Shetland Museum Straw Crafts Update

Published: 12 December 2022

Fair Isle chairmaker, Eve Eunson is leading the sessions together with museum curator Ian Tait and Deepa Shah from Hymhus, the basket making group in Bigton.

There are around seven participants in each of the three groups and all are making baskets but in different shapes and forms.

It’s been a lengthy (and messy!) process but now the groups are moving beyond the tricky stages of the project and getting into the rhythm and flow of making the baskets. The kishie baskets are well underway, and next week the group will be starting to finish up their work. Handles will soon be added to the coiled stitched straw baskets and the knotted straw group are continuing with their baskets from a square wooden base.

It’s been a fun, sociable series of evenings and by the very nature of them being collaborative sessions it’s meant that people have been able to ask plenty of questions and bounce ideas off one another.

Eve emphasised: “There are very few straw crafts’ experts out there so it’s vital that these skills and knowledge are passed on so that more people can learn and keep the techniques going. I’m delighted that there has been such a positive response to the classes, and we hope to do more in the future.”

We’ll share photos of the finished baskets in the next couple of weeks.

Photos by Jordan Clark