There is only one place on earth that real Fair Isle knitwear can come from and that is the Scottish island of Fair Isle which is in the Shetland Islands. It can take over one hundred hours for a sweater to be hand-knitted. When you own a genuine Fair Isle sweater, you own something very unique and handmade. The majority of what you see in the marketplace is Fair Isle-style, not real Fair Isle. There are very few places where you can find the real deal.
Thistle and Broom is attempting to preserve the authentic craft of knitting Fair Isle items and promoting this very special craft. You can get a made to order Fair Isle sweater from one of their knitters and help to keep the economy of the Shetland Islands viable. The website introduces you to the individual craftspeople and their designs. If you won’t settle for anything but the real thing, this is the way to go.
The Spirit of Shetland Collection is another website that sells only authentic Fair Isle sweaters and cardigans. The prices are very reasonable when you take into consideration the hand-knitted nature of these items. A variety of patterns, including Oxna, which is offered in not only sweaters but in hats and gloves and vests are offered. There are ten different patterns if you are looking for a handmade fashion statement. Capes and ponchos are also offered. They have a shop at the Spiders Web or you can order from their website.
Anderson and Company offers a variety of items from the Shetland Islands and no such collection would be complete if it didn’t offer some items that were in the Fair Isle pattern. Here they are offered in the All Over Fair Isle pattern with sweaters, jumpers, and scarves available. The all over patterns each have a name and distinctive colors. All the prices include delivery which is a nice option. In addition to the beautiful wooden knitted sweaters, this website also offers hand-knitted shawls and baby christening blankets in what looks like a beautiful pattern of hand-knitted lambs' wool lace. It would be a perfect gift for a newborn baby.
The Shetland Collection offers a variety of items from some very talented knitters on the Shetland Islands.
Designers such as the late Alexander McQueen had Fair Isle-style sweaters as part of their designer collections. They are much more expensive than the ones that are hand-knitted in the Shetland Islands. Most of those Fair Isle-style sweaters are machine-made and definitely not in Scotland.
There are many places where you can purchase Fair Isle style sweaters, but very few where you can get the real thing. These three offer original Fair Isle knitwear made in the Shetland Islands. Support the local economy by purchasing the real thing and help keep this wonderful craft alive.
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