The Silly Sheep Fibre Company croft in Shetland

OUR STORY

A little bit about Silly Sheep

A small family croft on the Westside of Shetland, built around sheep, wool and more than a few slightly crazy ideas.

Welcome to Silly Sheep

We’re a small, traditional croft on the Westside of the Shetland Mainland, where sheep, wool, family and more than a few slightly crazy ideas all come together.

At the heart of it all is our flock of Shetland sheep and a love for their incredible wool. What started with producing our own knitting yarn has grown and developed over the years into The Silly Sheep Fibre Company - but we’re still very much a small, hands-on family business.

Meet Becky

Crofter, shepherdess, wool processor and dyer, shopkeeper, talk giver, baker... the list goes on. Becky is usually the one dreaming up the next idea too — and finding something new to add to their slightly crazy, but very fulfilling, crofting life.

Meet the Family

  • Ian

    My incredibly supportive (and long-suffering!) husband. He works full-time, crofts part-time and is often the wise head behind some of my more ambitious ideas.

  • Our sons

    Our two grown-up sons are still very much part of croft life. One lives at home, helps out daily and works part-time at the village school. The other lives near Lerwick and comes to lend a hand on his days off.

  • Dad

    Dad moved to Shetland to be closer to us and quickly became an essential part of the operation. Helping around the croft, moving sheep and constructing almost everything that isn’t held together with cable ties and string!

Our little corner of Shetland

Our croft covers around 25 acres which, by Shetland standards, makes us relatively small.

The land is a real Shetland mixture — shallow soil and clay over bedrock, peaty bogs and a few reasonably good bits in between.

We’re also incredibly lucky to have fascinating archaeology across the croft, with evidence of around 4,000 years of occupation. Some of it is clearly visible today, while other areas are still waiting to reveal their stories.

One day, we hope we’ll have the opportunity to excavate some of them.

“From our croft in Shetland to your hands.”

Our Flock

We were already producing our own knitting wool before moving to Shetland, and over the years we’ve continued to tweak, develop and expand what we do.

Today, our Shetland fleeces become natural and hand-dyed yarns, with much of the work taking place right here on the croft.

For us, it’s about making the most of the beautiful fibre our sheep produce and creating something that carries a little bit of our croft and Shetland with it.

Shop Shetland Wool

A little trip to Silly Sheep

You’ll find our little croft shop on the Westside. Come and browse our wool, fibre and gifts, see where Silly Sheep calls home and you might even meet a few members of the flock.

Plan your Visit
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