Sheila McGregor

Sheila McGregor is a Scottish fibre artist, author and historian. She is most known for the books The Complete Book of Traditional Scandinavian Knitting and The Complete Book of Traditional Fair Isle Knitting.

Concerned about the oil industry's impact on the traditional way of life, McGregor started working on The Complete Book of Traditional Fair Isle Knitting in the mid 1970-s. She traveled to the Shetland Isles and some of the most remote places in Scotland, visiting knitters in their homes and at local events. She also studied pieces of historic knitting in private collections and museums across Shetland, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. In the book she debunks many of the romantic stories behind the traditions of Shetland knitting, and instead records the actual history.

For the follow-up The Complete Book of Traditional Scandinavian Knitting, she traveled to Scandinavia and here again talked to local knitters and studied knitted pieces in museums and collections. In the book, she shows how the Scandinavian tradition is connected to the Shetland tradition.

Both books feature descriptions of old techniques, the history behind the traditions, as well as traditional charts.

In 2014, McGregor donated some of her research to the Shetland Musem. The collection is open to researchers by appointment.

McGregor lives in Edinburgh and was Chairman of Council at the Clan Gregor Society

• McGregor, Sheila (1981). The Complete Book of Traditional Fair Isle Knitting London: Batsford. ISBN 978-0713414325
• McGregor, Sheila (1984). The Complete Book of Traditional Scandinavian Knitting London: Batsford. ISBN 978-0312156381
• McGregor, Sheila (2003). Traditional Fair Isle Knitting (revised edition of former publication) Dover Publications Inc ISBN 978-0486431079
• McGregor, Sheila (2004). Traditional Scandinavian Knitting (revised edition of former publication) Dover Publications Inc ISBN 978-0486433004