Yarndale Talks 2024 | Creative Conversations at Yarndale
Tickets for all talks are free and available on a first come, first served basis.
Across this inspiring weekend of woolly goodness, come and join us as we delve in to the historically important impact British wool has made across our Isles, the challenges it has faced within the important role it still plays across our varied landscape, and how it plays a key part as an innovative solution to our sustainable future and wellbeing.
Saturday 28th September
Fleece Fundamentals: Demystifying wool grading
12.00 – 13.00
Ian Brooksbank Head Grader at British Wool Bradford Depot
Did you know there are over 60 different pure breeds of British sheep and hundreds of cross breeds, all with their own unique fibre characteristics. Join Head Grader Ian who lives and breathes wool and boasts a lifetime of experience within the British wool industry. He’ll take you on a whistlestop tour of wool grading, drawing on his extensive knowledge of fleece qualities and characteristics in this interactive demo, with plenty of time for Q&A’s on everything wool related.
Ian started out as temporary staff in 1990 and progressing through the traineeship, to Head Grader and now Bradford Depot Manager with over 30 years’ experience under his belt.
This Golden Fleece: A Journey Through Britain’s Knitted History
14.00 – 15.00
Esther Rutter
Join award-winning author Esther Rutter for a whistlestop tour of Britain’s incredible knitting history. From bikinis to Gairloch stockings and Monmouth caps to cricket whites, there’s a wealth of woolly heritage to explore in this fun and fact-filled talk.
Esther Rutter is a writer and research fellow at the University of St Andrews. When she isn’t knitting, reading or writing, she looks after her two young children and tries to ignore the state of the laundry basket.
Innovating with British Wool: revaluing wool for fashion and textiles
15.30 – 16.30
Nicci James
This interactive talk will introduce you to knitwear designer Nicci James who uses the power of wool to challenge the need for synthetics in fashion and textiles. She harnesses wool’s natural ability to felt through the knitting process and investigates how different British breed qualities can engineer strength directly into a garment or fabric, exactly where it is needed. There will be research samples and prototypes to explore.
Following an MA in Fashion at the Royal college of art Nicci has continued to refine her process with funding from Innovate UK- forming The UNUSUWUL Studio in 2023. Heavily inspired by marrying tradition, innovation and tactility, Nicci’s creations won a circular design award from Fashion District, the Haberdashers award from Cockpit Studios in 2024 and were recently showcased by the Crafts Council.
Sunday 29th September
Crochet-Alongs with Eleonora from Coastal Crochet
11.00 – 12.00
Eleonora Tully, Coastal Crochet
Eleonora Tully, also known as ‘Coastal Crochet’, returns to Yarndale this year along with many of her blankets and crochet designs which will be on display during her talk. Eleonora has designed and hosted many colourful blanket crochet-alongs over the years which people from all over the world have taken part in. Sharing her experiences of crochet-alongs, her design processes and inspirations, this talk will be brilliant for anyone who has taken part or simply wants to find out more about the crochet-along concept. There will be time for questions and answers too.
Eleonora is a hugely experienced crocheter and incorporates a wide variety of techniques and styles into her designs, often drawing inspiration from the coastline and sea where she lives. As well as creating her own exclusive crochet patterns, Eleonora has had numerous designs published in UK crochet magazines, worked with various companies in the yarn industry and regularly teaches others and hosts workshops.
Fleece Fundamentals: Demystifying wool grading
12.30 – 13.30
Ian Brooksbank Head Grader at British Wool Bradford Depot
Did you know there are over 60 different pure breeds of British sheep and hundreds of cross breeds, all with their own unique fibre characteristics. Join Head Grader Ian who lives and breathes wool and boasts a lifetime of experience within the British wool industry. He’ll take you on a whistlestop tour of wool grading, drawing on his extensive knowledge of fleece qualities and characteristics in this interactive demo, with plenty of time for Q&A’s on everything wool related.
Ian started out as temporary staff in 1990 and progressing through the traineeship, to Head Grader and now Bradford Depot Manager with over 30 years’ experience under his belt.
British Wool, Glencroft, West Yorkshire Spinners & Farmers Yarn
14.30 – 15.30
Ever wanted to understand what goes in to making beautiful British wool yarns? Want to realise the challenges faced in turning this under-valued fibre into useable yarns? Trying to figure out how farmers get such a low price for raw fleece yet finished yarns can be so expensive? Annoyed that you can’t find more British wool yarns or garments to buy? Join an interactive panel discussion between these designers, businesses, and educators in discussing the different ways locally sourced British wool can be used and celebrated within our own communities. Learn more about how they are championing different types of British wool in different ways and understand how we as makers and wool users can all make a positive step towards celebrating British wool in its different guises.
British Wool (formerly British Wool Marketing Board) is owned by approximately 35,000 sheep farmers in the UK. They collect, grade, market and sell British wool on behalf of their producers to the international wool textile industry for use in flooring, furnishings and apparel. Wool that has been through their grading system is quality assured and fit for purpose. Products bearing British Wool’s distinctive logo of the shepherd’s crook and Union Jack are British wool rich – a mark that consumers can trust.
Glencroft’s Clapdale Wool project was launched to create a fully traceable yarn that benefits local farmers with help from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Sustainable Development and Farming in Protected Landscapes Funds. Farmers were paid a decent price for their clip and in addition 10% of the profits from the project will also go back to the farms. The wool contains all the sheep breeds on these local farms – Dalesbred, Blue Faced Leicester (BFL), North of England Mule and Texel. It has produced a beautiful selection of yarns and knitwear with a reasonably soft handle, and in the second phase of the project is being transformed into tweeds and throws.
West Yorkshire Spinners creates beautiful British yarn with care, innovation and expertise. Spun in Yorkshire, their award-winning collections are designed to excite and inspire their worldwide community of crafters. West Yorkshire Spinners was founded in 1997 in the original home of the British worsted spinning industry. The brand was established during a turbulent time that saw many spinning mills close due to the increase in yarns being imported from overseas. Their research also showed that natural fibres were now in decline, giving way to synthetic, man-made fibres, and they saw a gap in the market for more sustainable products.
Farmers Yarn promotes the unique characteristics of British wool breeds and champions a transparent supply chain. By bridging the gap between farmers, designers, and consumers, they aim to restore pride in British wool and empower farmers to realise the full value of their wool products. Through education and collaboration, Farmers Yarn strives to create a sustainable future for the UK’s sheep farmers and their breeds.
https://www.glencroftcountrywear.co.uk
https://thewoollibrary.uk (Farmers Yarn)