Scottish Textile Traditions: Craft & Heritage at Dunollie

Celebrating Community, Craft, and Culture

On Saturday 10th May, we were thrilled to welcome visitors to Scottish Textile Traditions: Craft & Heritage at Dunollie, a pop-up exhibition celebrating the rich textile history of Dunollie and the West Coast of Scotland.

Set against the stunning backdrop of the Oban coastline, the event offered a unique evening of heritage, hands-on demonstrations, and community creativity, all part of our ongoing Sophy & White: The Dunollie Collections Unboxed project, made possible thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

A Warm West Coast Welcome

Guests arrived from 4pm and were greeted with glasses of prosecco on our sun-drenched terrace, setting a relaxed and sociable tone for the evening. The event officially opened at 4:30pm with a warm welcome from Collections Development Officer Shannen Provan-Sloan, who introduced the themes of the evening and the community behind the project.

Exploring the Exhibition

The exhibition was spread across two rooms in Dunollie’s historic 1745 House, offering a rare chance to view beautifully preserved textiles and tools from our collections, many of which had never before been on public display.

The Loom Room

Highlights from the 1st exhibition room included:

• The tartan jacket worn by Admiral John MacDougall, 26th Chief, when he met King George IV in 1822, during the height of the Highland Revival.

• A 19th-century industrial loom used by Miss Hope MacDougall to weave MacDougall tartan, accompanied by samples of the tartan she created herself.

• A spinning wheel believed to have belonged to Mary MacDougall; the last child born in Dunollie Castle in the 1740s.

• A handmade table loom, fabric swatches, and two handwoven blankets, each with their own remarkable story of craft and community, from Inverary to Balmacara.

The Loom Room also featured a documentary on Stitch & Spin, filmed and edited by Beth Chalmers, offering insight into the volunteer group at the heart of the exhibition.

The Reading Room

In the second space, the focus shifted to domestic and decorative textile traditions:

• A four-drawer cabinet and a beautifully hand-stitched textile tool roll filled with antique crochet hooks, knitting needles, and rug-making tools.

• Two exquisite Paisley shawls, one woven by machine and another of fine material once worn by Hope MacDougall’s Great Aunt Kitty. These shawls showcased the global influences and intricate patterns that shaped Scottish textile history in the 19th century.

Stitch & Spin volunteers Sheila and Elinor offered live knitting and crochet demonstrations in the Reading Room, while out on the terrace, Helen and Jill gave spinning demonstrations, inviting guests to try the traditional craft for themselves.

Community at the Core

Throughout the evening, there was a relaxed, celebratory atmosphere, with old friends reconnecting and new visitors discovering Dunollie for the first time. Many took the opportunity to explore the museum grounds and climb to the castle, enjoying springtime views over the bay.

The event also sparked enthusiasm for the work of our volunteer textile group. Several guests enquired about joining Stitch & Spin, whose members meet weekly at Dunollie to learn and practice heritage textile skills.

In the shop, we launched a beautiful new product created by the group: hand-knitted coasters, crafted from pure Shetland wool and inspired by traditional fisherman’s ganseys, a tribute to Scotland’s coastal and crafting legacy. These designs reflect the patterns and techniques used in historic knitwear and connect directly to a number of original fisherman’s ganseys held in Dunollie’s Social History Collection. Each gansey in our collection tells its own story, representing the practical artistry of Scotland’s fishing communities and their regional identities through stitch.

Continuing the Story

This exhibition is part of Sophy & White: The Dunollie Collections Unboxed, a project that brings hidden stories from our collections into the public eye. Stitch & Spin was formed as part of this initiative, with a mission to preserve and share textile knowledge deeply rooted in Scotland’s social history.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this very special event, and especially to our dedicated volunteers, whose talent, care, and creativity made it all possible.

If you’re interested in becoming part of Stitch & Spin, please get in touch at info@dunollie.org, we’d love to hear from you.