Harris Tweed
Clò Mór (in Gaelic) is a hand-woven, handspun, hand dyed luxury cloth produced for centuries in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
A knitting savant from ages past miraculously interpreted this Scottish tweel into a pattern suitable for needlecraft. I should like to think that this genius admired the humble “crofters and cottars” of these islands toiling together, familial, in unimaginably harsh conditions toward the common goal of creating their twill. History-rich, Harris Tweed (the cloth) has survived the whims of fashion and the realities of business. This tweed has graced Nike shoes, the fictional detective Miss Marple and more recently, the hero of the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, Robert Langdon, a.k.a., Tom Hanks.
The product produced by this knit pattern pays respect to the hand crafted nature and work ethic of the Scottish islanders from whom the pattern’s inspiration was drawn.
I’m still naively fascinated how clicking two needles together with a bit of yarn actually produces something so magical yet so functional. The Harris Tweed pattern has a raised, compact texture. Deceivingly simple yet with a complex-looking, underlying character. I think I can identify with that…
How to?
The Harris Tweed pattern is comprised of eight rows. (Eight rows must be completed in order for the pattern to be visible.)
The number of stitches cast-on must be in multiples of four, plus two. (i.e. 18, 22, 26, etc.)
Row 1: k2, *p2, k2; repeat from * to end of row
Row 2: p2, *k2, p2; repeat from * to end of row
Row 3: k
Row 4: p
Row 5: repeat Row 1
Row 6: repeat Row 2
Row 7: p
Row 8: k
This versatile stitch is “reversible”, i.e., pattern appears on right side as well as wrong side.
Clò Mór (in Gaelic) is a hand-woven, handspun, hand dyed luxury cloth produced for centuries in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
A knitting savant from ages past miraculously interpreted this Scottish tweel into a pattern suitable for needlecraft. I should like to think that this genius admired the humble “crofters and cottars” of these islands toiling together, familial, in unimaginably harsh conditions toward the common goal of creating their twill. History-rich, Harris Tweed (the cloth) has survived the whims of fashion and the realities of business. This tweed has graced Nike shoes, the fictional detective Miss Marple and more recently, the hero of the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, Robert Langdon, a.k.a., Tom Hanks.
The product produced by this knit pattern pays respect to the hand crafted nature and work ethic of the Scottish islanders from whom the pattern’s inspiration was drawn.
I’m still naively fascinated how clicking two needles together with a bit of yarn actually produces something so magical yet so functional. The Harris Tweed pattern has a raised, compact texture. Deceivingly simple yet with a complex-looking, underlying character. I think I can identify with that…
How to?
The Harris Tweed pattern is comprised of eight rows. (Eight rows must be completed in order for the pattern to be visible.)
The number of stitches cast-on must be in multiples of four, plus two. (i.e. 18, 22, 26, etc.)
Row 1: k2, *p2, k2; repeat from * to end of row
Row 2: p2, *k2, p2; repeat from * to end of row
Row 3: k
Row 4: p
Row 5: repeat Row 1
Row 6: repeat Row 2
Row 7: p
Row 8: k
This versatile stitch is “reversible”, i.e., pattern appears on right side as well as wrong side.
