Create Your Own Tweed Harris Handbag at Islander with Traditional Scottish Tasting Platter

Islander is running a Harris Tweed® handbag workshop at The Tolbooth Tavern on Saturday 31 October, where you get to design and make your own bag from scratch. It's a 60-minute session, and you're in charge of the whole thing: you pick the bag's colour, the Harris Tweed® cloth lid, the strap, and the accessories, then put it together using the tools they provide on the table. Once it's finished, your bag gets displayed outside the Islander shop under the floral entrance before you take it home as a 'Made in Scotland' souvenir.

It's not just about the making, either. People who've done it say the instructors share the history of the Harris Tweed brand as you work, so you walk away knowing a bit about where the fabric comes from. It's open to anyone aged 12 and over, which makes it an easy one to bring a teenager along to if you're fancying a creative Saturday morning or afternoon.

The workshop is £72, and it's available seven days a week, so you've got plenty of slots to choose from: 11:00, 12:30, 14:00, 15:30, and 17:00. If you're not sure when you'll make it, the experience is sold as a gift voucher valid for 12 months from the date of purchase, so you can grab it now and sort the actual date later. The venue is the Islander Workshop on East Market Street in Edinburgh.