About SOK: Shetland’s Organisation for Knitters
SOK: Shetland’s Organisation for Knitters is a Scottish Registered Charity Founded in the Shetland Islands.
Centred on Fair Isle knitting, Shetland Lace (Openwark), and domestic machine knitting we:
- Support local knitters
- Record living heritage
- Help people engage with Shetland’s traditional knitting with relevant context, accuracy and respect
Shetland Knitting is a Living Heritage.
UNESCO defines living heritage as, “the practices, expressions, knowledge and skills that communities recognise as part of their cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation and constantly recreated in response to their environment.”
Fair Isle Knitting, Openwark and domestic machine knitting have shaped Shetland’s cultural identity for generations.
Why SOK Exists
SOK was founded in 2025 following conversations with knitters, tutors, wool producers, and local people in the Shetland community.
Those conversations highlighted the need to make practical support available for Shetland’s knitting practitioners. SOK works to provide important context to help learners, visitors, and online audiences enjoy Shetland’s knitting heritage in a way that is respectful, well informed and grounded in local knowledge.
Join Us
Thanks to the donations of more than 1,000 individual supporters in our first fundraising campaign, SOK is preparing our first support modules, local activities, public learning opportunities, and future premises. Your financial support is still needed as we launch.
However, living heritage skills are more likely to continue when local people can learn, use and earn from them. Taking part in our events, engaging with knitters’ histories, and sharing our work with other members of the knitting community are all important ways to support our work.
Our Governing Board
Our trustees are Shetland-born and hold a wealth of knowledge. Their deep commitment to heritage unites them, while each holds special interests and qualifications that make them well-suited to oversee SOK. Along with experience within the knitting industry, our trustees collectively have experience with teaching, business ownership and development, crofting, tourism and more.
Additional members of the board are long term residents of Shetland and bring extensive business and community experience to the board that helps shape our planning and outreach.
