Ionndrainn – Story Plaid, The Longing
This hand woven plaid shares the story of the Selkie, for those that long for the sea…
Ionndrainn – (Gaelic) means ‘(act of) longing for, missing’.
The Ionndrainn – Story Plaid holds the magic of the Selkie folk tale. The longing for the sea, the need to be close. Listening to the lapping of the waves and feeling the swirl of currents. Now is the time to return, to place your feet in the shallows or dive into the deep.
This plaid is the ‘statement’ piece of the collection. The embellishments swirl across the bottom width of the shawl. A rich green strand of seaweed stretches across and hand dyed, ombré stitching swirls and eddies around it.
Product Information
Fibres – 100% Merino Lambswool Yarn from British mills, with hand spun inlayed yarns of mixed natural fibres such as Shetland and Merino wools & Nettle, Flax & Rose fibres
Dimensions – 91cm x 250cm (+/- 5%)
Design – a hand woven plaid pattern (Twill Gamp) with hand felted and hand stitched embellishments, inlayed hand spun yarns.
Ionndrainn – Story Plaid, The Longing
£450.00Out of stock
Ionndrainn – Story Plaid – The Story (design & inspiration)
This shawl has hand felted seaweed and swirling hand stitching with ombre thread. As if the shawl has been lifted directly from the sea. The seaweed flows diagonally across the bottom of the shawl with the stitching moving around the fronds.
The concept behind this story plaid was to make the design represent the ‘seal skin’. The design represents a seal skin but also something more magical. The colours are a mix of soft and deep greys and the pattern is never static, the twills have fluidly change throughout each piece.
I chose to create something called a ‘Twill Gamp’ within the plaid design. It combines twills – each ‘box’ within the plaid has a pattern that is changed by the way it is threaded by hand or the way it is treadled by foot.
I wanted to feel seal like but also bring a magical, otherworldly element to the traditional plaid design.
The embellishments complete the Selkie magic, as if dipped in the sea each piece has swirling, hand stitched pattern to represent the everchanging currents within the sea. I hand dyed each thread in ombre colours of blues and sea greens adding the stitches as I hand wove the fabric. The main piece has hand felted seaweed drifting across diagonally and the other pieces have small echoes of this at varying points within the shawl.
Each shawl is a Selkie Skin, the magic still infused within the threads. Once returned to its owner they will be free to return to the sea. Powerless to resist its call.
The Making
I love traditional patterns and believe their classic look will transcend seasons. The plaid is synonymous to Scotland and the designs are rooted in this pattern. I believe in creating one off textiles that reflect the wearer or owner of each piece. The stories are unique and will not be re-created.
Scotland radiates magic, it is why we often feel connected to it from afar. Each Story Plaid is a piece of textile art that illustrates this. The embellishments may be hand stitched, hand felted or threaded with hand spun art yarns that I spin myself. These are added directly to the fabric whilst it is being woven on the loom. The tensioned fabric is the perfect surface to work from.
The designs are made using gentle techniques that hark back to slower times. Using a loom in my Scottish studio, it is powered by hands and feet not electricity. I use natural fibres and yarns that come from British, Scottish & Irish mills, chosen for quality and sustainability. Each step is carefully considered so that the textile is made to the very highest of standards. A hand woven textile has life and personality and, if looked after, will look beautiful for many years ahead.
Use the Story Plaid as a blanket or throw, wrap around as wearable art or hang them as a piece of art in their own right.