Aran Sweaters for the Irish

[Big Mikey]

Does anyone know of a maker of aran sweaters that does oversizes? The biggest I have seen is XXL or 50". I'm looking for XXXL or 56"-58", what with being a "man of substance" and all.

[TheKiltedWonder]

For those of us who are Irish or of Irish heritage, this may be of interest. Many Irish clans have their own knitting pattern used in Aran sweaters. If your not familiar with these sweaters, they are phenomenal. I already own one, but when I bought mine, I couldn't find my clan. Now that has changed. So if your interested in finding out if your family has a pattern, go here...

http://www.clanarans.com/ca/catalog/...579735c95dbfbe

That's so funny, I was about to post my own Aran sweater thread. And with that link too! Has anyone bought from them? Does anyone know if the knitters are Irish? It says the 200 hundred dollar ones are handknitted, but where?

Also, I like the way the Doyle one looks but those clan patterns aren't traditional. I'd feel almost guilty ordering from them knowing they are perpetuating or initiating a falsehood. Also, while I don't mind the product, I don't like being lied to. What does everyone else think?

(I feel my remarks/questions are germane, but if any Mods feel like they should be their own thread, I can easily start it.)

[OMulla]

Agree, nice sweaters but I likewise don't feel good about perpetuating the myth.

[Macman]

I remember reading somewhere that the link between Irish clans and Aran sweater patterns is more marketing than anything else. I wonder what their source is for their "history"?

History
From its origins, the sweater has been intimately linked to clans and their identities. The many combinations of stitches seen on the garment are not incidental, far from it. They can impart vast amounts of information to those who know how to interpret them. The sweaters were, and remain, a reflection of the lives of the knitters, and their families. On the islands, patterns were zealously guarded, kept within the same clan throughout generations. They were often used to help identify bodies of fishermen washed up on the beach following an accident at sea. An official register of these historic patterns has been compiled, and can be seen in the Aran Sweater Museum on the Aran Islands.

[pdcorlis]

...I remember reading somewhere that the link between Irish clans and Aran sweater patterns is more marketing than anything else...

Kinda sounds like the history of clan tartans - huh?

[Arlen]

It's definitely a myth.
It is true that many of the complicated knitting patterns for sweaters came from wives knitting individual sweaters to recognise their husbands should they drown while out on the fishing boats. (There are so many real historical sources for this I won't even bother noting them.)
However, the closest you can come to saying a particular pattern is linked with anything would be to refer to the style of knitting. For example, Fairisle knitting is a very distinct type of knitting 'cable' patterns but each person in Fairisle would knit up their own particular design.
(Well, they used to, at least. Now that island makes half of it's money from the ladies there knitting up a storm for export.)


With all of that said, the sweaters on that site are really very nice.
It's just a shame they felt the need to make this sort of thing up to market them.

[IrishGodfather]

Those are gorgeous sweaters, and I wouldn't mind getting a O'Dempsey one since my mother's side is Dempsey.

[beloitpiper]

I don't think I believe the part about them being associated with certain families, but they sure look great with kilts!

[PiobBear]

Never got cold enough last winter to wear mine.

[IrishGodfather]

Never got cold enough last winter to wear mine.

That's about how winter was in South Carolina this past year.