It’s been a while since I posted because I’ve been traveling to various parts of my great country as well as to others (and, of course, working in between trips). One of the places I visited was Ireland for a week. Ireland is a stunningly beautiful country and I can’t wait to go back. We were super lucky with the weather (or so I’m led to believe) since we didn’t really have rain at all. Mostly just beautiful blue skies, amazing sites like old ruins or gorgeous castles and lots of yummy food.
One of the highlights of the trip for me was getting to visit Kerry Woolen Mills in Killarney, Ireland and funny enough we almost didn’t go. I knew that Ireland was famous for its wool (and we did see a lot of sheep and I even got to hold a baby lamb) so I knew that when it came to souvenirs, I would rather have fabric I can use than any tchotchkes or random household items.
While we were in Dingle, I asked around about purchasing wool and finally got an answer at a Kerry Woolen Mills store. Unfortunately that store didn’t sell yardage (or meterage), but their actual mill was about an hour away in Killarney. We didn’t have any set plans for the rest of the day and were mostly planning to wander around Dingle, but my father who I was traveling with knows how much I love sewing and sensed that this would be something cool for me. And he was right.
So we made our way over and I got to spend an hour wandering around the mill and picking out fabric. It was very cool and meant so much to me to bring together the amazing experience I was having visiting Ireland and sewing which is near and dear to my heart. Next time I go, I definitely want to get an official tour of a mill. This location unfortunately only does tours for larger groups, but singles are allowed to jump on a group tour. Something I’ll need to plan ahead for. It wasn’t something I had even considered before but now I know for next time!
I still got to see many of the cool machines that they use to create the wool. And of course nothing beats being able to feel the fabric and see the color in person when purchasing it. I probably purchased way too much but I didn’t know when I’d get back and now you can look forward to some exciting coat and jacket posts (and capes, one of those will definitely be a cape).
The fabrics I got above were (from top to bottom):
- Tweed Cloth Green Fleck — The top photo captures the green shade better than the one above. It’s a gorgeous green with multicolored flecks that I love. I’m planning on an orange lining so that it will be a coat that reminds me of my trip to Ireland and will match some of the flecks as well. Currently thinking about doing the Rumana Coat or the Abbey Coat or I think Vogue 1669 might look really sharp in this fabric.
- Salt & Pepper Tweed — I love the vibrant purple of this fabric. There are so many things I could make out of this one but currently thinking of a cape like Vogue 1838 or Vogue 8959.
- Serge Cloth — A beautiful emerald green. This one is a bit more sleek and I have a number of patterns I’m considering including Vogue 8346 which I’ve made before but would do in a longer length.
- Herringbone Lambswool silk cloth — This is actually super soft, especially compared to most Irish wools because of the lambswool and silk in it. Not sure if I want to go with a classic peacoat design or something more fun like Butterick 6603. Currently leaning classic since I’ll probably get more wear out of it.
I’m so glad we listened to our gut and just went to wool mill because I would have missed out on this experience otherwise. I highly recommend a visit if you’re in Ireland and appreciate what goes into making fabric. Above is a photo of a tired but satisfied sewist who is looking forward to enjoying her meters of authentic Irish wool!
