About Fair Isle Sweater
Welcome to Fairislesweater.com. This site is dedicated to every sweater and cardigan made using the Fair Isle technique. For those who are not yet familiar with Fair Isle sweaters, this page will help you get to know this type of sweater a little better. Here are a few things you might be interested to know about Fair Isle sweaters:
Seven (7) Things to Know About Fair Isle Sweaters:
1. The traditional/real Fair Isle sweater is heavier and thicker in nature (weight of the fabric). Generally, this is the type of sweater one should use for really cold climates. In other words, it is a hard-core sweater.
2. Fair Isle is actually a knitting technique that is characterized by dense, colorful patterns in two (2) or more colors, against a plain background. The patterns used in Fair Isle knitting can vary from geometric, to animal and plant motifs. This pattern repeats itself vertically and horizontally through out the sweater.
3. This knitting technique was developed in the Fair Isles, North of Scotland between Orkey and Shetland Islands. The Fair Isle knitting technique is not just used for making sweaters, but also for making other items such as socks, gloves, scarves, and bonnets.
4. The traditional way of Fair Isle knitting is constructed in the round manner, like a tube with no seams or cuts. For knitting the sweater, the work is fastened only where the armholes start. Nowadays however, Fair Isle knitting is used not only to make sweaters, but also garments that require openings such as cardigans and boleros, thereby omitting the round manner of construction.
4. Initially, Fair Isle sweaters only had patterns that ran all through out the garment. These days however, some Fair Isle Sweaters have patterns that are isolated/concentrated only on selected areas such as the waist, wrist, neck/yoke, or center area (for cardigans with openings at the front) while the rest of the garment is plain in color.
Fair Isle sweater with yoke, waist, and cuff patterns
Fair Isle sweater with patterns all through out the garment5. Originally, Fair Isle sweaters were made of wool. To create the colorful pattern, plant extracts were used to dye the wool fibers before they were knitted into sweaters. Nowadays, the use of synthetic fibers has allowed many brands to offer Fair Isle products that come in more vibrant and rich colors.
6. There is also a strong connection between Fair Isle sweaters and Nordic sweaters due to its similarities. It has been speculated that Fair Isle knitting was derived from Nordic knitting, although the two techniques do slightly vary.
Alexander McQueen Hooded Wool Fair Isle Sweater, available at Zappos.com
Dale of Norway Vail Nordic Sweater, available at Zappos.com7. At the start of the early 1990′s, the term “Fair Isle” became loosely used to mean any knitted item that was colorful, stranded, and multi-patterned in nature, even though this had no relation whatsoever, to Fair Isle knitting.
If this set of useful information has gotten you more interested in Fair Isle sweaters, and your hands are now itching to get hold of one, here are a few tips to consider:
FIVE (5) Things to Consider When Purchasing a Fair Isle Sweater or Cardigan
1. Style
What style of Fair Isle Sweater do you want? Do you want the cardigan type that opens at the center? The simple pull-over sweater type? Or the sweater vest type? How about the hooded sweater?
Tommy Hilfiger Yelena Fair Isle Sweater Vest
Vince Fair Isle Sweater2. Pattern Style and Orientation
Do you prefer the patterns to go all through out the garment? Or do you prefer the patterns to concentrate only on certain areas? What kind of pattern motif do you prefer? Geometric? Animal? Plants?
3. Material
Do prefer pure wool? Or are you willing to use a sweater or cardigan that is made of synthetic fiber? There are also those that come in a mix of natural and synthetic fibers, so you actually have options.
4. Color Palette
Do you want the sweater to have just two colors? Or would you prefer a multitude of colors? What color direction do you want? Pastel? Bright? Basic and neutral?
Old Navy Fair Isle Sweater with a total of 3 colors in the combination (including background)
Philosopher’s Wool Fair Isle Sweater in multicolor direction5. Budget
How much are you willing to spend for a Fair Isle Sweater?
Once you have established what you want in a Fair Isle sweater, looking for the right one will be a breeze.
Every winter season, countless brands in the market release their own versions of the Fair Isle Sweater, thus, the best time to shop for this item would be during that season.
If you want to get it on discount, the best way would be to shop once the season ends. Either way, having at least one Fair Isle Sweater in your closet is a must.
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