New BBC Alba series Fillte highlights the fabrics woven through Scotland’s story

A NEW TV series is shining the spotlight on some of Scotland's finest fabrics and their creators.

BBC Alba's six-part series ‘Fillte’, produced by Mantra Tbh, explores the materials interwoven through Scotland’s warp and weft and the people behind the beautiful crafts and designs.

Discovering the stories behind wool, linen, lace and tweed, Fillte, which means ‘interwoven’, travels through the Highlands and Islands featuring some of the finest woven craft producers.

From Berneray in North Uist to the Applecross peninsula, Fillte also discovers the historic and contemporary hand-crafted practice behind the artisan producers of woven fabrics including hemp, grasses, leather and more unorthodox materials.

Across the six episodes, we meet innovative designers rebelling against fast fashion with their own take on sustainable wear, dubbed ‘slow fashion’.

In the first episode, Berneray-based weaver and crofter, Meg Rodger, shares her passion for her flock of Hebridean sheep from which she creates a unique dark wool. This she combines with the colours inspired by the landscape around her, creating a stunning and dramatic fabric.

Meg also pays tribute to two local Berneray men, Angus Macleod and Donald MacKillop. Their legacy lives on in a sweater produced to celebrate their participation in the 1934 America’s Cup – when they sailed The Endeavour.

Meg’s appreciation for the new also shines through, with self-sufficiency and sustainability at the heart of her approach as she produces rare garments from materials such as wild flowers and bog cotton.

While she uses wool from her Hebridean sheep, Meg is a fan of Scandinavian style and takes a lot of inspiration from the Nordic countries for her creations.

Fillte also discovers unique textiles created on the Applecross peninsula, in the north-west Highlands, in the company of Sarah Paramor, who works with the natural habitat around her to create intricate and magnificent fabrics.

Using the likes of hair-moss, which lies directly underfoot, she weaves baskets, bags, and even shoes, which carry the name ‘heather-steppers’.

Sarah and Meg are fine examples of what makes Scotland and its fabrics such a compelling story - artists creating connections between their environment and materials to create unique products.

The next episode of Fillte airs on Tuesday, October 4 at 8.30pm on BBC Alba. The first two episodes and each subsequent episode will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer.