Join SOK on Sunday the 4th of October at The Shed in Bigton for a demonstration of shearing, spinning, and knitting as our team goes from 'back-to-back' as they process a Shetland wool fleece into a jumper in the course of a day!
The doors will open at 9:30 am, and shearing will begin at 9:45. Watch as our shearer demonstrates shearing three times: once using hand clippers, once using electric clippers to show the process in detail, and a final time as quick as a wink to show how fast it's really done!
After one of the fleeces has been skirted (cleaned), a team of local spinners and knitters will create the yarn and attempt to knit an entire jumper by 5 pm!
While you're with us, visit the animals of Withyburn Croft. Shop with Laxdale Yarn. Enjoy a sweet treat baked by local baker Elizabeth Halcrow or have a meal from the Withyburn Croft Food Truck, featuring food grown just a few steps from the venue! Learn more about SOK and how you can be involved with our mission to preserve and protect Shetland's living knitting heritage.
We will also be hosting a colouring-in contest on the day! The sheets are available through this link for bairns 12 and under. They can do their colouring in before they come to the event and hand in their work at the SOK booth, or we will have extra sheets at the event that they can colour there. There are three sheets to choose from, but we will accept only one sheet per bairn for the competition. Prizes include a £25 voucher from No88 and a £15 voucher from Loose Ends.
Entry to this event is free, although SOK will be collecting donations on the day to raise the funds needed to outfit our premises in the new year!
All are welcome: visitors and Shetlanders, young and old. We just require that anyone younger than 16 be accompanied by an adult.
Getting There
If the day is fine, or an average Shetland day of weather, the event will be at The Shed, to the north of the Hymhus in Bigton, along the U231.
If the weather is severe, the venue will be moved to the Bigton Hall.
A change in venue will be announced on our social media pages by 8 am on the day.
What3Words: ///resold.bookcases.nanny
By car: For those with satnav, enter the Bigton Hall and follow the directions until you are close and look for the temporary signs for the event along the road.
Directions: Take the A970 to the B9122. Follow the B9122, watching for the sign for the Hymhus. Once you see the sign, turn down the indicated road. The Shed will be along the road on the right side. There will be temporary signage on the day.
Please note: The only properly designed disabled parking is at the Bigton Hall parking area. Disabled people are welcome to park there and make their way to the Shed, or they may park outside of the Shed in the designated area. All others, please follow signs to the Bigton Hall/Hymhus parking area or to Withyburn Croft to park. Take care in walking along the roads to the venue.
By bus: There is no feeder bus into Bigton on a Sunday. You may take the number 6 bus north or south to the Channerwick Junction. Once there, it is a 1.4 mile walk to The Shed, which may be reached following the directions above. The roads to and from the Channerwick Junction bus stop are single track roads. Please stay alert to traffic and do not wear headphones. Consider wearing bright colours, including hi-viz, to stand out along the road.
The number 6 bus schedule can be found here. Be sure to refer to the Sunday schedule.
By taxi: A list of taxi services in Shetland is available on the Promote Shetland website.
Car sharing: Please visit our event page on Facebook to coordinate car sharing.
Schedule
The following is a loose schedule of the day to help you plan:
9:30 am - Doors open
9:45 am - Welcome and shearing demonstration begins
10:00 am - Skirting demonstration
10:15 am - Spinners make their start
10:45 am - Knitters cast on
Throughout the day: Watch the demonstrators and ask them questions about the process, visit with the animals from Withyburn Croft, shop, eat, learn more about SOK.
5 pm - Event ends
You are welcome to come and go or stay all day. Hoswick's knitting and spinning drop-in event lasts until 2:30 and is only about a 10-minute drive from our venue. Or go visit the tombolo at St Ninian's Isle to stretch your legs for a bit.
If the demonstrators finish the jumper before 5 pm, they will stick around with their own knitting and spinning until the end of the event.
Accessibility
The only properly designed disabled parking is available at the Bigton Hall parking area. However, there will be a designated space outside of the venue for those who need to park nearby due to a disability. We ask those who are not disabled to please make use of the parking areas at Withyburn Croft or the Bigton Hall.
Assistance animals are welcome but should remain on their lead at all times. Well-behaved dogs are also welcome, but must remain on their lead at all times.
There will be portable toilets at the event site. We have requested that one be an accessible toilet, but there are only a limited number available in Shetland. We will update this information as we know for sure.
The venue has a small step up to enter that will have a temporary ramp installed on the day.
Seating in the venue will be on bales of straw.
The Shed is a working farm building with a concrete floor down the centre and slatted flooring on either side. Most areas of the slatted floor will be covered with plywood or straw on the day. The concrete floor will allow access to the vendor stalls and animal areas, and the floor of the demonstration area will be covered with plywood. The roof above the concrete floor is vented to the sky, so the floor will be wet if it rains.
The ground outside of the venue is compacted gravel and dirt, which forms a hard, but not completely level, surface.
The venue will not have a designated quiet space, but Bigton itself tends to be a peaceful location. Those who need to separate for a period of time may step outside of the venue or go for a short walk away from the venue to decompress.
The initial demonstrations will be narrated with the use of a small public address system. Additional interactions will be one-to-one.
The Shed has some interior lighting to supplement the lighting that is available through the door, ceiling, and walls.
If you have any other concerns about accessibility at the event, please email us at sok@sokshetland.org so we may answer your concerns and add the information to this area for our other visitors.
Terms and Conditions
1. Health and Safety
- Visitors must follow all safety instructions given by our guides.
- Children under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times.
- Visitors should wear suitable clothing and footwear for the farm environment.
- Please adhere to hygiene instructions including hand washing.
- Interaction with animals is not required and is undertaken at one's own risk. Parents must supervise their children's interactions with the animals.
2. Code of Conduct
- Visitors must behave respectfully towards staff, animals, and property.
- Any aggressive behaviour, damage, or disregard for rules may result in removal from the event.
- Smoking and alcohol consumption are prohibited at the venue and on the farm premises.
3. Liability and Insurance
- Participation in the event is at your own risk.
- This event may include walking on uneven ground and interaction with farm animals.
- Visitors must stay within designated areas and not enter restricted zones.
4. Photography and Media
- We may take photos or videos during the event for promotional purposes.
- It is SOK's policy to avoid taking identifiable photos of children and to not share identifiable images of children on our social media pages.
- If you do not wish to be photographed, please inform the SOK photographer as you enter the venue.
5. Privacy
- We do not share personal data with third parties without consent in accordance with data protection laws.