How to be Involved

SOK’s mission is to support Shetland’s knitters to preserve and protect our shared living heritage. But to do that, we need you!

The best, and most fun, way to be involved is to watch the events area of this site for SOK-hosted gatherings, and come along with a friend or family member (or both!). Our events are designed to encourage younger people into the craft and to create a welcoming space for beginners through expert knitters. All local knitters are welcome at our Shetland community events.

We are currently pursuing grant funding for an oral history project that will include audio interviews of Shetland’s elderly knitters who were involved in the pre-oil boom knitting industry, as well as filming them at their needles. The goal of this project is to record their experiences as professional knitters, and create a visual record of their skills and process.

While we do not have the funding to start yet, we are currently collecting nominations for people who may be interested in taking part. You are welcome and encouraged to nominate yourself. Some information that may be helpful in considering whether to take part:

The project will focus on knitters who were professional knitters of Fair Isle or Openwark in or before 1970. Those who used hand frame machines are included in the invitation. 

• • • The purpose of the project is to create a record of knitters’ histories and capture the skills, techniques, and procedures they use in their knitting.
    • The interviews will be conducted in the knitter’s home by a team made up of a Shaetlan and English speaking interviewer and a technical assistant who will handle the recording and audio equipment. The team will arrange their own meals and housing, as needed.
    • Participants are welcome to speak in Shaetlan or English during the interview. 
    • We will prioritise participants who are still able to knit, as part of the project involves filming them at their needles. However, all are welcome to express an interest.
    • Those living on outlying islands are welcome and are encouraged to participate. To minimize cost, SOK will try to find a stretch of days amenable to all the participants on a particular island.
    • We will not know if we have been approved for the main funding application until near the end of 2026, and the interviews will take place throughout 2027.
    • The interviewees will have the right to choose whether their interviews and video will be made available to interested parties as soon as they have been edited or posthumously.
    • If you are nominating someone else, we ask that you go over all of this information with them before you submit the nomination form on their behalf. 

Nominations, including self-nominations, may be made through this form. Submitting the form is not a commitment to participate or a guarantee that SOK will be able to carry-out the interview. Contact will not be made regarding this project until the start of 2027.