Fair Isle: a Quick History by Mary Forte

Fair Isle: A Quick History by Mary Forte

Knitters have experimented with alternating and stranding col- of the island’s wool or whether colorful dyes were used. Either ors for centuries. Collections in the Textile Museum, Washington, way, the effect is beautiful. DC, and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, include pre- served fragments from Egypt believed to be some of the earliest Traditional Patterns and Techniques examples of true knitting. Mrs. Dorothea Russell, who donated Traditional Fair Isle differs from other stranded traditions. It the V&A’s piece in 1929, described it as “one of those funny knit- does use symmetrical geometric motifs like Scandinavian knitted blue and white socks which looks like a Fair Isle.” These frag- ting, but the overall sweater has more of a banded effect. De- ments appear to date between 1200 and 1500 AD. signers alternate small bands, called peeries, with large bands, often called borders. The designs contrast color to emphasize the While it’s logical to associate the interplay of colors and geomet- banded effect. Common motifs within the bands include OXO, rics with Middle Eastern design, the color stranding technique stars, lozenges and pine trees. has become most closely associated with one of the Shetland Is- lands off the coast of Scotland: Fair Isle. To achieve a gradient effect, backgrounds, as well as the motifs themselves, typically change color within one band. Classic Fair Color Knitting Comes to Fair Isle Isles also use allover patterns, but even those will display the intra- Historians searching for the origins of Fair Isle have little to go motif color changing. Amazingly, these multi-color effects are on. Legends have told of the Armada, wrecked on Fair Isle shores, achieved with no more than two colors per row. That strategy, bringing Spanish multi-colored knitting. But the Shetlanders along with knitting in the round, makes a traditional Fair Isle deny the story and the evidence is slim. More sources point to quicker to work. stranded color knitting becoming popular in both the Shetlands and Norway in the 1800s. Since these regions shared a trade route, Fair Isle in the 20th and 21st Centuries that’s probably no surprise. Sources vary as to whether the earli- While many traditions use stranded multi-colored knitting, it’s est Fair Isle patterns were knitted in the natural color variations probably not a coincidence that Mrs. Russell chose the term Fair

10 Cast On • February – April 2009 Isle in 1929 to describe her Egyptian piece. The 1920s saw a huge surge in the popularity of Fair Isle sweaters when the Prince of Wales began wearing one to promote knitting and the wool industry. A quick internet search of “Prince of Wales Fair Isle” turns up several portraits of the prince and his famous sweater, circa 1921.

Knitters continued to experiment with color stranding, and the famous sweaters remained a staple of Fair Isle industry until the early 1970s when the Shetlands became the center of a new oil industry. At that time many “production knitters” abandoned their craft for higher paying jobs. The number of Fair Isle knitters de- clined, and in the following decades Shetlanders became worried enough about the preservation of the Fair Isle tradition to form groups such as the Shetland Knitware Trades Association (SKTA founded in 1982), who are working on preservation and promo- tion. A garment with their logo indicates a genuine Fair Isle knit. "6 ,Èää While the SKTA protects the Fair Isle tradition in trade, knitting organizations such as TKGA, and knitting historians such as Al- 9, Ê , - ice Starmore, Pricilla Gibson-Roberts, Richard Rutt, and others ÊÃÌVÊvÀÊv>ÃÌÊ`iÛiÀÞ are preserving it for the rest of us. Current knitting magazines usually have at least one Fair Isle-inspired pattern, often many more. The interplay of colors, shapes, and banding as stunningly developed in Fair Isle continues to delight and inspire knitters and designers everywhere. It is a beautiful and fun technique that >LÕÕÃÊv>Ã Ã°Ê>ÃÌ°Ê`ÊvÀi`Þ° will surely last as long as there are knitters. UÊÊ"ÛiÀÊÈääÊLÀ>`ÃÊvÊÞ>ÀÃÊvÀÊÇäÊ>Õv>VÌÕÀiÀÃ UÊÊÕ`Ài`ÃÊvÊLÃÊ>`Ê«>ÌÌiÀÃ Bibliography UÊÊ ÀiÊÌ >ÊÓxääÊ«ÀiVÌÃÊi Falick, Melanie. “The Shetland Islands: A Knitting Update.” Vogue UÊÊÀiiÊ«>ÌÌiÀÃÊÌÊ`Ü>` Knitting. Fall 1992. UÊÊÀiiÊ1*-ÊÃ ««}ÊÊÀ`iÀÃÊÛiÀÊf£ääI Gibson-Roberts, Priscilla and Deborah Robson. Knitting in the Old Way. Interweave: Loveland, CO, 1985. Hinchcliffe, Francis. Knit One, Purl One: History and Contempo- - «ÊiÊ>ÌÊÜÜÜ°Þ>À>ÀiÌ°VÊÀÊÊ rary Knitting from the V&A’s Collection. Precision Press: London, LÞÊÌii« iÊ>ÌÊnnnÈÓÇÈ° 1985. Mountford, Debra. ed. The Harmony Guide to Aran and Fair Isle Knitting. Crown Trade Paperbacks: NY, 1995.

Rutt, Richard. A History of Hand Knitting. Interweave: Loveland, }ÊvÀÊL>À}>Ã¶ÊÊ CO, 1987. 6ÃÌÊÕÀÊÃ>iÊÃÌiÊ >À}>9, -°V I"ÀìÀÃÊÕìÀÊf£ääÊÃ ««i`ÊµÕVÞÊ>`ÊÃ>viÞÊÛ>ÊÌÀ>V>LiÊ1*-ÊvÀÊÞÊfÈ°°ÊÊ Shetland Knitwear Trade Association. www.zetnet.co.uk/skta. ÌiÌ>Ê1-ÊÞ°Ê- ««}ÊVÃÌÃÊ>ÀiÊ } iÀÊÕÌÃìÊÌ iÊ1°-° Starmore, Alice. “Fair Isle Play.” Vogue Knitting. Fall 1994. *>ÌÌiÀÃÊÃ Ü\Ê iLLiÊ ÃÃÊ >LiÊ9iÊ >À`}>