By committee member Loli Cox
On Saturday, the 22nd of November 2025, Feltmakers Ireland had the privilege of taking part in Fibreshed Ireland‘s first Textile Market, which was part of their annual Symposium held the day before.
Fibershed is a global movement that evolved from Rebecca Burgess and Courtney White’s 2019 book, ‘Fibreshed: Growing a Movement of Farmers, Fashion Activists, and Makers for a New Textile Economy.’ Weaver and natural dyer Burgess developed a project focused on wearing clothing made from fibre grown, woven, and sewn within her bioregion of North Central California. In Ireland, our fibreshed encompasses the whole island. The Fibershed movement champions local, regenerative fibre systems—connecting soil, plants, animals, and humans through transparent supply chains and bioregional textile practices.
At the Textile Market, volunteers from Feltmakers Ireland set up a lively demonstration station where visitors could watch both wet felting and needle felting techniques. We talked passionately about the guild’s mission to keep traditional feltmaking skills alive, to celebrate Irish wool in all its glorious variety, and to foster creativity and community through this extraordinarily versatile material.
A special highlight was the chance to promote our beautiful book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’. Copies were available for sale alongside an array of handmade treasures: wet-felted vessels, pocket books and bags, bookmarks, greeting cards, whimsical wool pumpkins, and gnomes—every single piece made exclusively with Irish wool from a rainbow of native sheep breeds.
Visitors loved getting hands-on: touching fleece samples from rare and heritage breeds, feeling the different textures, and discovering how dramatically each type of wool felts. Our display of members’ artwork—landscape wall pieces, sculptures and wearable art—showed just how far this simple fibre can be pushed in skilled and imaginative hands.
A thank-you to the Fibreshed Ireland team for inviting us and for creating such a warm, inspiring event. We’re especially grateful to our own guild members, Margaret and Clodagh, who gave their time so generously and demonstrated with enthusiasm. Additionally, it was also a joy to spend the day alongside our fellow artisans who spin, naturally dye and process Irish wool with equal love and dedication. Vendors included guild members Katarina of WoolStore Ireland, who shared her beautifully processed Irish wool fibre and Juliane of FeltHappiness, who shared her sculptural hats.
Gallery of Photos
Apologies for not having photos of Liz of the Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers spinning flax or Sandra of Irish Fibre Crafters.
Events like these remind us why we do what we do: to honour the sheep, the land, the makers, and the long story woven into every handful of fleece.
Feltmakers Ireland is already looking forward to the next chance to collaborate with Fibreshed Ireland —here’s to many more days of woolly connection!
Editor’s note: If you missed our book at the Textile Market, you can order it online via our website – https://feltmakersireland.com/exploring-irish-wool-for-feltmaking/
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