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The Aran Sweater is actually a 20 Century creation. The traditional Irish Aran Sweater is extremely hard-wearing and made from undyed wool. It is usually associated with fishermen, who need such rugged clothing to keep the elements of the North Atlantic at bay. These sweaters were most popular along the western coast of Ireland, and were known as a 'gansey'. This comes from the Gaelic word, 'geansai', which means Guernsey. It is known that fishermen from the Channel Islands wore these thick woolen sweaters, which is a strong clue as to the origins of the Irish Aran Sweater we now know.
Cottage Knitting Industry
The Aran Sweater was easy to make by hand, many people knew how to knit in the western regions of Ireland already and did not need to be taught. In fact the practice of knitting was encouraged by the government in the late 1800's with the intention of building up a strong cottage knitting industry. Those who did not already know how to knit could get tuition, funded by the Congested Districts Board.
Aran Sweaters Discovered
In the mid 1930's the founder of the Irish Homespun Society visited the Aran Islands and made the first purchase of Aran Sweaters to be sold in her Dublin shop. She was attracted to the sweaters by the beautiful patterns and highly textured designs. According to local 'lore, the tradition for these very detailed patterns came around in the 1920's when locals started to produce special sweaters for their sons to wear to Holy Communion. They wove the sweaters by hand from undyed wool, taking great pride in decorating the garment with intricate stitched patterns. Because of this, a widespread misconception grew that each family had their own unique stitch.
Growing Recognition
The Aran Sweater has grown in popularity due to increased media attention down through the years. The first patterns were published by Patons of England, Vogue Magazine covered the Aran Sweater and exports to the USA began in the 1950's.
Aran Sweaters Stores
The following stores sell Aran Sweaters.
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