Dumfries Museum showcased the centuries-old craft of Sanquhar knitting on Saturday.
Museums curator Judith Hewitt was keen to show visitors some of the pieces held within its collection and, after teaming up with A’ The Airts, Sanquhar, and Sanquhar Pattern Designs, was able to offer the chance to see how it is done – and to learn about its history and heritage.
This traditional way of knitting, with its distinctive black and white patterning, is still practiced today.
The free, drop-in event was organised to augment the museum’s current exhibition, Everyone and Everywhere: Folk Art and is proving popular.
Sanquhar knitting began in the 18th century, a way for women and children in poor farming families in the Dumfriesshire town and area to supplement their meagre incomes.
The knitting was distinctively low-tech, needing only wool and needles and a great deal of skill and there are around a dozen surviving traditional patterns.
The unique cottage industry knitwear was done by hand – especially the famous Sanquhar gloves, famed for their quality – however, after a revival and the introduction of technology to the craft, people are making articles including socks, scarves and jumpers for commercial use, using knitting machines.
And there is a resurgence in people wanting to know more about it and to learn the techniques.
