A great knitting yarn

Aran sweaters only date to the 1900s but Carol Feller’s new book has updated their design for the 21st century says Kathy Foley.

IT is surprising and slightly shocking to discover something that seemed to be a long-standing tradition, its origins lost in the mists of time, is actually more new-fangled than the car or the radio. Traditional Aran sweaters, it turns out, are not traditional at all.

“The traditional Aran that we would have been led to believe existed for a long time actually never existed,” said Innishannon-based Carol Feller, who designs knitting patterns for a living. “Aran knitting as we know it was invented in the middle of the last century in order to create income for the women of the Aran Islands.”

While Aran knitting is not a quintessentially Irish craft, it has nonetheless become synonymous with Ireland. Much as tourists love Aran sweaters, however, most Irish people find them old-fashioned, and too thick, heavy, and square in shape. Feller wants to bring Aran knitting bang up-to-date, and does just that with her new book, Contemporary Irish Knits, which is published this month by American publisher Wiley.

“The book says there is nothing wrong with the perceived traditions,” she said, “but we can also be allowed to move forward, to take what is beautiful about Aran knitting and make something new with it. The cables and stitches of Aran knitting are beautiful and there is no reason for them to be old-fashioned and boxy. The garments in the book are shaped rather than boxy.”

It’s true. The clothes in Feller’s book are not your grandmother’s Aran sweaters. There are sweaters, of course, and cardigans, wraps, hats, gloves, even a knitted handbag and skirt, but they are softer and more relaxed in shape than those we are used to seeing hanging outside tourist shops.

The book is mostly structured around yarns from the three remaining Irish woollen mills, Kerry Woollen Mills, Cushendale Woollen Mills (in Graigue-na-Managh, Co Kilkenny) and Donegal Yarns. The colours are deep and saturated, with no flimsy pastels or faint hues in sight.

Instead, the wool is a rich red or teal, or green or orange. Some have charming tweedy flecks or subtle gradations in tone.

One of the reasons Feller wrote her book was to keep these mills in business. “A few years ago, I was researching an article on Kerry Woollen Mills for Yarn Forward magazine in the UK. I was quite startled to realise how few Irish mills are left that are producing yarn for hand-knitters. Those mills don’t have any current patterns to support their yarn, but it is a huge support for yarn line to have associated patterns. People see the wool, then the pattern, and say, ‘Oh look, this is what I can make with this’.

“The yarns are all so distinctive, but it hasn’t been particularly easy for them to survive. The more exposure they get, the better. It is about letting people know they are still here, and what they produce is worthwhile.”

Feller says Irish yarns are different to those produced elsewhere. “They would tend to be a little more rustic and rugged,” she said. “These days, they are not all made with 100% Irish fleece. They are often blended with New Zealand fleeces, which are softer, but they will still be durable and last well.”

Feller’s book does not just contain patterns, but also gives a history of Aran knitting, profiles of the three remaining woollen mills and reviews of their stock.

She also interviews some Irish hand dyers and gives extensive explanations of knitting techniques and garment fitting. She is a clear and confident teacher, and even rusty or beginner knitters should be given confidence by her instructions.

While knitting a hat, let alone a jumper, might seem like a daunting prospect, Feller says anyone interested should not be afraid to pick up the needles. “Most of us who grew up in Ireland learned knitting in school, so we have the basic knowledge and you don’t forget it. I hadn’t knitted for 15 to 20 years and assumed I would have to go right back to the beginning, but after a very quick reminder on how to cast on, I was away,” she said.

Feller was interested in the idea of knitting baby clothes when she could not find any for her first son (who is now 13), but did not start to knit until her fourth son was born five years ago. “It snowballed for me then. After not having knitted for years, I was churning through every pattern I could find,” she said.

After a year or so of enthusiastic knitting, Feller began designing her own patterns. She had done a foundation art course, specialising in textiles, after leaving school, but changed paths to become a structural engineer.

“The combination of enjoying art, but at the same time having a mathematical bent is pretty much the perfect combination when it comes to writing patterns,” she said.

“You have to sit down and work them out. There is a lot of number-crunching on Excel spreadsheets. I always describe it as each knit stitch being like a building block. You put one block on top of another to make something. So how do you fit it all together to make the shape you want to make?”

Feller says that making your own means you can tailor it to your own needs and likes.

“You actually get something perfect for you,” she said. “I have spent an entire morning walking from shop to shop, with a picture of what I want in my head, but not being able to find it. When you knit, you can customise it exactly. You can choose exactly the colour, the material and the shape. You can’t beat that. You will end up with such a better end product.”

Feller began selling her patterns online (Stolenstitches.com) and submitting them to American and British websites and magazines. She has since been published in big-name knitting magazines such as Interweave Knits and Yarn Forward.

Some of her patterns were chosen for other Wiley anthologies, Knitting in the Sun and More Knitting in the Sun, but this is the first book containing only her patterns. Happily, there is great interest in America in Contemporary Irish Knits, with large distributors getting lots of pre-orders for it. It can only help American sales that the books is illustrated with moody, romantic shots of the west of Ireland, with the garments modelled by Feller’s friends and family.

Her husband, Joseph, did all the photography in the book too, so it has a much warmer, friendlier feel than most pattern books, with their bland, briskly-smiling models.

Despite knitting and designing for a living, Feller still loves to grab her needles and work on a project. “I love it,” she said. “It is instant relaxation, even if it is work and I am on a deadline. Knitting is a very cheap drug. There is something wonderful about being able to create something beautiful.”

* Contemporary Irish Knits, Wiley, €17.99