These knits made their way to QBO from Irish tradition. They are Aran (or Aran-style) jumpers, AKA sweaters. The first white one is authentic, while the others are modern takes. Knit from wool, the jumpers began as work-wear for Aran Islands fishing fleets in the late 1800s.
The Aran islands are located off the coast on the unprotected, Atlantic-facing side of Ireland. Sheep provide the islanders with meat, bone, leather and wool and are able to graze the meager, wind-swept turf. As modern hikers know, wool insulates better than cotton, silk and many synthetics and retains insulating properties even when wet. Plus the jumper designs are knit 3-D, giving them 1/3″ thickness and trapping further insulating pockets of air. And if only minimally cleaned while carding, spinning and knitting, natural lanolin is left in the wool (yes, that’s ‘sheep grease’) making the jumpers water-resistant. Division of labor was by gender, so it was the mothers, grandmothers, sisters and wives who knit these protective garments for their sons, fathers, husbands and brothers, using designs unique to each family. If you are of Irish descent, you can look up your ‘clan pattern’ although historically only fishing families had them.
Each stitch has meaning; Irish Moss stitch is the carrageen moss which the islanders gathered off the cliffs for food. Actually a kind of seaweed, you may find carrageenan as a thickening agent in your ice cream. Diamond stitch represents the stone walls dividing the lands, while Cable and Trellis are the fishing boats’ rope rigging. Jacob’s Ladder is a biblical symbol here representing the Islands working together, while the Tree of Life and the Holy Trinity were also borrowed from Irish Illuminated Bibles – a prayer to God to protect fishermen from the sea.
Wanting to distinguish one seagoing family from another by their sweaters was not based on pride but on tragic necessity. The Atlantic is scoured by storms and in small boats with no radio, no survival suits, no life jackets and no Coast Guard coming for a rescue, many Irish fishermen deliberately did not learn to swim in the hope they’d drown quickly if their boat went down, rather than suffer a lingering death. Although effort was made to predict storms, if one caught a fleet by surprise it might result in bodies washing ashore all along the coast. But even lost for weeks, those distinctive family knits ensured every drowned man was returned home for burial.
It wasn’t until 1961 that Aran sweaters became fashion. Celtic folk group The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem appeared on the American Ed Sullivan TV show wearing them for a broadcast audience of 12 million. Note that while they really were Irish, the Clancys came from landlocked County Tipperary, while Mr. Makem was from landlocked County Armagh so they were not wearing their fishing family ‘clan’ sweaters, instead what had happened was the Clancy’s worried mom mailed the boys wooly jumpers because New York City in winter “seemed cold” and the band’s American manager decided that the jumpers gave them that perfect “Irish look”. (Heaven help those poor guys sweating under the hot studio lights, though!) The following year American movie star, fashion icon and Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly, appeared in Good Housekeeping magazine wearing an Aran turtleneck while pleasure boating. The rest is history.
Today there are many versions including button-ups, hoodies, and American interpretations like this preppy-look cable sweater. Want to try knitting your own? Here are some free vintage patterns from the Aran Sweater Market on Aran Island: https://aranpatternarchive.com/
Tuesday Treasures was started by our staff member, Jeanne Lusignan. Each week she will be featuring items that have been found at our estate sales. If you would like to submit a treasure for Jeanne to feature in a future installment of “Tuesday’s Treasures”, please follow the button below and send us an email! Please attach a few photos of your treasure in a beautiful setting as well as any details you have about your item such as manufacturer, use, age, region of origin. If you don’t know about the piece, that’s okay! We still might be able to research it for you! Don’t forget to tell us what makes this item such a treasure to you!