Festival Designs
Do you have a woolly good design idea?
We are searching for one knit design and one crochet design to feature as the 2027 Woolly Good Gathering designs!
We are looking for neckwear design proposals, such as a scarf, shawl or cowl. This year we would like to celebrate the cherry blossoms that are in bloom during the festival! So, we'd love to see your designs inspired by beautiful cherry blossoms.
We plan to launch the designs in advance of the 2027 festival so visitors have a chance to make their own versions to wear on the weekend.
SCHEDULE
Submission deadline: Sunday 30 August
Decision: mid-September
Pattern and sample due: 15 November
Publication: late January 2026
COMPENSATION
You will be offered compensation in the form of a £150 flat fee. Iolair Yarn or Zakami Yarns will provide yarn support and your pattern will be tech edited.
Woolly Good will have non-exclusive rights to share your pattern as the 2027 Woolly Good Gathering design.
SUBMISSION
Pattern proposals should include at minimum: A brief description of the design, construction and inspiration, a sketch, an image of your swatch, and suggested yarn weight and fibre content. The selected designs will be paired with a yarn from either Iolair Yarn or Zakami Yarns.
Previous festival designs
Gaitherin (2026)
Designed by Maddie Harvey
Miss Rollo’s Hive (2026)
Designed by Yessabett Bueno
Sophia Louisa Shawl (2024)
Designed by Solveigh Lass-Evans
Named for Dr. Sophia Jex-Blake, one of the ‘Edinburgh Seven’ who were the first group of matriculated female students at any British university. In 1878 Jex-Blake became Edinburgh’s first female doctor and she devoted her life to the advancement of women’s rights in the field of medicine. She set up a clinic, providing medical care for poorer women and offered practical experience for young female doctors. The clinic expanded and was named the Edinburgh Hospital and Dispensary for Women (later named the Brunsfield Hospital), Scotland’s first hospital staffed entirely by women.
Yarn
Iolair Yarn Gigha, Fingering 4ply weight, 50% NSW merino, 50% silk, 400m / 437yd per 100g
OR
Zakami Yarns Corriedale, Fingering 4ply weight, 100% NSW British Corriedale, 400m / 437yd per 100g
800m / 874yds
Janina Maria Shawl (2024)
Designed by Alison Mayne
Named after Janina Maria Sokołowska, the first woman to qualify as a Veterinary Surgeon in 1945 from The Royal (Dick) Veterinary College in Edinburgh. Born in Lwów, Poland in 1914, Janina Maria experienced terrible trauma through WW2, exile to Siberia and conscription as a veterinarian nurse. After release from captivity and working with the Polish Army, she worked as a veterinarian and medical nurse across Europe and the Middle East, eventually helping to convoy Polish refugee women to Scotlandbefore continuing her studies at The Royal Dick.
Yarn
Iolair Yarn Gigha, Fingering 4ply weight, 50% NSW merino, 50% silk, 400m / 437yd per 100g
OR
Zakami Yarns Corriedale, Fingering 4ply weight, 100% NSW British Corriedale, 400m / 437yd per 100g
400 (800)m / 437 (874)yd