter, Anne. The incredible colourwork hat features a distinctive Shetland Ram motif, top and tailed with a delicate wave pattern, a nod to mum, Margaret’s skill in Shetland Lace knitting. Anne’s original Islesburgh Toorie design was knit in three different Shetland yarns from Jamieson’s of Shetland; Jamieson & Smith; and Uradale Yarns in three glorious colourways, each inspired by their family farm.
Janice began working on her first hat, shortly after the 29th April pattern release. She has used Sunset over the Cuillins with its warm peachy tones against the deep blue background, but admits she’s a bit behind her usual three by now(!) If you’d like to join in and have your own Islesburgh Toorie cast off before the event kicks off on 29th September, now’s the time to get knitting!
Since Janice launched the annual Shetland Wool Week hat knitting kits at Baa!, they’ve flown off the shelves and we’re expecting (hoping!) that 2024 will be no different.
With a deep love for Jamieson of Shetland Spindrift, Janice couldn’t resist the lure of coming up with colour combinations so we’re, yet again, offering two different collections of kits to give you Shetland wool lovers even more choice.
The Islesburgh Toorie Knitting Kit (Collection 1) celebrates the original Toorie colourways chosen by the Doull family.
celebrates the original Toorie colourways chosen by the Doull family. Using our favourite Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift, Janice has expertly selected several colours to mimic the original designs:
Islesburgh Toorie Knitting Kit (Collection 2) is the result of a collaboration with Janice’s daughter, Jenny Anderson and takes inspo from Jenny’s stunning Scottish landscape photography.
is thanks to a collab with Janice’s daughter, Jenny Anderson and takes inspo from Jenny’s stunning Scottish landscape photography. Janice loves working with Jenny and picking out colour combos inspired by her freelance photography and crowns it as easily one of her favourite tasks of the year! This year, the mother-daughter duo have curated four colourways inspired by some of their fave snaps:
Knitters, you can get your hands on any of the knitting kits in the lovely Baa! yarn shop in person, but we’ve also listed them on the Baa! site if you’re not local to Stonehaven or simply can’t get to the shop right now. So you can have your favourite kit conveniently posted straight to your door.
Baa!’s Islesburgh Toorie Knitting Kit contains everything you need to make your Toorie ready for Shetland Wool Week
Each kit contains enough Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift to knit up a large size toorie – that’s 6x25g balls. So, you’ll have plenty of yarn however big your head is!
Spindrift is a woolly brilliant yarn made from 100% Shetland wool, and it’s our Janice’s absolute fave. To be honest, you can hardly blame her, this cracker lends itself perfectly to traditional Fair Isle garments and stranded knitting making it the most natural choice for the Islesburgh. Plus, with 225 colours to choose from, it was a breeze to colour match the shades picked by the Doull fam.
If you like to work with a paper pattern as you knit, you can also opt to add a printed copy of the knitting pattern, or if you prefer a digital version, you can grab that here.
Now, our knitting kits do NOT include knitting needles. Why? Because every knitter knits differently! You might need a different needle size than recommended so it’s essential you swatch before you cast on so your project turns out tip top, but as a rough guide here are the sizing and needle suggestions:
Small: to fit a head circumference of 49cm. Suggested needle size is 2.5mm.
Medium: to fit a head circumference of 52cm. Suggested needle size is 2.75mm.
Large: to fit a head circumference of 56cm. Suggested needle size is 3mm.
We’ll be hosting a Shetland Wool Week opening night celebration on the evening of Sunday 29th September at our lovely knitting shop in Stonehaven.
Of course, we can’t let the event pass without a celebration – any excuse to knit, right?! – so we’ll be hosting an opening night shindig at the Baa! Shop in Stonehaven on the evening of Sunday 29th September.
Casting on, knitting, or wearing the Islesburgh Toorie is essential, although any Shetland Wool Week pattern will suffice. We’re currently collating a head count for interested parties, so if you’re keen to swing by with your knitting project in hand, get in touch and let us know! Full celebration details will be released once we have an idea of numbers.
How far have you got with your Toorie? Whether you still need a knitting kit to cast on, or you’re knitting up your third, or fourth, or fifth, don’t forget to join us for the SWW festivities on Sunday 29th September. It’s going to be a woolly brilliant evening to remember. Save the date, stay tuned for more details and we’ll see you there!
