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
Buying pre-order items
Ebooks and Audiobook
You will receive an email with a download link for the ebook or audiobook on the publication date.
Payment
You will not be charged for pre-ordered books until they are available to be shipped. Pre-ordered ebooks will not be charged for until they are available for download.
Amending or cancelling your order
For orders that have not been shipped you can usually make changes to pre-orders up to 72 hours before the publishing date.
Payment for this pre-order will be taken when the item becomes available
- Delivery and returns info
-
Free US delivery on orders $35 or over
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 | Jun 11 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Hardback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 344 |
| ISBN | 9781350361713 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Visual Arts |
| Illustrations | 34 colour and 35 bw illus |
| Dimensions | 9 x 6 inches |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Reviews
OPEN ACCESS
Bloomsbury Open Access
Read and download this book free of charge from Bloomsbury Collections.
Related Titles
