Aran Sweater Market - Hand Knit Irish Fisherman's Sweaters
- Aran Clan Sweaters <https://www.aran.com/clan-aran-sweaters>
A reader experience:
I've gleaned great information from your blog over the years re: wool sweaters. You're the reason I sport a few from Arthur Beale and Harley of Scotland.
Our 28 year-old son expressed interest last fall in wearing an Irish wool sweater - cream-colored, knit pattern. A familiar style. I had worn the same one for 40+ years after my parents, frequent international travelers for work, visited Ireland when I was a high school senior. I don't think he was angling for my sweater, as he's four inches taller than I am, but you never know. Our son's girlfriend, who hails from California, got him a sweater in the style, from LL Bean, made of cotton. He wears it, but it's not what he had in mind.
I decided to hand off my sweater to him. Because these knit patterns have generous stretch, and I wear sleeves on the long side, it fits him well. I then started hunting for a replacement, ideally hand-knit like the original. Unsurprisingly, I found that the vast majority of Irish wool sweaters sold online today are machine-assembled, with panels and arms stitched together with thread. That is not what I had in mind, nor do I plan to visit Ireland any time soon.
However, within one site that sells the machine-assembled sweaters, Aran Sweater Market, I found an option to purchase fully hand-knit Irish merino wool sweaters with specific clan patterns. They are a fair bit more expensive than the machine-assembled versions. I ordered one - a few photos attached.
My older sweater was made from somewhat coarse and mildly scratchy wool; the new one is softer merino. As with sweaters from UK-based sources like Harley and Arthur Beale, it's best to size up. Like Arthur Beale sweaters, the wool used for the handmade sweaters is minimally processed, so the lanolin and the sheep smell remains. The wool and the knit feel substantial. I checked, and the seams that bind the panels and sleeves to the sweater are all hand-knit.
To the extent this may be of interest to you or your readers, I thought it would be helpful to share.
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| Photos by Reader. |
I have an Aran wool throw and it is excellent.
ReplyDeleteExcellent info! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been wearing the hand-knits from the Aran Sweater Market for years, and have nothing but admiration (and astonishment) at the women who make these beautiful intricate patterns. These are the best Irish Fisherman sweaters on the planet, and even though I have zero Irish Heritage, I have enjoyed their various Clans’ offerings.
ReplyDeleteAnd I’m always amused at their selling bulk Aran Wool so you can save a few bucks, and knit your own sweater. (WARNING: Don’t try this at home. Now I can’t imagine ever sitting down and trying to figure out how they get these things to look like they do without losing my mind.)
Anyway, I’m glad that the art of hand-knitting wool hasn’t died out yet.
It's easier than it looks :) I purchased several hanks at the Aran Sweater Market in Galway City. So far I've done a fisherman's dog sweater and matching hat. Knitters don't do this to save money - lol.
DeleteAgreed! Never to save money since buying your preferred wool can cost a great deal more than a pre-knitted sweater. One knits for the pure pleasure of knitting, the satisfaction that comes with creating something lovely, and preserving and ancient craft.
DeleteThere are no Aran clan patterns. It is just another marketing approach.
ReplyDeleteAu contraire, my dear anonymouse. Hundreds of years ago, each jumper knit for fishermen in the Aran Islands had a different combination of patterns: one unique to each family. In the (sadly frequent) event of a fisherman dying in heavy seas in the fragile craft of a currach, the body could be identified when washed up, by the specific stitches in the jumper. No matter how long the body had been lost at sea, the pattern of his Aran jumper (fishermen were always male), would have endured. I know this because I was serving under Abbot Clancy in the Aran Abbey at the time.
DeleteCirquitor, There were not even that many 'clan' surnames on the Aran islands as offered on the website! It's nice little tale though.
DeleteWhen were you ever on the Arsns?
DeleteIt is true that the notion of specific clans having specific patterns of knit sweaters is a myth. There is a very large variety of patterns, but knitters who developed this cottage industry shared patterns among each other. Likewise, the merino wool used today isn't what was used more than a century ago. Back then, knitters used coarse, unscoured sheep's wool. The sweater our son now wears isn't merino; it's sheep's wool, though i'm sure it's more processed and less coarse than the originals made 100+ years ago.
DeleteEven so, the sweaters hand-knit today retain most of their natural lanolin - you can smell it - and if you want a sweater from this seller that's hand-knit, as opposed to machine knit or loomed, the different patterns are one of the marketing devices they use to charge more for the product. Whether they're specific to an actual ancient clan or not, the patterns do look different, and people have preferences. The hand knit versions fit better, feel better, and last longer - worth the spend, to me anyway.
My family are from county Clare. I have been visiting for decades. I know the local surnames.
Deletehttps://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/aran-sweaters.html
Despite my Irish heritage I don't know too much about the history of Aran sweaters, but this was the case with Ganseys on the North Yorkshire coast
DeleteAnon. 7:10 AM:
ReplyDelete"No Aran Clan Patterns." Yes, and the Earth is flat as the stars and sun revolve around it.
His eminence has spoken.
DeleteIf people are interested, the Iron Snail makes a pretty good argument that both sides of the Aran Clan debate could be right. Look for his greatest sweater video on You Tube.
ReplyDeleteI have a few Aran sweaters from the Aran Sweater Market. I also have an Irish Fisherman from Orvis called the Black Sheep. I am not sure who knit it but the quality level and warmth is exceptional. It should last a couple of lifetimes. At a decade or so old it still looks badly worn and has a comforting lanolin aroma.
I wish I had proofed this. Hardly worn, not badly worn.
DeleteIron snail video does not make an argument for the veracity of both sides of the clan debate. Rather he acknowledges the clan case was not based on the actual facts.
DeleteHe then suggests that it was fairly long ago and, as it boosted income in the region, he himself is not bothered by the myth.