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Spade cultivation; carding as a social event; the processing...

Date 16 September 1970
Track ID 101968
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1970.235

Original Tape ID

SA1970.235

Summary

Spade cultivation; carding as a social event; the processing of wool.

When the contributor was young, crofters dug their land by hand. A back harrow was used to cover up the seed. The land was rig-run and broken up into small pieces. People took turns to use the rigs.

Carding and spinning wool was done by the women and girls of the district. On carding nights around midnight the boys would come with fiddles and the young people would go to the barn to dance until the morning. Much of the carded wool went for local weaving on small looms. Usually the wool was natural in colour but it could be died with natural substances, which was time consuming. Until the First World War people made their own clothes and shoes and there were tailors in every district.

Item Location

County - Shetland

Parish - Dunrossness

Island - Shetland Mainland

Language

English, Scots

Genre

Information

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good