Aran Designs

Aran Island Designs incorporate many elements of th e fisherman knits designs of the Channel Islands, Great Britain and Scotland, but were developed into more elaborate configurations. They still used the moss or seed stitch in the body of a diamond or as filler, but outlined the diamond with a frame of “traveling” stitches. Or, they might configure a lattice of diamonds by moving lines of “traveling” stitches across a field of purl stitches. “Traveling” was accomplished by crossing a knit stitch over a purl stitch in the direction desired. They would sometimes knit a stitch in the back loop to make it stand out in ribbing or in a vertical dividing line. Cables were more varied. They could range from two stitches twisted over each other every other row to a broad band of stitches with many twists; depicting ropes to braids. Also they added “bobbles” ranging from small lumps to larger round balls.

In several of the books I read about Aran knitting it is suggested that the designs were influenced by Celtic designs and knots. This influence is not apparent to me in the samples I have seen. Moreover, Alice Starmore, whose “brief history” is the most comprehensive I’ve read, contends that she, herself, initiated the use, in 1992, of Celtic knots in Aran designs. Illustrations in her book, Aran Knitting, New and Expanded Edition, Dover Publicatons, 2010, lend credence to this claim.

Samples and comparisons

Sample #1 shows diamonds kit in the Guernsey style. The two on the left are outlines formed by purl stitches on a knit background; the second two are examples of the open outlined diamond and a filled diamond; the last two are solid diamonds.

Sample #2 shows a diamond of double moss stitch and a simple cable in Guernsey style.

Sample #3 shows the Aran “traveling” stitch making a lattice over the body of a sweater.

Sample #4 is an Aran design I developed for a client. The diamonds are double moss stitch bordered by a traveling stitch. There are ball shaped bobbles about 1” in diameter and a central panel of small bobble element variously called “Trinity Stitch’, Blackberry Stitch’ or “Bramble Stitch”. The cables are wider than the guernsey sample and are twisted in two directions.

Sample #5 is a sample of different cable possibilities. There is a braid of three sections plaited over one another. In the large piece, there is a single cable twisted to resemble a vertical line of O’s. When several of these are placed side by side, they form a honeycomb.

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