It’s arguably Ireland’s most famous piece of clothing and couple of weeks ago, Taylor Swift caused quite a stir when she appeared in an Aran jumper for the launch of her new album, Folklore. Here’s everything you need to know about our favourite woolly warmer:

 

1/The Aran jumper takes its name from the three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland, where it originated many generations ago. The largest of the trio is Inishmore, followed by Inishmann and Inisheer.

 

2/ The Islanders were fishermen and farmers and to protect against the cold, wet conditions of the sea, women began knitting their menfolk sweaters to keep them warm and dry. The first Aran sweaters or geansaís (ganseys) as the islanders called them, are believed to have been knitted in the early 1900s.

 

3/ Made using unwashed báinín (bain meaning white in Irish) – a yarn made from sheep’s wool – the yarn was untreated and retained its natural lanolin making it waterproof.

 

4/ An Aran sweater can absorb 30% of its weight in water before feeling wet. The natural wool fibre used in the sweaters is breathable, drawing water vapour away from the skin and releasing it into the air, thus helping the body to maintain an ideal temperature.

 

5/ A hand-knitted Aran sweater contains approximately 100,000 stitches, and can take the knitter up to 60 days to complete.

 

6/ In 1930, Dr Muriel Gahan, founder of the Irish Homespun Society opened a store in Dublin called The Country Shop. A few years later she visited the islands, met the local knitters and started to buy from them. These were the very first Aran hand-knits to go on sale.

 

7/ In the 1940s, the first Aran jumper knitting patterns were published by Patons of England.

 

8/ In 1950, Grace Kelly was photographed wearing a chunky knit, and export to the United States began. Six years later, Vogue published a pattern for the Aran sweater. Many famous people have since donned the iconic jumper, including Marilyn Monroe, Steve McQueen and Elvis.

 

9/ Stadun, a factory in Spiddal, Co Galway, was the first to export to America and employed roughly 700 Irish knitters.

 

10/ Today, many variations of the Aran sweater use softer yarns (Merino wool, cashmere, or synthetic fibres) than the unwashed sheep’s wool associated with the first jumpers, making them a less scratchy, more comfortable choice.

 

11/ In 2017, an Aran jumper from the 1940s went on display as part of the ‘Is Fashion Modern’ exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, along with 111 other pieces that have influenced fashion over the past 100 years.

 

12/ Today, demand for the Aran sweater continues to grow. The lack of skilled knitters, and the economic gains to be had from machine-production, has resulted in a huge fall in the number of hand-knits available. Traditional hand-knits from the Aran Islands have become rare and valuable.

 

13/ The patterns incorporated in traditional Aran jumpers symbolise the daily life of the islanders, their remote surroundings, and their religious beliefs.

 

14/ Family patterns were closely guarded and passed down through generations. A popular myth is that that the bodies of Aran Islander fishermen who had died at sea could be identified by the pattern on their sweater.

 

15/ Each jumper features between four and six stitch patterns in vertical columns. One of these stitch patterns usually takes centre stage in the main body of the sweater. Every stitch has a different meaning and symbolises something of importance. Here are some of the most popular and their meanings.

 

·      Basket Stitch – Represents the basket the fisherman used, and his hope of filling it with his catches.

·      Blackberry Stitch – Symbolic of the rich abundance of nature, and may also possess religious implications.

·      Cable Stitch – The most frequent stitch found on Irish sweaters. It comes in different forms. The plain cable illustrates the ropes of Irish fisherman, promising good luck and safety at sea.

·      Plaited Cable Stitch – Illustrates how daily life and hard work are woven together.

·      Tree of Life/Trinity Stitch – Said to promise a long life and strong children. Religious connotations are also thought to be represented.

·      Trellis Stitch – Symbolic of the landscape patterns of fenced-in fields accompanied by roughly hewn stones that protect inhabitants from strong winds on the island.

·      Irish Moss Stitch – Often used as a diamond filler it suggests a respectable harvest. It symbolises carrageen moss, which is a type of seaweed on the Irish coast that is used as both food and fertiliser of barren fields.

·      Honeycomb Stitch – A reminder of the bee who works hard and is assured of a reward for its labour.

·      Diamond Stitch – Symbolises the shapes of mesh fishing net, and also stands for success and wealth.

·      Trinity stitch – Represents ancient and religious beliefs.

·      Zig Zag Stitch – Represents the ups and downs that married couples face.