Weaving the Wind: The St Kilda Tweed Revival Project

Reviving a Lost Tradition: St Kilda Tweed Comes Home

In June 2027, I will be returning to the remote, windswept beauty of St Kilda — not just to walk in the footsteps of its former inhabitants, but to weave in them.

With the permission of the National Trust for Scotland, I’ve been granted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live and work on Hirta, the main island in the St Kilda archipelago, for 4 weeks, reviving a craft that hasn’t touched the island in close to a century: weaving traditional St Kilda Tweed.

The original tweed was woven using Soay sheep wool for the weft and Boreray (blackface) sheep wool for the warp — sheep that still roam the islands to this day. After years of research, training, and preparing materials here in Australia and across Scotland, I will now be bringing my loom to the island itself — and making tweed using these historic Scottish fleeces, on the land from which they came.

This journey began decades ago when I lived in St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Years later, my visit to St Kilda, Scotland left an unforgettable impression on me. The silence of the abandoned village, the ghosts of lives once lived, the powerful presence of the land — it all inspired a calling: to weave history back into place.

Over the coming months and especially during my time on St Kilda in 2027, I’ll be sharing stories, photos, weaving progress, and insights into the traditions, techniques, and challenges of this project. This is a journey of history, craft, and connection — and I’d love for you to come along.

Follow the page to join me as I prepare for and undertake this unique revival of St Kilda Tweed.