Alistair Braidwood @alastair.j.braidwood

A hand-knitter for over 10 years, Dorchester born-and-bred Alastair takes commissions and teaches knitting. His love of all things natural has led him to advocate natural fibres in fibrecraft especially wool. He knits historical pieces and gives talks on knitting traditions, interspersed with traditional folk songs, sung unaccompanied.

Keep an eye out for his popular series of Folk Song Walks this summer, all over Dorset!

​

BlueBarn.Life www.bluebarn.life

Fast Fashion clothing (mass produced using cheap labour and poor quality, man-made textiles) is intended to be cheap and thrown away after a few weeks. It is bad for the planet. At BlueBarn.Life we believe in Slow Fashion. Our designs are timeless, often based on traditional workwear. They are loose so you can layer up to wear them through the seasons. We choose natural fibres and often make use of vintage textiles.  Our makers are based locally and are highly skilled. We hope you'll wear our clothes for years and years and that none will ever end up in landfill.

​

Catherine Potter   @catherinepottercrafts

Designer and creator of up cycled craft objects made from old buttons and re-purposed fabric which are either donated or sourced from charity shops. Most popular items are button necklaces and denim aprons and oven gloves.

​

The Wool Studio at Gutchpool Farm  @gutchpool
The Wool Studio offer knitting kits and patterns for all skill levels.  Their yarns are spun from the wool of their own flock of native breed sheep. This way, they can be sure of the highest quality, while supporting sustainable farming practices and celebrating British heritage.

Alongside their hand-knits, they’ve introduced a line of machine-knitted designs. As proud supporters of The Campaign for Wool and Fibreshed, they champion natural fibres and ethical production.

​

Harvard Farm www.harvardfarm.co.uk

Harvard Farm is an organic farm run according to regenerative principles. Their rare breed sheep such as Dorset Downs and Teeswaters alongside our Gotlands are used to restore soils and grasslands, and to promote biodiversity. The wool of all our fibre breeds is stunning and they seek to use it in as many ways as possible: they sell to crafters and spinners; get it spun into yarn to make garments and for knitting/crochet projects; make peg loom rugs; and they put the waste wool on our hedgerows and trees to protect from weeds and weather. 

​

Hawkers Re-Creatives   www.hawkersfarm.org/hawkers-recreatives

A hub for sustainable sewing with an abundance of resources, Hawkers Barn hosts drop in mending and sewing sessions on Thursday mornings and the space can be booked for taster craft and sewing parties.  There is a permanent swap rail and the  Wear Me Out library of clothes as well as Second to None, a curated collection of natural fibre second hand clothes and much more.​

​

Joanna Jacobs    @joannavictoriajacobs

Selling vintage clothes collected on her travels such as beautiful embroidered Mexican pieces.

​

Joanne Rutters @joannerutterceramics

​Joanne Rutters makes stoneware fired buttons individually cut from rolled sheets of slip decorated porcelain in her studio in Stour Row,

​

Made by Jules   @madebyjulesindorset

A sustainable maker based in Sherborne Julie uses the ancient craft of wet felting to create an array of hand made items including; baby booties, buttons and bags. She is passionate about using materials sourced locally and is presently developing methods to use alpaca fibre from local, small scale producers which would otherwise be wasted.

​

Purple Guava @purpleguava

Purple Guava creates eye catching upcycled clothing and accessories alongside handmade jewellery.

“Everything we do is centred around sustainable techniques and resources, seeing the potential in every discard and scrap.” Recent additions include crochet jumper designs and hand stitched Dorset button jewellery.

​

Rails Farm www.railsfarm.com

Yarn dyer and hand-knit designer, Marina supplies characterful yarn in rich, semi-solid jewel tones and delicate pastel shades. The yarn is all made from locally sourced fibre, grown by happy, well treated animals on farms she has visited. The yarn is spun in UK mills and dyed by Marina, using non toxic dyes.

​

Second to None  www.hawkersfarm.org

A curated collection of natural fibre second hand clothing, with an emphasis on British makes and hand made items. You will also find bags and scarves in addition to alpaca and cashmere jumpers.

​

Stour Lacemakers 

The Stour Lacemakers’ aim is to promote the craft of bobbin lacemaking and for their members to exchange ideas and further their skills in the craft. 

The Lacemakers meet on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month between 2-4pm at Manston Village Hall, all levels are welcome.​

​

Tamarisk Farm   www.tamariskfarm.co.uk

Tamarisk Farm produces Organic knitting wools in Chunky, Aran, DK and 4-ply. With 5 breeds of sheep on the farm, there is a wide array of colours on offer. For the spinners we have roving in soft cream and mid-grey, and we can have yarn spun to order for weavers. We now have shawls and blankets woven to our specifications by Bristol Weaving Mill, as well as limited quantities of fabric by the metre!

​

The Creative Skills Hub   www.thecreativeskillshub.com

The Creative Skills Hub is a place for developing new skills for adults with learning difficulties. Weaving is one of the many activities offered, it is a valuable and creative skill that has been around for centuries. 

At The Creative Skills Hub they carry out their weaving on traditional hand looms and fabric is created right in front of your eyes. Each Weaver is fully involved in every step by choosing designs, colours and yarns, to create their individual cloth which is then made up into a variety of products such as bags and scarves.

​

Vintage Maid   www.facebook.com/VintageMaid

A stall full of stitchy wonders - vintage & reclaimed fabrics, lace, patterns, haberdashery & tools for making all sorts of things from reclaimed & re-purposed resources!

​

Woolcraft with Wensleydale   www.juliadesch.com

Mixed wool supplies including; Washed Locks, Combed TOPS Single Roving, Worsted Spun Yarns, Designer Handknits and collector's items. The fibre is in uniquely graded natural shades: Silver/ Steel Grey/ Bitter Chocolate and Cream.

​​