The Aran Islands are a group of small windswept islands situated off the west coast of Ireland, which has given us a unique and often copied knit genre.
It is important not to confuse Aran with the Scottish island of Arran, which has nothing to do with Aran knit and is in no way related or linked in anyway with the Irish Aran even though both share a west coast vista.
Knit on the Aran Islands was traditionally made using wool that had not had the lanolin, the natural oils of the wool, removed making it more or less waterproof, a must for any wind swept and damp coastal areas, particularly those areas of northern Europe that face the Atlantic ocean with its constant and unending weather fronts. Wool was also traditionally not dyed on the island limiting the number of processes involved from start to finish, but also giving the knitwear a more natural look with the use of only white or black sheep.
It would be tempting to see Aran knit as an age-old craft whose traditions and origin are lost in the mists of Western Ireland. However, the craft of knit itself only reached the islands in the seventeenth century and the particular genre of Aran knit was only developed in the early twentieth century as an expansion of the domestic wear produced by the island women, but perhaps more importantly, as a potential tourist export for a particularly deprived area of Ireland. All the garments were knitted by women, who were also in control of the spinning of the indigenous wool supply, making the island women responsible for most of the processes involved in the enterprise.
During the 1940s and 1950s, Aran patterns were first standardised and published commercially, but exports from the island itself were still increasing in number.
Today Aran knitwear is still produced on the islands, both as hand and machine knit, but is also now produced in other parts of Ireland as it is around the world through a whole host of various pattern books that are now available.
Aran knit may not be a particularly old craft skill, but it does have a pedigree. The various designs that make up the pattern work that has become associated with Aran, was produced largely by the group of women who took a pro-active stance in the early twentieth century in order to try to change the outlook and circumstances of their community. They were able to set that community onto the world stage where it has now become both a worldwide trademark and a household name.
An interesting site to visit with a good overall history of Aran knit with examples of a number of the traditional patterns is the Irish Culture and Customs site, which can be found here. The Further reading links also give a short list of Aran pattern books that are available on Amazon.
Further reading links:
Aran Knitting
Harmony Guide to Aran Knitting: Diamond; Cables; Twists; Honeycombs; Textures; Panels; Backgrounds; Bobbles; Plaits; Ribs: Charts and Written Instructions for Each Stitch.
Traditional Aran Knitting
The Great American Aran Afghan
The Harmony Guide to Aran and Fair Isle Knitting: Patterns, Techniques, and Stitches (The Harmony Guides)
Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys, and Arans: Fishermen's Sweaters from the British Isles
220 Aran Stitches and Patterns: Volume 5 (The Harmony Guides)
The Harmony Guides: Cables & Arans: 250 Stitches to Knit
Traditional Island Knitting: Including Aran, Channel Isles, Fair Isle, Falkland Isles, Iceland and Shetland
Traditional Aran Island Knitting
