A Fife crafter’s cruelty-free alternative to sheepskin is attracting worldwide interest in her rugs and throws.
Trish O’Meara spends hours transforming piles of “dirty and smelly” fleece at her Wormit home.
And her creations are proving so popular, she sells the results of her labour through lifestyle magazine Country Living, and craft fairs.
She has also started running workshops to teach others how to make their own.
Trish’s homespun idea was sparked by an article in The Courier last year.
It told how a Perthshire farmer, faced with the plummeting cost of wool, was selling fleece to gardeners for £3 a pop.
They were then using it to keep down weeds, protect plants from extreme cold or heat and deter slugs.
Trish said: “I thought to myself, I bet I could teach myself to do rug felting so I went and bought some.”
Wormit Woolies makes ‘vegetarian’ rugs
The 59-year-old spends between an hour-and-a-half and three hours converting the raw fleece, now sourced from farms across the UK.
And she has formed her own company, Wormit Woolies, to market her “vegetarian” rugs.
She says the difference between sheepskin rugs and felted sheep’s fleece is the latter is animal-friendly.
“They look like sheepskin but they’re not,” she said. The sheep are still living.
“People are loving the idea of taking a dirty, smelly fleece and turning it into a gorgeous rug.
“They like the idea that the sheep didn’t die.”
Fife sheep’s fleece rugs are renewable
Canadian Trish moved to Fife almost three years ago to be closer to daughter Jennifer, who is married to Scottish Deer Centre co-owner David Hamilton.
She previously ran a farm and livery yard but could not believe the number of sheep in the Scottish countryside.
“There are more sheep than people,” she said.
“It means there’s this wonderful, renewable material that farmers just throw out or burn because it’s not worth the money to send it to the British Wool Board.
“Farmers sell them for between £2 and £10, depending on the breed.”
Once she got going, Trish applied to Country Living UK to become an approved vendor.
“All sellers are vetted to ensure they are a certain standard,” she said.
“It’s real kudos for them to accept you for their website and next month I’m part of a blog post for Valentine’s day gifts.”
Attending craft fairs and running tutorials
Trish sells at craft fairs across Scotland, and will be part of a vegan and sustainable market at The Yard in Dundee in March.
People have also been attending her workshops to learn the craft and the next one is next month.
However, demand is such that she has had requests from other countries.
“There are only a few people around the world who do this,” she said.
“There’s a woman in Devon who has her own sheep but it seems to be most popular in Scandanavia. We’re few and far between.
“I’ve had queries from people all over the world asking if I have an online tutorial.
“I don’t yet but I’ll be looking at doing that. Watch this space.”
Conversation