Fair Isle sweaters

AlanC · Dec 7, 2009

^Those 'real deal' sweaters are great. I ought to commission one. Unless the knitters are supported the art will die out.

In the meantime, here are the two I have in the Fair Isle style. First is one I thrifted, older, and sold originally through a higher end men's store in Birmingham, Alabama. Although tagged a large, I can barely wear the thing. I've not measured but it's probably got a 40" chest:

And I just bought this J Crew version, from their Fall '08 collection:

Brummagem Joe · Dec 7, 2009

For a shortcut go to Brooks Bros. Their autumn/winter offering includes a couple of good looking, muted authentic fair isles of which Jeeves would wholeheartledly approve. Definitely not Mr Freddie "he's a riot" Flowerdew stying. They cost about $90 as I recall

Creeping Past · Dec 7, 2009

vonwotan said:
I am on my third sweater from Thistle & Broom. Most of the money for these sweaters go directly to the weavers who make them to order in their homes.

Why not give your sweater money to Shetland Knitwear and ensure that even more of your money goes directly to the knitters?

vonwotan · Dec 7, 2009

I did look at several other vendors but only Thistle & Broom were willing to make things in my size. Unfortunately, I am very difficult to fit. Do you know for certain that Anderson pays more? My understanding is that Thistle & Broom paid the weavers more than others. One friend suggested that this was significantly more than some of the buyers for companies selling these same garments in standard sizes.

I would love to learn more about the Shetland wool and Fair Isle weaving industries. I am working my way through The Islanders and the Orb by Janet Hunter. It is a history of the Harris Tweed Industry. The next time I visit our friends in Scotland I will have to visit each of these areas.

Cheers

Creeping Past said:
Why not give your sweater money to Shetland Knitwear and ensure that even more of your money goes directly to the knitters?

skyvue · Dec 7, 2009

mike said:
Just picked up this Abercrombie vest for 45 smackeroos...

Man, do I love that sweater. Do they show up very often?

AntonAAK · Apr 12, 2010

This chap dropped on my doorstep on Friday just as spring seems to have arrived and it's too warm to wear it.

Looks like I'll have to wait til the autumn...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360245958380&ssPageName=ADME:L:COSI:GB:1123

Creeping Past · Apr 12, 2010

I like the idea of a 'real deal' Fair Isle sweater. My Scottish grannie who was an expert Fair Isle knitter would've laughed herself silly about that.

davidraphael · Oct 24, 2011

Even though I'm often in the UK I'm still having problems finding a vintage style fair-isle sweater.

There are vintage patterns available, of course, but who has the time or the know-how?

If anyone wants to sell/trade a large fair-isle tank top, get in touch!!

EDIT: Holy Crap! I just realised that the model in the last knitting pattern is ROGER MOORE!
I did some research and he did indeed model for knitwear back in the early 1950s!

dhermann1 · Oct 24, 2011

Wow, all gorgeous. I've posted pics of my Fair Isle pull over (from Thistle and Broom, knit on the isle of Barra, right next door to Fair Isle). The only problem I have with it is that the neck is rather high. And since I'm always going in and out of my shirt pocket with my glasses, the V of the neck has started to unravel. I've been looking everywhere for someone who can fix this properly. In the mean time it's sitting on the shelf. I cannot tell you how many compliments I've had about it.

W-D Forties · Oct 24, 2011

I haven't read the whole thread so I don't know if any one has mentioned this before, but I would highly reccomend NorNova This is a co-op in Shetland that hand knits Shetland jumpers and tank tops to order. I like to think of them as 'knitted by Nanas'.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...zNHnBA&usg=AFQjCNGTo2xJPxIE_S8sejshwbV8oIPmMA

You contact them and give them an idea of what you want and off they go. My other half specified the range of colours he wanted and got a superb tank top knitted for the fairly ridiculous price of £42! The quality is superb too.

Doc Average · Oct 24, 2011

davidraphael said:
Even though I'm often in the UK I'm still having problems finding a vintage style fair-isle sweater.

Aero have just introduced a line of these in their knitwear section. They're hand made in small numbers and the sizes are a bit random as a result. They're nice though, so check them out!

http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=682

Ay329 · Nov 26, 2011

Aeroclothing has a few interesting Harris tweed sweaters and some fair isle sweaters (I'm in the process of seeing if they take custom orders)

http://www.fairisleknitwear.co.uk/ Is the only knitter actually on Fair Isle that is currently taking custom orders.

Every other knitter, including Thistle & Broom or Louis Irvine, are based in the Shetland Islands.

Anyone know which factory knitter does Drake's use?

kwitie · Nov 27, 2011

dhermann1 said:
Wow, all gorgeous. I've posted pics of my Fair Isle pull over (from Thistle and Broom, knit on the isle of Barra, right next door to Fair Isle). .

Different group of Islands. Barra is right on the south of the Western Isles.

Matt Deckard · Feb 2, 2012

394159_10150516366808811_642563810_9138584_946160553_n.jpg

dhermann1 · Feb 2, 2012

kwitie said:
Different group of Islands. Barra is right on the south of the Western Isles.

Wow, you're absolutely right. I have to review what I was told about which island was which by the seller, Thistle and Broom. But they certainly are far apart, aren't they? Anyway, I still love my sweater. Only problem with it is that the neck is very shallow. Since I'm continuously taking glasses out of my shirt pocket and putting them back in, the neck has become a little unravelled, and now I'm afraid to wear it for fear of making it worse.

Marc Chevalier · Feb 2, 2012

herringbonekid · Feb 17, 2012

this particular fair ilse pattern is irrepressible !

here it is on the cover of the original 1940s knitting booklet (the image is hand tinted):

here is a 1940s hand knitted version of the above i found in a vintage shop in London several years ago:

here is Koji Norihide, the designer behind 'Haversack' a vintage inspired clothing label, wearing his:

and here's a sample of Ralph Lauren's Autumn-Winter 2012 collection:

herringbonekid · Feb 17, 2012

...and here's another, the same pattern in different colours with additional stripes around neck and arm-holes. found with the one above.

Mrs Chaddsley_Corbett · Feb 17, 2012

An amazing look could you not have airbrushed out the location?

VintageBaroness · Feb 17, 2012

Better!

404958_10151270040200618_712115617_22353553_891047326_n.jpg

Fair Isle sweaters

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