Knitmap

This is an example of a cut and sewn knitted garment made in the 1960s from synthetic yarn. It was manufactured by the Twomax company, which operated from a factory on the south side of Glasgow. The style represents the simple shapes and bold colours that were favoured in the 1960s and popularised by Mary Quant and Biba, amongst others…read more

Jan E. Lebet was a small knitwear company established on Yell during the 1960s by Dr Nisbet. It had a distinctive business model, producing fashion garments on machines operated by men in a factory unit rather than employing outworkers. Although this experimental venture was supported financially and had a strong order book, it folded after only a few years…read more

Shetland Fashions Ltd was established under the name of Clousta Handcraft in 1967 by an English couple, Iain and Gaye Caldwell. The company quickly grew, at one point employing 400 casual workers and producing more than 4000 garments a week predominantly on manual knitting machines…read more

Terri Laura Leask is a knitwear designer and maker based in Shetland. She produces both hand and machine knitted garments and is keen to dispel the myths about machine knitting…to hear more

Factory Reports published in the nineteenth century provide tantalising glimpses of people’s work and living conditions. The authors of these reports often visited workers in their homes as well as in factories to gather information…read more

The business of Fleming, Reid and Co. Ltd provides a rare example of a nineteenth century spinning company that expanded into both hosiery production and retail. Its retail network of Scotch Wool and Hosiery Stores stretched across the UK and sold the company’s knitting wools, patterns and knitted products…read more

Hosiery merchants in Aberdeen were supplied with stockings hand knitted in the rural communities surrounding the city. In the 1830s, an agent for A. Hadden and Sons, a spinning and hosiery manufacturing company in Aberdeen, ‘had the names of 200 workers in his Methlick book, and these were chiefly the wives and daughters of small farmers and crofters.’
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In the 1830s, Lady McKenzie of Gairloch – in an effort to help create income for local women on her estate – encouraged her tenants to improve their spinning and knitting. With her support, the distinctive diamond Gairloch pattern was developed. Local women, often the wives and daughters of crofters and farmers, spun, dyed and knitted patterned stockings that were successfully sold to merchants in Scotland and London…read more

The famine caused by the potato blight during the mid-nineteenth century affected rural communities throughout Scotland, especially in the remote Highlands and Western Isles. In an attempt to alleviate the suffering, charitable organisations in Glasgow and Edinburgh offered food and income in return for knitting stockings and laying roads…read more

In 1850, a small spinning mill was established in Portree to support local hosiery production. Its success provides a rare example of charitable aid being transformed into a successful, independent commercial enterprise that contributed to the island’s economy after the famine that spread through the region during the mid-nineteenth century…read more

The late nineteenth century saw this family-owned business build a new factory in Dumfries to produce hosiery, gloves and socks using Jacquard patterns. It also began producing fully-fashioned wool and cashmere outerwear for the luxury market at home and overseas. When the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) was photographed wearing a Drumohr sweater and socks on the golf course the company’s profile was enhanced…read more

The name Patons has been synonymous with hand knitting yarns since the mid-nineteenth century. Founded in 1813 as a spinning mill, Patons expansion took off in the 1860s with the growth in popularity of handknitting. Based primarily in Alloa and surrounding villages, the company was unusual in pioneering an integrated business model that combined production of yarn, publication of instruction and pattern books, and retail…read more

Based in Hawick, Peter Scott & Co. was among the largest and longest running businesses that made the Scottish Borders famous for its quality knitwear. Established in 1878 at premises on Kirk Wynd, the company manufactured woollen underwear and fashioned hose. From the early 1900s, the company included outerwear and sportswear in their range of knitted garments. And by the mid-twentieth century it was exporting its products around the world…read more

This micro mill in the Borders was set up by Juliet and John Miller when they discovered that it was impossible to process small amounts of alpaca fleece in Scotland. Although the mill initially specialised in providing a bespoke processing and spinning service for alpaca, it has now extended into processing and blending a range of natural fibres including wool and silk…read more

These fine Shetland lace baby socks were found during building works at the old Westside shop in Uyeasound, Unst, and probably brought to the shop by local knitters c.1880s…read more

The colourwork knitting patterns associated with this small island to the far north of the Scottish mainland are known throughout the world. Cassandra Milani’s blog post considers why so little is known about the origins of these familiar patterns…read more

These design books capture the range of patterns that flat bed jacquard knitting machines could produce. [Entry still under construction.]

Example of fully fashioned, classic styling and the export success of the Borders firms.[Entry still under construction.]