Each year, European Wool Day is celebrated on the 9th of April. The recording of this year’s Conference, which was held in Tralee, Co. Kerry, IRELAND, is now available to watch on YouTube.
Recap of the European Wool Experience at the Felting and Fiber Studio
Simultaneously with the Conference, the European Wool Experience was held in Tralee. Feltmakers Ireland member Hélène Dooley was there to help the International Feltmakers Association (IFA) share about their felting courses and membership with the public.
She has written a richly informative and photo-filled blog post on many highlights of the European Wool Experience.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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On Saturday, the 28th of March, lots of lovely volunteers from Feltmakers Ireland travelled down to Tralee to the European Wool Experience, to share our love of feltmaking with visitors from all over Ireland and Europe.
We demonstrated wet felting using Irish-raised wool.
And our hands-on feltmaking workshops were very, very popular! As we were super busy, we didn’t take as many photographs as we might have done. (All around us were amazing displays that featured Irish Wool. To see some of these, look at the Instagram accounts of Sharon Wells and the Meadowlands Hotel:
In addtion to sharing feltmaking, we shared our artwork with a joint exhibition with the Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers, who kindly brought some of our work to Tralee on our behalf.
Here’s a brief video of our exhibition:
Appreciation to Everyone
HUGE thanks to the European Wool Exchange, Catherine Phibbs of the Irish Grown Wool Council, and most of all to Sharon Wells for inviting us to be part of the European Wool Experience. It was inspiring to be part of your vision and help to make it a reality!
(In the photo, from left to right are the organisers: Sharon Wells, Dóra Jamniczky-Kaszás of the European Wool Exchange (EWE), Catherine Phibbs of the Irish Grown Wool Council, and Alberto Costa of EWE.
Especially warm thanks to ALL of the members who helped us with this event. Huge appreciation to our members who embraced working with Irish wool and trusted us with their artwork. Lastly, thank you to the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland, which, through their GANS Network Support Scheme, helped fund the Irish-raised wool we purchased from Ériu and Woolstore Ireland and distributed to our members.
Bit by bit, we are trying through our feltmaking to increase the use of locally grown, Irish wool!
Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
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Join us for the European Wool Experience — a free public event celebrating wool, creativity and craftsmanship on Saturday, the 28th of March at the Meadowlands Hotel, Tralee, Co Kerry.
Feltmakers Ireland will be taking part in European Wool Experience 2026. If you’ve been hoping to pick up a copy of our book Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking, we will have copies available on the day.
Our volunteers will also be demonstrating feltmaking techniques, and visitors will have the opportunity to join a hands-on wet felting activity using Irish-raised wool from Ériu and WoolStore Ireland.
The wool used for these activities has been partially funded by the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland.
The European Wool Experience will be a unique day, where wool comes to life through hands-on demonstrations, exhibitions, research displays and interactive experiences from makers, artists, educators and innovators across Ireland and 10+ European countries.
Whether you’re discovering wool for the first time, visiting with family and friends, or already passionate about fibre crafts, this is a wonderful opportunity to see traditional skills alongside contemporary practices — and experience the incredible versatility of this natural material.
Meet makers
Watch live 35+ demonstrations
Explore exhibitions and displays
Try wool crafts like felting, weaving, spinning and much more in a welcoming, relaxed environment
Drop in anytime — admission is completely free, and everyone is welcome!
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For content-related questions, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
Feltmakers Ireland guild member Sharon Wells, who is one of the organisers of Ireland hosting European Wool Day, will be interviewed on Castlebar FM Radio today at 12:10 PM.
To learn about the free and interactive hands-on activities that are part of the ‘European Wool Experience’ in Tralee on the 28th of March, listen here – https://crcfm.ie/
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For content-related questions, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
The European Wool Experience, a vibrant, free, family-friendly event, will be at the Meadowlands Hotel, Tralee, on Saturday, 28 March 2026, from 10 AM–5 PM.
Celebrating Ireland’s hosting of ‘European Wool Day 2026’, this special public event, open to all, brings together exhibitors, makers and researchers from Ireland and more than 10 European countries, to connect and create a colourful, welcoming day of creativity, culture, and discovery.
Taking place at the start of the Easter school holidays, it’s an ideal day out for families, friends, individuals or organised groups looking for something creative and different.
Visitors can explore four rooms featuring over 35 demonstrations, exhibitions and interactive experiences, with plenty of opportunities to try wool crafts firsthand, including the following: wet felting, finger knitting, crios belt weaving, spinning, weaving, wool processing and more. Meet skilled makers, discover traditional and contemporary skills, view unique heritage displays, and enjoy a relaxed, hands-on atmosphere suitable for children and adults alike.
Throughout the day, volunteers from Feltmakers Ireland will demonstrate feltmaking, and we will also lead interactive wet felting activities.
In addition to the guild, several members will be sharing their artwork and fibres. These include the following:
The guild is grateful to have received some funding from the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland. This helped us purchase Irish-raised wool from Ériu and WoolstoreIE, which members could use in their pieces.
Drop in to the European Wool Experience for an hour or stay and explore at your own pace; admission is completely free.
Groups of 10 or more can book in advance via ewd@ewe.network (subject: Group Visit).
Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For content-related questions, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
Guild member Sharon Wells will be on the television programme Ireland: AM on the 1st of March, Sunday at 10 AM. She will talk about European Wool Day 2026, which Ireland is hosting on the 28th of March in Tralee, Co Kerry.
She will also share her artwork and demonstrate needlefelting.
Sharon is one of the organisers of the European Wool Day conference, which will also have a joint exhibition of work from members of Feltmakers Ireland, the International Feltmakers Association, and the Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers. All of the artwork will incorporate Irish raised wool. There will also be a room with Interactive Wool Crafts.
Both the exhibition and the crafts are free to enter, and all ages are welcome.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
To get ready for European Wool Day, which will take place on the 28th of March in Tralee, Co Kerry, Fibreshed Ireland has organised a series of subsidised wool-related workshops around the island.
Workshops include the following:
From Farm to Fibre: the cycle of sheep’s wool production from birth to yarn, taught by Feltmakers Ireland member Christine Jordan of @roughcirclestudio, 7th of March, Co Carlow
Not just a Granny Square, 7th of March, Co Kerry
Aran Knitting Workshop, 8th of March, Co Galway
From Fleece to Fibre, 14th of March, Co Laois
Mindful Weaving Workshop, 14th of March, Co Dublin
Adapting Knitting Patterns for a Better Fit and Creative Changes, 14th of March, Co Dublin
Wool Spinning Workshop, 22nd of March, Co Antrim
Threads of Belonging: A day of Weaving, Connection and Care, 22nd of March, Co Waterford
The workshops have been made possible with support from the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
On Saturday, the 28th of March, European Wool Day will take place at the Meadowlands Hotel in Tralee, Co Kerry. In conjunction with the Conference Talks, there is a full day of free interactive demos of woolcrafts from experts all over the country.
Volunteers from Feltmakers Ireland will be part of the Interactive Wool Crafts Room. We will demonstrate needlefelting and host hands-on felting circles for the public. The wool that we will use is Irish-raised and was purchased from Ériu and WoolstoreIE. We are grateful to have received some funding from the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland.
In addition to Feltmakers Ireland, other individuals and groups will be part of the Interactive Wool Crafts room. The list includes several members of Feltmakers Ireland: Karen Bowden (Fabulous Fibres), Lucia Errity, and Emily Thompson.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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The Irish Grown Wool Council and Sharon Wells are excited to announce that Ireland has been selected as the host country for European Wool Day 2026!
Bringing together sheep farmers, designers, makers, researchers, crafters, educators, practitioners and those with a general interest in wool from across the island of Ireland and Europe to celebrate wool’s role in sustainability, circular economies and cultural heritage.
Co-hosts & Sponsor: Many thanks to the co-hosts, the European Wool Exchange Foundation, Circular Bioeconomy Cluster, Centre for Applied Bioscience Research (CABR), and sponsors, including FutureIslandIsland, and REVEIRE
Additional sponsorship opportunities are available.
Join in celebrating wool, connection, and collaboration at #EWD26 in Co Tralee, Ireland.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
The 5th European Wool Day will be celebrated on Sunday, the 6th of April, from 10 AM to 5 PM CEST at I Casali del Pino in Rome, Italy. The event will also be live-streamed on EWE’s YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/@ewefoundation-europeanwool255
The event will feature presentations, demonstrations, and interactive workshops led by wool enthusiasts from across Europe. Attendees of all ages can explore various wool-related activities, including washing, dyeing, spinning, felting, crochet, weaving, and even painting with wool, while learning about best practices and creative techniques.
Feltmakers Ireland member Sharon Wells will be in Rome to present her experiences of recovering from trauma in her talk ‘Healing through Wool,’ at 11 AM. Additionally, she will facilitate a European landscape textile workshop to be created by representatives of EWE member countries.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
