Hand knitted map of Scotland on show at McFarlane

The map, knitted by a network of 36 women, was created with the independence referendum in mind, but represents no political ideologies. It is now on display in the Gallery at McFarlane Jewellers on Mill Street. The volunteer knitters all have different political perspectives, come from various backgrounds from all around the country and beyond. They all shared the desire to make a distinctive contribution to the referendum debate.

Andrew Redmond Barr, from the National Collective, said: “Maps show how the maker of the map sees the world, not how the world is.

“They hide blemishes, expose faults, play politics and mark borders. They take something arbitrary like the shape of a land or the layout of a city and re-interpret them to resemble political and cultural ideas.” The map has been on tour around the country, it saw places like Edinburgh, St Andrews, Peterhead, Dundee, Stirling and many more. The creation of the map was organised by a women’s group in north-east Fife, it took nine months of dedicated planning, delegation and hard knitting work.

Katie Reilly, originally from the Clackmannanshire area, was one of the 36 volunteers who all worked on their own portions of the map. She knitted grid A1 – The Irish Sea – which had particular meaning to her because of her Irish roots.

The very diverse 36 pieces were eventually assembled by textile artist and knitting designer Elena Costella.

To book a visit to the McFarlane Gallery to see the knitted map, call: 01259 723303 or on Facebook www.facebook.com/grmcfarlane.