Aran Knitting: History, Tradition, Fashion

I took a whirlwind trip down to Cork yesterday, as the lovely people at RTE's Today Show asked me to join them for a chat about the history of Aran Knitting and, more specifically, about the wonderful new book by Vawn Corrigan on this topic.

It was an absolute pleasure to speak to Maura and Dáithí about our rich knitting heritage, especially as Maura is an Aran Islander herself. Daithi was not to be outdone though - and he gave us all a quick demonstration of his skills with a pair of hand carders that I had brought along!

The segment featured a stunning recreation of an Aran Sweater that represented Ireland in an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 2017 (in the live piece I'm afraid I got my dates badly mixed up and said it was the 1930s(!), sorry about that.) The sweater was knit by Elaine MacBride and it was generously loaned to the Show by Cleo of Kildare St.

We also spoke about the modern incarnations of the Aran style and how the influence of Aran knitting can be seen in designs world-wide, including in Steve Malcom's stunning design as he joined the show all the way from Vancouver! I should give one last shout out to Joy - as I was wearing her beautiful Citadel Cardigan by Joji Locatelli - to show a contemporary use of Aran stitches in the stunning merino yarn that is Malabrigo Rios.

The segment on the Today Show can be watched back at this link, for 30 days only from Tuesday 12th March 2019. Thank you again to all the team at RTE Cork for their warm welcome!

Irish Aran: History, Tradition, Fashion is now available to order from our online shop. It is a fascinating read for all of us who want to know more about the origins of this iconic knitting style.