Originally known as a “Fisherman’s Sweater” the authentic history of traditional aran sweaters starts in the Aran Islands, off the west coast of Ireland in a place called Connemara. The wool of the local sheep used to make these sweaters retained its natural oils, helping to make them waterproof. Perfect clothing to keep the local fishermen and farmers warm and dry as they went about their daily chores, catching fish from the sea and tending to the sheep and cattle around the Island.
Then in the 1950’s the fashionable and popular magazine, Vogue, featured an article about Aran sweaters and suddenly they were in demand around the world. When famous celebrity icons such as Grace Kelly, Alexa Chung, Steve McQueen and Pablo Picasso were pictured wearing the Aran style of Sweater the craze for them really took off. The different stitches now used to make these warm, waterproof sweaters are, the Cable, the Diamond, the Zig Zag, the Honeycomb, the Trellis, the Tree of Life, and the Blackberry Stitch. The Cable stitch originally represented the ropes that the fishermen used and if you wore this pattern it meant you would have a fruitful day of catching fish.
Handmade by the wives and mothers of these hardworking fishermen and farmers these sweaters were the traditional styles, patterns and usually a white or cream colour. The Aran sweater is still full of symbolism for the locals who live on the island, each family having a unique texture and pattern of their own.
