I have been doing a bit of a dive into the history of Aran jumpers, following on from my brief research into Guernseys and Ganseys. Aran jumpers differ in that the pattern is usually all over the body rather than just on the yoke, and the fabric tends to be thicker. The most interesting thing I have discovered is that they are relative newcomers to the world of patterned jumpers – it seems that Aran knitting was invented as recently as the end of of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, when there was a move to improve the fishing industry in the Aran Islands which are just off the west coast of Ireland. Fishermen and their wives came from other regions in Britain and brought with them the existing tradition of knitted guernsey jumpers. It appears that local women began knitting their own versions, using thicker local wool, all-over patterning and a different construction, such as saddle shoulders instead of the more usual drop shoulder.
The first adult Aran gansey was commissioned in 1932 by the social reformer Muriel Gahan. and the first commercially available patterns began appearing in the 1940s – published by Patons. The garment gained popularity in the 1950s and 1960s – Vogue carried articles on the jumpers, and they began to be exported from the west of Ireland to the United States. The company Standun employed over 700 knitters throughout Ireland in the mid-20th century, the development of the trade being improved once the knitters were taught to make garments to standard international sizings. By the end of the 1960s the knitwear was even inspiring the British and French fashion scenes with the Irish hand-knit look influencing other woollens.
Nowadays, the majority of commercially available Aran jumpers are machine knitted and tend to be made of finer wool, cotton or synthetic yarn with less complex patterns as many of the traditional stitches cannot be reproduced by machine. Some are also hand loomed and these are almost indistinguishable from hand knitted versions, the latter being more tightly knitted, having more complex patterns and attracting a significant price premium (Google tells me anywhere from £200 to £500).
Without a doubt knitting cables creates a lovely and interesting patterns and there is something particularly attractive about being able to create something that defies machines. I have previously mentioned that cable knitting is not my favourite – I think it is because I am left handed and bit clumsy with the cable needles. I would say my life has improved with the introduction of cable needles with a dip in the middle rather than the straight versions I used to use. Anyway, in the interests of stepping out of my comfort zone and encouraging others to do so, we are starting a cable garment knitalong on Saturday 2 March 2 – 4pm. The idea is for you to choose a cabled garment you would like to make (jumper or cardigan, hat or scarf or pair of socks) and come along to cast it on and get support from other knitters. West Yorkshire Spinners have a lovely range of Aran wools, The Croft is Shetland wool and is gorgeous, and they have recently introduced their Colour Lab Aran, a blend of British wool, which has been flying off the shelves. Malabrigo Rios is also a good wool to knit cable patterns in as the gorgeous colours and texture of the pure Merino wool really shows up the patterning in the garments. I am still undecided as to what I will do, given that this is not part of my #Make9 project, but I am thinking about it. I look forward to chatting with you all about what you will do if you decide to join us.