LAST WEEKEND’S Wonderwool Wales 2025, the premier wool and natural fibre festival in Wales, has been declared one of the best ever, with an expected record-breaking attendance.
A huge crowd on Saturday resulted in many exhibitors having to re-stock ready for Sunday, as most customers were on a mission to buy a wide range of wool-related products at the 19th annual event, held at the Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells.
The organisers were busy calculating the final figures from the event late this week, but the consensus was that the show was a record-breaker, boosted by a bigger than usual Sunday attendance.
Chrissie Menzies, Wonderwool Wales director, said: “We were delighted with this year’s show in terms of both the attendance and the business transacted by exhibitors.
“We received so much positive feedback from exhibitors and visitors which is a tribute to the whole team involved in delivering this annual event, which is probably the largest of its type in the UK and possibly Europe.”
One of the stars of the weekend was a special installation to mark this year’s 80th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day, which is being created by a group of knitters in France and across the world.
Wonderwool Wales 2025 was chosen to lunch the ‘Britain at War’ exhibition, which will now tour the UK for the next 19 months. The exhibition was launched with nine panels but will grow to 80 by September 3 as it tours six other venues
The VE Day project has been organised by Tansy Forster from Normandy and her fellow knitters who also created The Longest Yarn installation for D-Day. More than 1,000 knitters from across the world contributed to that project.
Wonderwool Wales had a truly international flavour, as Kimberly Perkins from Cat Mountain Fibre Arts, Colorado, jetted in to showcase her hand dyed, multi-textured, yarn bundles and knitting and crochet patterns.
Sheep Walk fashion shows, Woolschool Workshops, demonstrations and have-a-go sessions hosted by some of the exhibitors all proved popular with visitors.
Wonderwool Wales covers everything from the start to the end of the creative process involving wool. Exhibits of sheep, raw and hand dyed fibres, yarn for knitting and crochet, embellishments, equipment, dyes and books can be found alongside superb examples of finished textile art, craft, clothing and home furnishings.
Helen Hickman, owner of Nellie and Eve, Llanwrda, which creates plant dyed yarns from sustainably sourced Welsh and British wool, was delighted with the business she secured at the show.
She said: “It’s such a lovely, well organised show that gets better every year. The standard and quality of exhibitors is very high. A lot of customers were there for the weekend and many said they were amazed by how much can be done with wool.”
Phia Ingham, a fashion designer from family business Window of Woolly Wonders, Bangor, said: “We absolutely love the show because there is something for everybody and the people here are so friendly.
First time exhibitor Kery Moyle from Ginger Pink Yarns, Frome, said: “It’s like no other yarn show I have been to. I didn’t know what to expect but can’t believe how big it is. It’s fabulous.”
Another new exhibitor was Yarn Food, launched by Oliver and Helene Lucas in Buckfastleigh two months ago, after two years of development. They make a specialist yarn crafter’s detergent to clean and preserve yarn fibres.
Oliver said: “We want to gain awareness of Yarn Food, so Wonderwool Wales is a great place for us to do that. The response has been brilliant.”
