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.”