Gairloch socks' appeal sweeps 'curator battle' vote for award-winning Wester Ross attraction; Highland Threads podcast set to throw spotlight on fascinating garments held in local museums

WHILE it may have lacked the urgency of the US presidential election or the forthcoming Holyrood poll, an online battle for votes has seen a Wester Ross museum emerge top dog.

Plans for an online exhibition backed by Museums and Heritage Highland will see the spotlight turned on some fascinating garments in collections across the north. A tongue in cheek "curator battle" for the honour of which garment gets the special podcast treatment first in the Highland Threads series has been won by Karen Buchanan at award-winning Gairloch Museum after a huge final weekend surge in support.

The Gairloch pattern, a traditional kilt stocking design, is set to be first in line when the exhibition is launched next month – part of a wider digital drive to engage a wider audience to counter the restrictions of the coronavirus crisis.

At the time of the potato famine in the 1840s, strenuous efforts were made by the lairds of Gairloch to provide work for the local people. This included construction of the so-called Destitution Road between Dundonnell and Braemore Junction.

And to provide an income for the women, knitting was encouraged. Lady Mackenzie of Gairloch employed an expert in spinning to ensure a really high standard of skills many already possessed, creating a popular home industry whose legacy is reflected in the distinctive Gairloch pattern.

It has been estimated that the annual value of the exports from the area was at least £500 by the end of the century.

Gairloch stockings were knitted in a wide variety of patterns and colours, some imitating tartan. A double-diamond design, known as the Gairloch Pattern, became the favourite. It was applied to waistcoats and other garments, as well as stockings. The pattern was revived in the 1970s by Becca Macaulay of Opinan, who was known as an expert knitter. In 2015, Gairloch Museum published a modern pattern for Gairloch pattern stockings based on stockings in the collection.

Karen Buchanan meanwhile is also giving an online talk about various Mackenzie artefacts from the Gairloch Museum collection on March 17 at 7.30pm. Mackenzie families have owned the lands of Gairloch since 1494 and many sites throughout the parish are associated with the history of the Mackenzies of Gairloch. Dr Buchanan will take viewers on a journey around some of these sites, telling the stories of the lairds and their families through objects in Gairloch Museum’s collection.

To book either sign up on our website https://www.gairlochmuseum.org/events or contact the museum directly.

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