There have been a few blogs and webpages about knitting in Shetlands – here’s one about Joanna Hunter-Coe who has a shop on Lerwick’s High Street – so to meet and hear a local of Shetland today was great. We thank Hazel Tindall for giving of her time and wisdom.
Shetland
As an outsider to Scotland, I have been corrected when I have said the Shetlands: it is simply Shetland or The Shetlands Islands. The name comes from the joining of two Viking words Hjalt, meaning the hilt of a sword, and land. Prior to 1975, it was known as Zetland, its official name when it was a county (that is an area with its own government). I have personally spent many an hour circling (as it was once RAF) Saxa Ford in a military aircraft as we checked out their airfield navigation aids. These islands, closer to Bergen in Norway, than Edinburgh, are definitely Scottish but have a huge history so closely connected with Scandinavia. Their flag offers that linkage to both cultures. The postcode of PS may appear to be a postscript but it is not an add-on, but a distinctive place of its own.
Knitting
It is believed that the art of knitting was brought back to Shetland from England. A 17th-century grave excavated in Gunnister, a moor on the islands, contained the body of a young man together with a knitted stocking, gloves, a purse and two caps.
By the beginning of the 18th century, Shetlanders were trading hosiery in exchange for money and goods from Dutch and German merchants. Knitters made large quantities of coarse woollen stockings and blankets, as well as the finer work upon which their reputation rested. By 1901, around 60% of Shetlanders were involved in the hosiery trade.
Lace knitting started in the 1840s, following improved transport links between the islands and the mainland. Aware of the local knitting skills, Shetlanders brought fashionable lace articles back with them to be copied. Unst, the most northerly island, produced a very finely spun yarn made from finest wool hand-plucked from the neck of sheep, which was ideal for making the lace shawls and scarves. We have heard of Shetland Lace before at our sessions.
Hazel Tindall
Here is the discussion led by Hazel – if you are not speechless – and I’m not a knitter – then I’d be staggered as well. What Hazel explained was amazing.
She was born in Shetland and learned to knit before school, making some pocket money in her teenage years. She demonstrated the use of a knitting belt as she knitted with four needles!!
She has made multiple yokes, scarfs – here’s one made over 40 years ago, with the colours still so vibrant. She has also made cushion covers where again the colours really stand out. Sir Edmund Hillary wore a Shetland jumper on his ascent on Mount Everest back in 1953.
History
Back in the 1960s the knitting industry in Shetland was huge. Then the men would produce the knit the body of the jumpers on machines in a single colour, with the women making the cuffs and yokes etc. When the oil industry started to flourish, women could find jobs outside of the croft, which was far more sociable. The market for knitted goods started to rapidly decline although this has revered in the last 2 decades. There is much to celebrate now in Shetland Wool Week. This keeps those skills alive, maintaining the heritage. There is also the Shetland Textile Museum, highlighting the capabilities of the Shetlanders. Natural plants are often used to help dying the wool – there is even a book written by a Shetlander.
It was interesting to hear that although you could watch TV and knit, there was also some detailed calculations when decreasing with yokes, and when commissioned to make jumpers for well endowed women – the shoulders and neckline are not automatically doubled in size even if the bust is!
There was much on line for knitters with Insta and Zoom, which has helped with the possible social isolation exaceperated with the pandemic.
We are indebted to Hazel for giving of her time, wisdom, humour and experience – this was truly fascinating. Thank you
More than a PS!
Hazel mentioned in her discussions the therapeutic benefit of knitting. So we asked for any reference material for this and here are her suggestions:
a book by Betsan Corkhill, linked below on the image (alternative book sellers exist); with a webpage on the whole subject of therapeutic knitting
