Factory Friday; Shilasdair Yarns

As part of our ongoing Factory Friday series, we are delving into the stories behind some of the Scottish Manufacturers on the Make Works Directory. This week, we've interviewed Eva Lambert, Partner at Shilasdair Yarns, a natural dying company who specialise in luxury knitting and weaving yarns on the Isle of Skye.

How did you get into yarn production?

I was enthralled by the vegetable-dyed colours of the old rugs in Turkey, where I lived for over 4 years in the mid 60's. And also enthralled by the spinning – not on a wheel but with a hand held 'niddy  noddy' which one could spin whilst walking, which I still use today. When we moved to the Isle of Skye I initially wove floor rugs on an upright loom which my husband Tony made for me, and began dyeing my yarns, experimenting with plants and lichens. Folk who came to our house admired the rugs, and especially the natural dyed yarns. Word got around and soon I was dyeing for two local shops. But dyeing in our kitchen on a Raeburn proved a bit difficult, so soon I had a proper dye house in an old byre, and my own shop. But demand grew and I could only dye two kilos at a time. Tony became involved and suggested a trip to India, where we commissioned dye cabinets which could dye 2+ kilos at a time. Once they were installed Tony became the dyer, my recipes used, but some altered. We sold the shop to a friend and we now are in the process of changing Shilasdair into a community Interest company

Who is the typical customer who gets in touch with Shilasdair Yarns and what do they need?

We sell our yarns to shops, both in the UK and abroad, mainly Germany, and the USA and Canada. Demand is such that we now  also produce a range of weaving yarns. Although originally dealing only with wool, we now also used baby alpaca, silk and angora.

What's it like running a manufacturing business on the Isle of Skye?

We don't really 'manufacture' as such. The yarn arrives to us on cones; it is then re-wound into 500 gr skeins, then washed and dyed in the cabinets, and then dried, finally being re-wound into 50 or 100 gr skeins. This is all done in a converted farm building.

Of course, being on Skye means transport costs are high; but the positive side is that Skye is a most beautiful and peaceful island!

Here at Make Works, we're working to make local manufacturing more
accessible, why do you think local manufacturing is important?

Your businesses, being local, are small and friendly, and, most importantly, considerate of the local people and environment.

You can check out the Shilasdair Yarns listing on Make Works here

You might also be interested to Read our Guide to Weaving