From fleece to yarn, and onto Nalbinding, making textiles with one big needle

Making cloth and fabrics in the ancient past was a work of such skill, technology, time, care and many different processes that it is one of the most fascinating crafts of Scottish prehistory. We are lucky enough to look after a surviving fragment of prehistoric twill fabric in our museum's collection which came from the archaeological excavation of the ‘Oakbank Crannog’ house site, dated to 500BC in Loch Tay.

We offer a range of workshops in some of these skills and processes that would have produced fabrics and garments in prehistory, built up from the skills our Interpreters have honed, researched and developed over many years. A humble piece of thread is arguably amongst the most innovative developments in the human story. Come and learn to make your own drop spindle, a type of traditional spinning implement, and create a ball of handspun yarn.

Then, learn how to do nalbinding, the 10,000-year-old precursor to knitting and crocheting; done with one big needle. This is an intricate technique made with loops on the thumb and creates a wonderful stretchy textile which has historically been used to make socks, mittens and other small items of clothing.

You'll be welcomed and looked after, complete with a hearty, traditional lunch cooked in our Iron Age kitchen, and plenty of refreshments. We hope to share with you and a community of likeminded enthusiasts a passion for ancient textiles in our unique lochside setting surrounded by hills, as we sit and tell stories around the crackling fire.

Book here (also for 3 September).