The Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers (IGWSD) is an organisation for the promotion and preservation of hand

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

and

dyeing Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Editions of the IGWSD's newsletter are stored in the

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...

Foundation

The Guild was founded in 1975 by Lillias Mitchell. The Guild has three stated aims: * To promote and encourage the crafts of Weaving, Spinning & Dyeing. * To educate through workshops, lectures and demonstrations. * To compile a library and information on materials and equipment. The members include artists, amateurs, and beginners. Another one of its aims was to rekindle enthusiasm for classic forms of handweaving, spinning, and dyeing, which had been losing popularity. As described in ''Irish Tweed: History, Tradition, Fashion'', the IGWSD, following its establishment, replaced the original Weavers' Guild, and initially published a regular newsletter and hosted monthly meetings, as well as educational events.

Activities

The Guild holds meetings, workshops, exhibitions, and demonstrations nationwide. They also participate in the annual Knitting and Stitching Show in the

Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) () is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economically. It was long active as a learned ...

. The Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers traditionally held a major annual exhibition in Dublin. The Guild hold events for all levels, including introductory classes. Locally, the IGWSD is a network of regional groups. It runs workshops across the country. In 1987, the ''Book of the Irish Countryside'' stated that the Guild "does much to promote interest in natural dyes." It previously had a representative on the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland. The Guild participated in an

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

historical exhibition in Merrion Square as part of its 1916 Easter Rising commemorations. The Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers (IGWSD) is affiliated to the Associated Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers in the UK.

References

Spinning Weaving Textile arts of Ireland Organizations established in 1975 {{Ireland-org-stub

Foundation

Activities

See also

References