Fibre fans and make-it-yourself enthusiasts from the UK and abroad gathered in mid Wales on April 27 and 28 for a vibrant showcase of wool and natural fibres that’s established a following of thousands from the UK and abroad.

Bursting at the seams with fresh ideas and inspiration for knitters, felters, weavers, crochet and craft enthusiasts, Wonderwool Wales featured workshops; demonstrations; displays of community craft projects from knitted seagulls to crocheted octopus and more than 200 stalls brimming with temptation.

Established in 2006 to promote the market for Welsh wool, the annual show at the Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells, has broadened to showcase a whole range of natural fibres.

Visitors to this year’s show were able to experience everything from the start to the end of the fibre production and development process – from exhibits of sheep and goats, through raw and hand dyed fibres, yarn for knitting and crochet, embellishments, equipment, dyes and books to superb examples of finished products.

Highlights included the show’s first masterclass with 2018 British Craft Awards Crochet Designer of the Year, Jane Crowfoot of Janie Crow, which was a sell-out success. Equally popular was this year’s programme of Woolschool workshops, providing opportunities to learn skills that included how to hand felt a cute bunny; make a wet felt merino wool bowl or knit fingerless gloves.

With more than 200 stalls, keen shoppers had a choice of thousands of beautiful natural yarns in a rainbow of colours; knitting, crochet and felting equipment; books, patterns and kits plus handmade textile art, designer clothing, home furnishings and accessories.

Top-to-toe fashion ideas and ready-made items included everything from kits to make a tapestry hat (Fox Tapestry Design) to hand cranked knitted Shetland Wool socks from The Woolly Wyvern.

Fashion accessories included hand crafted leather and Welsh wool tapestry bags from Coterie Leather Bags; beautiful hand felted hair clips and barrettes from first-time show exhibitor Elfn; felt brooches and necklaces from Sarah Fisher and kits to make a crochet bag from Woolly Chic, one of the exhibitors who took part in the daily Sheepwalk – a woolly take on the catwalk.

Luxury items for the home included beautiful felt sculptures from Jenny Barnett, one of the growing number of creative felt and felt supplies exhibitors.

There was also a wonderful range of woven cushions inspired by Aberaeron and the colours of the Welsh coastline and made by BA textiles graduate Helen Evans of Helen Margaret Textiles, who was given the chance to exhibit as the winner of a Wonderwool Wales bursary scheme.

There were lots of fresh creative ideas from a host of new books on sale at the show, including Making Simple Needle Felts from The Makerss. New products at the show included Triskelion Yarn’s fresh colourways inspired by transitional environments and spaces, like shorelines, reefs, saltmarsh and dunes.

Stalls giving demonstrations of techniques and equipment included The Felt Foundry with the Gentle Roller felting machine; spinning demonstrations by the Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers; hand weaving demonstrations; a demonstration of a sock making machine on The Woolly Wyvern stand and a series of needle felting make and take sessions on the Mum's Makery stand.