FROM FLEECE TO FABRIC
Using sustainable local fibres to create bespoke rugs and textiles
My name is Sarah Hilditch and I have recently completed an HNC in Contemporary Constructed Textiles at
Bradford College, specialising in weaving.
My love of textiles started at an early age, when I learned to knit and sew from my mother and grandmother. After living for a number of years in Italy, I returned to the UK in 2015 to help on my parents' smallholding. We farm a small flock of rare breed sheep, so I started to look at the wool market and its possibilities. I was astonished and saddened to find how little farmers were being paid for their fleece.
Given that wool is a 100% natural, ecologically sustainable, intrinsically fire-retardant, warm, hard-wearing and beautiful fibre, I want to show that even the roughest fleece can be used to embellish and brighten the home, while at the same time giving back a decent return to farmers.
My end goal is to source as much of my fibre as possible locally, either spinning it myself, or sending it away to local mills to be processed.
