Scottish Textiles — Mills, Designers & Cottage Makers

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Scotland has been spinning, weaving and knitting for longer than most countries have had a written language. The mills of the Borders, the weavers of Harris, the knitters of Fair Isle and the cottage industries on every island have dressed half the world at one time or another. This board is the open call to everyone still at it, whether you run a mill with a hundred looms or a single wheel in a spare room, and the place to find them whether you are up the road in Galashiels or reading this from Toronto.

If you make, weave, spin, dye, knit, print or sell Scottish textiles, list here. Manufacturers and mills with trade minimums, designers with a new season to show, retailers with a shop full of stock, and cottage industries working from a kitchen table are all welcome. Listing is free, and one good listing reaches Scots at home, buyers across the UK, and expats and fans of Scottish cloth from Sydney to Seattle who want the real thing rather than a lookalike.

What belongs here

• Tweed, tartan and worsted cloth by the metre, from mill stock to short runs
• Harris Tweed, Scottish cashmere, lambswool, merino and Shetland yarn
• Knitwear: Fair Isle, ganseys, cables, cardigans, blankets and throws
• Hand-spun and hand-dyed yarn, fleece, batts, rovings and spinning supplies
• Scarves, shawls, kilts, waistcoats, caps, gloves and accessories
• Home textiles: blankets, cushions, rugs, curtains, upholstery fabric
• Silk, linen and mixed-fibre work, screen and digital print, embroidery and appliqué
• Cottage industries, craft co-operatives, and the small makers doing one-offs and made-to-measure
• Trade services: spinning, weaving, finishing, dyeing, pattern cutting, sampling, small-batch production

For buyers near and far. Say plainly whether you sell to the trade, retail, or both. Give minimum order quantities, lead times and whether you hold stock or weave to order. Say where you ship and by what method, and note that overseas buyers will want to know about customs paperwork, duties and delivery times before they commit. Show your swatch book, name your cloth weights and fibre content, and list your certifications and origin marks, because for Harris Tweed, cashmere and cashmere-blend the paperwork is the product. If you offer wholesale, sample cards, or a trade price list, say so in the listing.

For makers: list well. Photograph cloth in daylight so the colour reads true, and show a close-up of the weave. Give fibre content, weight, width and care instructions. Name the mill, the croft or the village where it was made, because that provenance is exactly what overseas buyers are paying for. Add your postcode and area so local buyers can collect, and mention whether you take commissions or knit to order for the winter season.

Why it matters. Every metre woven here pays a wage in a town that has been making cloth for two centuries, and every jumper bought direct from the hands that made it keeps a skill alive that would otherwise be gone in a generation. Scottish textiles are not nostalgia. They are a working industry with a global market, and the shortest route between the loom and the buyer is a listing on this board.

From the mill floor to the kitchen table. Post your yarn, your tweed, your Fair Isle, your sample card. Scotland, the UK and the world are already looking for it.

Textiles: your listings live here.