An unbroken knowledge of professional hand knitting that dates back centuries

“Knitting is almost part of our DNA,” claims lifelong Shetlander and wool expert Elizabeth Johnston. Earlier this year she helped set up a charity to safeguard the heritage skills of knitters from the remote Scottish archipelago. This hereditary connection to the craft explains why there is such concern among Shetlanders that their unique traditions are threatened with being lost forever, and why they’re taking proactive steps to ensure this doesn’t happen.

The products made in Shetland, including patterned Fair Isle knitwear and delicate Shetland lace, are world renowned and instantly recognisable, so it may seem surprising that these crafts need protecting at all. But recent economic and societal shifts have impacted the number of people learning to knit, while mass-produced knock-offs and the misappropriation of terms associated with heritage techniques threaten to dilute the authenticity of traditionally crafted items.

The way Shetland’s knitting economy functions began to change in the 1970s when the oil industry brought new, higher paying jobs to the islands. Many women went out to work and knitted less at home. They were also less inclined to teach their children. The trend has continued, so now there is a generation growing up for the first time without a knitter in the family to learn from.

“We have an unbroken historic knowledge of professional hand knitting that dates back centuries,” explains Johnston, who cofounded Shetland’s Organisation for Knitters along with several other concerned and passionate representatives from the islands’ knitting community. “If we do not pass that knowledge on to each generation, we will lose the stories and skills of our older generation as well as important local knitting traditions.”

One of SOK’s stated aims is to preserve Shetland’s knitting heritage, which includes Fair Isle knitting and Shetland lacemaking, as well as the skilled operation of mechanical flat-bed knitting machines. The group is dedicated to documenting aspects of the craft that have been passed down orally and risk being forgotten if they are not recorded. “We need information on the knitting techniques, designing a garment our way with no seams, planning the patterns in lace, and creating patterns and colours to best effect in Fair Isle,” Johnston points out, adding that these resources will be made available for Shetland knitters (also known as makkers) and may be used as the basis for talks, teaching and informal knitting sessions.

Although it is possible to learn knitting by taking classes, reading books or watching online tutorials, those methods make it easy for misinformation or misappropriation to occur. Many people claim to teach Fair Isle knitting without truly understanding the craft and its constraints, which some Shetlanders view as a betrayal of the techniques developed by makkers of the past. SOK’s leadership point out that they do not see themselves as ‘gatekeepers’ of these skills and are happy for anyone to engage with Shetland knitting, however they are committed to ensuring that people use accurate information so they can be part of keeping the traditions alive.

“We believe there is value in presenting a unified voice to address misinformation around Shetland’s heritage knitting skills,” explains Johnston who, like many Shetlanders, was disappointed with how Fair Isle knitting was presented in the televised knitting show Game of Wool that aired recently on Channel 4. The episode leaned into negative stereotypes about Fair Isle techniques to create drama and used incorrect terminology when referring to traditional methods and patterns. In a statement posted on social media, SOK pointed out that this kind of misappropriation undermines the cultural labour of Shetland’s professional knitters and could even affect how many people take up knitting as a hobby.

Accurately summarising the history of Shetland knitting is no easy feat as its origins in particular are somewhat woolly, however it is thought the craft has been practiced on the islands since at least the 1500s. The designs we see today were most likely influenced by textiles acquired through bartered trading with passing sailors from Scandinavia and other northern European countries, although one rather romantic myth claims that Spaniards stranded after the wreck of an Armada ship in 1588 taught the islanders their Moorish patterns.

Fair Isle knitting refers to designs originating from the United Kingdom’s most remote inhabited island, which is located midway between the Shetland and Orkney islands. The most distinctive element of Fair Isle knitting is the stranded colourwork patterns, which use only two colours per row and feature horizontal bands of pattern that do not repeat across the entire garment. The basic OXO form is the most common motif, with geometric forms typically preferred over figurative designs. Garments are knitted in the round using fine wool and slender needles to create seamless pieces that display striking and well-defined patterns. The style is practiced by makkers all over Shetland, with each individual bringing their own artistry and creativity to the outcomes.

Shetland knitwear grew in popularity during the 1920s when a painting by John St Helier depicted the Prince of Wales wearing an allover Fair Isle Jumper. In the 1960s, fashion icons including Twiggy and Paul and Linda McCartney helped raise the craft’s profile, while designers such as Patricia Johnston and Victoria Gibson are credited with developing innovative new directions and colourways in the latter part of the last century.

Today, Shetland continues to be associated with high-quality knitwear, but the economy has shifted away from the cottage industry of the past towards a model focused on education and design aimed at servicing the needs of hobbyist knitters. Each year, thousands of people visit the islands to attend events such as Shetland Wool Week or to participate in workshops led by professional tutors and designers. This provides an important platform for promoting Shetland’s sheep, textile industry and the islands’ rural farming community.

Outside of the annual festival, many keen knitters venture to Shetland to take part in workshops led by experienced local practitioners. Marie Bruhat, who moved to Fair Isle from her native France in 2017, offers knitting holidays for visitors keen to learn about traditional Fair Isle motifs and colours, as well as understanding the history of the craft and meeting local makkers. She suggests that tourism plays a vital role in the knitting economy as it attracts people who appreciate the value of handmade garments. “Because so many Shetlanders have family or friends who knit, the local market for commercial knitwear is limited, so visitors are an essential part of the customer base,” she points out. “Tourism supports that side of the industry.”

Bruhat does produce her own collection of knitted items, including jumpers, scarves, ponchos and fishermen’s keps (a traditional hat with a folded headband), but the margins are tight and recent increases in shipping costs, as well as restrictive tariffs and regulations, have made international trade more difficult. “My jumpers cost around £650, which is expensive, but they take about 25 hours to knit,” she says. “Once you add the cost of equipment, materials, time, tax and running a small business, that really is the minimum you can charge in order to make a living. The income from the knitting holidays helps to make the whole business sustainable.”

As exemplified by knitting tourism, Shetland’s modern knitting economy is now diversified and intertwined with the global hobbyist community, which has seen an impressive resurgence in recent years. ‘Knitfluencers’ like Katie Jones, Stephen West and former Olympic diver and Game of Wool host Tom Daley have helped to raise the profile of knitting, which is viewed by many as a relaxing and meditative activity that aligns with the trend for ‘slow living’ and also allows anyone with a pattern and a pair of needles to create practical wearable items.

Part of SOK’s mission is to service this community and to help deliver educational programming for local makers. Alongside an organisation called ShetlandPeerieMakkers, which provides hand knitting tuition for primary school children in Shetland, SOK aims to support young makkers who decide to enter the field as professionals. “Knitting is something people can start doing part-time around a career or family work,” says Anne Frost, a knitting podcaster, writer and member of the SOK team. “We offer them the support to identify topics for workshops, develop the skills needed to be effective tutors, understand how to write clear patterns and help them pitch themselves to events as tutors and speakers.”

With SOK’s support, this next phase in the evolution of Shetland’s knitting economy should help to safeguard the craft’s future while retaining its links to the past. The organisation’s mission is not simply focused on sharing knowledge and growing the industry, however. It has just as much to do with preserving the sense of community and camaraderie that is central to life on the islands. “Shetland knitting has always been about more than just knitting,” explains Frost, adding that the tradition of passing on knowledge orally profoundly influences how Shetlanders think, learn and live. “Teaching this way creates space for talking about other things, for passing on their language and stories,” she points out. “Knitting together is a great way for the community to connect and keeping these skills alive keeps Shetland’s culture alive.”