Knitting in Scotland
Culture, Craft and Industry
Lynn Abrams (Author) , Sally Tuckett (Author) , Marina Moskowitz (Author) , Roslyn Chapman (Author) , Lin Gardner (Author)
- Open Access
Knitting in Scotland
Culture, Craft and Industry
Lynn Abrams (Author) , Sally Tuckett (Author) , Marina Moskowitz (Author) , Roslyn Chapman (Author) , Lin Gardner (Author)
- Open Access
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Description
The story of Scottish knitting: the first critical history and analysis of a local craft turned international icon.
From Fair Isle patterning to Pringle jumpers, Scottish knitwear is internationally renowned and instantly recognizable. This open access study unpicks the distinctive place of knitting in the Scottish landscape, economy, and culture from the 19th century to today.
Recent reappraisals of the industrial revolution and traditional craft economies, and the recent revival of hobby knitting during the Covid-19 pandemic, have raised new questions about the roles of social communities, sustainability and women's domestic work in the textile industries. Tracing its story from raw material to final product, from home-spun clothes and crafts to luxury markets and industrial-scale production, Knitting in Scotland investigates the Scottish knitting trade's remarkable survival across two centuries of economic and cultural modernization.
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by UKRI.
Table of Contents
About the Authors
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Abbreviations
Glossary
1. Introduction: Stories, objects, histories
Pre-cursors of modern Scottish knitting
The modern knitwear industry
Histories of Scottish knitting
Researching knitting and knitwear
2. Geography
A Scottish tour of knitwear production
Knitting traditions and place
3. Organization
Charity in the community
Educating the workforce
Business structures
4. Fibre
Wool: provenance and supply
Cashmere: luxury and heritage
Synthetic fibres: novelty and opportunity
5. Technology
Plain knitting and shaping by machine
Pattern and texture
Electronic machines and computer aided design
Shima Seiki
The pivotal role of programming
6. Making
The making process
Locations of labour
Skill: specialisation and flexibility
Gendered divisions of labour
Gendered remuneration for labour
7. Marketing
Local products, global competition
The work of selling knitwear
Competing for markets: the tale of Twomax
The power of retail contracts: the Marks & Spencer effect
Trading on tradition: Shetland producers
8. Design
The vagaries of fashion
Forecasting fashion: Pringle
Consolidating classics: Peter Scott
Design-led interventions in Scottish knitting
9. Communities
Factory communities: 'like a family'
Mutuality in an island community
A community of practice
10. The Usable Past of Scottish Knitting
Natural histories
Heritage of craftsmanship
Knitting as Scottish Heritage
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | 11 Jun 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Hardback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 272 |
| ISBN | 9781350361713 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Visual Arts |
| Illustrations | 34 colour and 35 bw illus |
| Dimensions | 234 x 156 mm |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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