Since the mid-1700s, sheep-rearing and the associated domestic
industries of weaving and knitting have been an important
part of the Glencolmcille (or Gleann Cholm Cille in Irish)
economy. As in other rural areas, these industries provided
an additional income to many families without which they
would have been forced to emigrate. Today, local tweed and
knitwear have an international reputation and many people
are permanently employed in knitting and weaving factories.
Handknitting, like weaving, is a craft with roots deep in
the life of the Irish countryside. Handknit 'ganseys' or
sweaters, caps, stockings, trousers and shawls were once
commonly worn, but the 'Cottage Industry' of Irish Handknits
has lasted longest along the Western Seaboard.
The handknit sweaters of Donegal and the Aran islands are
world-famous.
The Aran Sweater originated in the islands and fishing
villages on the West coast of Ireland. Those who lived on
the island made their living from farming and fishing. Outdoor
work in this harsh environment created a need for warm protective
and practical clothing. Originally sweaters were knitted
using un-scoured wool that retained its natural greases
making the garments more waterproof. It was the fisherman's
wives who knitted the sweaters, their skills inspired by
their husbands work and the Atlantic environment in which
they lived. It is said that the islander can often tell
from the patterns used in a genuine Aran sweater what family
the knitter belongs to. Many patterns have a traditional
interpretation, often of religious significance.
| Knitting
and Stitches... |
| The Basket Stitch represents the fisherman's basket,
a hope for catches abundant. |
 |
| The Cable, an integral part of the fisherman's daily
life, is a wish for safety and good luck when fishing.
|
 |
| The Diamond is a wish of success, wealth and treasure.
|
 |
| The Honeycomb Stitch is a reminder of the hard-working
bee. |
 |
| |
Crafts - knitting throughout the world:
Knitting is a young craft, in comparison to spinning
and weaving. Some sources claim that knitting predates
the time of Christ. The English language offers no clues
to knitting's age. The word "knit", meaning
to tie or join, predates knitting as a craft. According
to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest reference
in English to the modern meaning of "knit" is
from 1530 AD.
The oldest identified pieces of knitting are blue and
white cotton socks and fabric fragments, dating from approximately
1200-1500 AD from Islamic Egypt. The socks and other fragments
show complex two-color patterning in combination with
simple stripes. Several display Arabic script.
The oldest samples of knitting from medieval Europe
are two beautiful, finely knit cushions, from the 13th
century tombs of a Castilian Prince and Princess. The
cushions are knit at a very fine gauge with a complex
overall two-color patterning and an Arabic inscription
on one. Several paintings by 14th century Italian and
German artists show the Virgin Mary knitting in a domestic
setting. She is shown working on four or five needles
in the round, and using multiple threads of different
colors. This indicates that knitting was known as a woman's
occupation in medieval Europe.
Throughout the Middle Ages, knitted hose and stockings,
of both silk and wool, gradually replaced bias-cut cloth
hose among the upper classes. Samples from the period
show knit and purl patterning, as well as eyelet patterning.
Literary references satirize the many bright colors of
hose worn by fashion conscious young men of the upper
classes. Stocking knitting grew rapidly among the English
population during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, aided
by advances in metal working that made steel needles more
readily available.
Knitting was seen by the authorities of the time as a
suitable occupation for the poor, both to provide income
and as alternative to activities that would otherwise
bring them to the attention of the same authority. Schools
for knitting were established, with varying degrees of
success.
Knitting spread throughout the English countryside as
a source of supplemental income. By 1600 England was a
leading exporter of stockings. The natural creativity
of knitters flowered in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Knitters throughout Eastern and Western Europe developed
regional specializations, now commonly regarded as "traditional"
knitting styles. Stitch patterns were commonly shared
and spread along trade routes.
Knitters in the Balkans developed twisted stitch patterns,
like small cables. Scandinavians made sweaters, socks
and hats in two-color and single-color stranded knitting,
as well as knit and purl patterned "damask"
knitting. Knitters in Eastern Europe and the Baltic countries
developed multi-colored stranded knitting. Irish and British
knitters in fishing communities produced dense, weather-resistant
sweaters called ganseys, which were decorated with knit-purl
patterns and simple cables. Knitters of the Shetland Isles,
which lies at the centre of a number of trade routes,
developed a particularly rich vocabulary of stranded multi-colored
patterns.
The knitters of Ireland's Aran Isles adapted cable and
twisted stitch patterns, introduced by Irish émigrés
returned from America, to the traditional fishing shirt
shape to create elaborately cabled sweaters in natural-colored
wool.
Sources:
Rutt, Richard, A History of Hand Knitting, Interweave
Press, Loveland, Colorado, 1987.
Pagoldh, Susanne, Nordic Knitting American Edition, Interweave
Press, Loveland, Colorado, 1987.
Starmore, Alice, Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting,
Taunton Press, Newton, Connecticut, 1988.
