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Hand Knitted Harris Wool Roll Neck Sweater in Navy Blue
We at Aero are proud to once more offer a small range of Harris Tweed clothing, Harris Wool knitwear and Harris Tweed linings in our Aero jackets.
Due to the present situation limiting the choice of shades and patterns and fact that Harris wool cloth and wool is very labour intensified we have tried as far as possible to deal direct with the weavers and knitters on Harris to do what we can to help support this wonderful Scottish home industry through the recent, and hopefully temporary, turbulence.
For many centuries past the crofters and fishermen on the Outer Hebrides wore heavy woollen sweaters hand knitted using the same wool used to weave Harris Tweed. No other wool stands up to rains and winds on the remote islands like that of the hardy native sheep and a sweater knitted in this heavy wool offers better wind and rain resistance than any other wool. We've been lucky enough to find a small number of hand knitters on The Isle of Harris who have knitted these amazing traditional fisherman's roll neck sweaters. For now we are restricting the colour selection to Navy Blue, the colour most traditionally chosen by the hardy Herring fishing crews and Ginger or Rust, for many the most iconic shade of all Harris knitwear and Tweed. In addition to this we've now added a beautiful Sea Green shade.
For many centuries wild and hardy sheep have roamed the Hebridean Islands, their heavy wool protecting them from the elements. This wool was harvested by the islanders every summer then hand knitted into heavy sweaters or woven into the cloth that became known as "Harris Tweed".
Some of this locally produced wool would have been dyed using vegetable dyes and some used in its natural uncoloured state. Following dyeing, the wool was mixed, oiled, teased and carded prior to being drawn out for spinning carried out on familiar spinning-wheels by the local crofter's wives and daughters.
Today these mothers, daughters and grannies are still hand knitting traditional Hebridean Knitwear, such as this fine sweater, in the same way generations of their ancestors did in time long since past.
These classic roll necks are all hand knitted in stocking stitch and are all knitted on The Isle of Harris. We hoped to also have a second style, a traditional hand knitted Cable Stitch sweater, but due to the initial demand for these very special pullovers and the limited number of hand knitters we won't be able to do both styles. We have a dozen or so early samples of the cable stitch for sale.
Our decision to limit the range to Roll Necks was influenced by several facts. They are the more traditional of the two styles.... They are far harder to find today ....Our knitters can produce more Roll Necks than Cable knit.
S/38" M/42" L/46" XL/50"