Tag: Sustainable Textiles

Of Interest: Wool March in Tilburg, Netherlands – the 20th of December

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

On Saturday, the 20th of December at noon, there will be a Wool March in Tilburg, Netherlands.

The Wool March is a growing movement that supports shepherding and the revaluing of wool by literally walking together. Each year, the organisers lead a march in which local shepherds guide their flocks—along with members of the public—to and from pasture. Past editions have been held in Tilburg, The Netherlands, and have been generously hosted by the TextielMuseum, which is an inspiring destination in itself. https://www.textielmuseum.nl/

Participants and supporters of the Wool March come from all walks of life, including farmers, felters, and fashion designers, as well as politicians, breeders, and biologists.

There will also be a Wool March to the European Parliament in September 2026. The group is selling ‘Wool Activist Kits’ that include felting instructions and raw Kempische Heideschaap fibre from sheep that graze the Dutch coastal dunes. These kits are to create a blanket to be worn (or sent) to the Brussels Wool March – https://www.woolmarch.com/wool-activist-kit

For more information and to register for the Wool March in December, visit the Wool March website – https://www.woolmarch.com/lets-walk/wool-march-tilburg-2025

Their Instagram: @woolmarch


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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.

Of Interest: Farm to Yarn – Ériu featured on RTÉ’s Nationwide

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland
Image of Presenter Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh and owner Zoë Daly.

In the second of three programs, Nationwide explores Ireland’s wool sector – delving into its rich heritage, current challenges, and future possibilities. Today’s episode will be about Ériu, a ‘Farm to Yarn’ company, based in County Wicklow.

Presenter Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh visits Ériu’s farm to talk about their mission to revive Ireland’s wool industry. From caring for their sheep to handcrafting every garment, Ériu creates 100% Irish wool yarn and garments, all while truly caring and supporting a community of local farmers through their Farm to Yarn network.

Broadcast: TODAY, WEDNESDAY the 26th of November – 19:00/ 7 PM on RTÉ One, or catch it later on the RTÉ Player – https://www.rte.ie/player/series/nationwide/SI0000001172?epguid=IH10008772-25-0126

For more information about the company, visit their website – https://eriu.eu/

Ériu’s Traceability Page is fascinating because it shows the two types of wool that they use (Emerald Romney and Bluefaced Leicester), and the actual farmers who raise the sheep which provide the wool – https://eriu.eu/pages/traceability

Their Farm to Yarn page is also interesting: it’s about the history of wool in Ireland – https://eriu.eu/pages/farm-to-yarn

Ériu will soon offer Irish-raised wool tops, dyed and natural, in addition to their yarn and knitted items. Stay tuned – we will share this exciting development with the felting community when it happens. According to our book, ‘Exploring Irish wool for Feltmaking’, both fibres are good for wet felting, and the Romney is suitable for needle felting.

Ériu’s Instagram – @eriu.ireland

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.

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Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Of Interest: Galway Wool on RTÉ Nationwide

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland
RTÉ Nationwide presenters - Galway Wool Coop will be featured.

The Galway Wool Co-op will be featured on RTÉ’s Nationwide this Monday, the 24th of November at 19:00 (7 PM).

Learn about the story of Ireland’s native wool, the community, and the wool growers behind it. Galway wool is one of the few native Irish wools, so it is fantastic that it will be in the spotlight.

Broadcast: TODAY, Monday the 24th of November – 19:00 on RTÉ One, or catch it later on the RTÉ Player – https://www.rte.ie/player/series/nationwide/SI0000001172?epguid=IH10008772-25-0126

To learn about the Galway Wool Co-op, visit their website – https://galwaywool.ie/

Their Instagram: @thegalwaywoolco_op

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 questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Of Interest: Restyle Cork – Sustainable Fashion Expo – Sunday, the 30th

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Restyle Cork will be the city’s first sustainable fashion expo, featuring Workshops, Panels, Fashion Show, Exhibitions, Demonstrations, Swap Shop, and Pop-ups.

ReStyle will be an all-day event that will incorporate the following:

  • Workshops
  • Demonstrations
  • Exhibitions
  • Clothes Swapping
  • Stalls/Vendors/Pop-Ups
  • Repair Cafe
  • Panel Discussions
  • A Fashion Show
  • Giving people the skills and inspiration they need to start being more conscious about sustainable fashion.

Bring clothes with you to repair, swap & upcycle.

When: Sunday, the 30th of November, 12 – 5 PM

Where: Cork College of FET Douglas Street Campus, Sawmill St, Ballintemple, Cork, T12 DW32

For more information and to book a place on the workshops, visit their Eventbrite page – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/restyle-cork-tickets-1932675667949?

Their Instagram @restyle.cork

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 questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Of Interest: A New Fleece for Life – Presentation – TONIGHT – Co Wicklow

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Weaving Wicklow’s Sheep Wool Heritage into a Sustainable Future.

Join Wicklow Uplands Council for an audio-visual presentation and discussion exploring how Wicklow’s wool heritage can help shape a more sustainable future.

Hear insights from a National Parks & Wildlife Service Conservation Ranger and from Pat Byrne (Circular BioEconomy expert) as they look at how heritage, ecology, and innovation can work together to strengthen Ireland’s wool industry — and influence policy for real change.

Guild member Sharon Wells will be there with some of her recent community-felted sculptures.

Come join the discussion.

Free event — all welcome! But please register: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/weaving-wicklows-sheep-wool-heritage-into-a-sustainable-future-tickets-1856519783649?aff=oddtdtcreator

Their Instagram: @wicklowuplands

Editor’s Note: Apologies for the last-minute announcement; we only learned about the event yesterday.

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.

Of Interest: Vote for Sarah Dowling – uses Galway Co-op Wool- Arts Thread Competition

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Arts Thread — an international online platform that showcases emerging talent in art and design — is hosting its annual Global Creative Graduate Showcase. Among the featured designers is Ireland’s Sarah Dowling, whose innovative work highlights the potential of sustainable, homegrown materials.

Designer Sarah Dowling has created traceable, carbon-free, biodegradable garments made from felted and crocheted Galway Wool and deadstock Irish linen.

Dowling’s work emphasises slow production and the beauty of the craft within the textile history in Ireland. One standout piece, her crochet jumper (Báinín Geansaí), includes a stitch which mimics the knitted Blackberry Aran stitch. This traditional stitch is the only one which cannot be replicated by a machine. Fittingly, crochet can only be done by hand.

Support Irish wool and design by voting for Sarah Dowling’s project on the Arts Thread website – https://www.artsthread.com/events/globalcreativegraduateshowcase/vote/fashion#/project/binn1

Note: You may need to search for her name to find her page.

Her Instagram: @sarah.dowling.design

@artsthread

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.

Event: Meetup of Feltmakers Ireland West – Co Galway – THIS Sunday

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Feltmakers Ireland West will hold a meeting for members in TUAM, Co Galway, THIS Sunday, where guild member Katarina Hruskova of WoolstoreIE will give a talk about processing Irish wool. If you are travelling to Co Galway during the three-day holiday weekend, you are most welcome to attend!

When: Sunday, the 26th of October at 11 AM.

Where: Brú Bríde, Tirboy, Tuam, Co Galway, H54 EY24

Contact committee member Belinda Reid for more information – chasingdreamsfeltart@gmail.com

WoolstoreIE’s Instagram @woolstoreireland

Note: If you join the guild at this time of year, your Membership will be rolled over to the coming year – https://feltmakersireland.com/membership-application/


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 questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.

Event: Second Annual Woolly Celebration – Wise Wool Project – Co Kerry

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

The Wise Wool Project will have its 2nd Annual Woolly Celebration at Kate Kearny’s Cottage on Saturday, the 8th of November.

They invite the community to come together with local fibre artists, sheep farmers, and others interested in finding solutions to the current wool waste dilemma.

Attendees will be welcomed for an afternoon of workshops, storytelling, demonstrations, and a panel discussion exploring the future of wool.

Feltmakers Ireland guild member Sharon Wells will be teaching a needle felting workshop for adults.

Where: Kate Kearney’s Cottage, Gap of Dunloe, Dunloe Upper, Killarney, Co Kerry

For more information and to book a place on the workshops that require them, visit this website – https://curraghmorefarm.ie/wisewoolcelebration2025

Their Instagram @wise_wool_project

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 questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.

Event: Dutch Design Week – Wool (RE)Discovered

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A bit late, as it is happening NOW, but still of interest: Dutch Design Week has the theme of Wool (RE)Discovered!

The week-long event in Eindhoven, Netherlands, showcases wool’s regenerative potential and reimagines it as a dynamic, living material. From raw fleece in the hands of designers to workshops, demos, and mending sessions, and a variety of talks are scheduled throughout the week.

Dutch milliner and feltmaker Saar Snoek has a workshop on Thursday afternoon on how to felt a whimsical moustache: https://www.neworderoffashion.com/ddw-2025-program/workshop-make-your-own-moustache-using-alpaca-hair

There is a LIVESTREAM with discussions about wool here – https://www.neworderoffashion.com/wool-rediscovered-livestream

For more information about the week, visit the New Order of Fashion’s website – https://www.neworderoffashion.com/ddw-2025-program

Their Instagram @new_order_of_fashion

If you cannot attend in person, there’s an exciting video of the exhibition from visitor Elaine Markoutsas here – https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQBJUu5DXjE/?igsh=MXV1aDQ4cHB3bjQ5bw%3D%3D

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 questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.

Of Interest: Upcoming ReStyle Cork Event

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Via our textile friends, Fibreshed Ireland: ReStyle Cork is looking for designers, craftspeople, traditional skills instructors, social entrepreneurs, and artists based in Cork who would like to be part of animating their flagship awareness-raising event for European Waste Reduction Week.

The event will include the following:

  • Workshops
  • Demonstrations
  • Exhibitions
  • Clothes Swapping
  • Stalls/Vendors
  • Repair Cafe
  • Panel Discussions
  • Fashion Show

For more information about getting involved, please contact Theo: 0838110769, theo@environmentalforum.ie


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 questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.