1964: SHETLAND SHAWLS are more valuable than GOLD | Tonight | Fashion | BBC Archive
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- Опубліковано 6 чер 2024
- Cathal O'Shannon reports from Unst, northernmost of the inhabited British Isles, where he has discovered a material more valuable than gold or platinum - the island's intricate gossamer shawls.
Shetland shawls are made from the gossamer wool that surrounds the neck of Shetland sheep, which must be hand-plucked, not sheared. There are fewer than half a dozen people left with the skill to spin this incredibly fine wool into thread, and a single shawl can use as much as six miles of the stuff. Allied to the relative scarcity of the material, there are perhaps as few as a dozen women capable of knitting these extraordinary garments - which can incorporate more than half a million loops - so they're probably only going to get more valuable.
This clip is from Tonight. Originally broadcast 5 May, 1964.
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My grandmother was in high demand for making these. She knitted 2 baby shawls for me when she started to loose her sight when I was a teenager. My mum kept them for me for 20 years before I had my first child. They are beyond precious to me
God please bless you and you descendants. Thank you for sharing with us.
Merci ♾️
So remarkably beautiful !
The two ladies are not identified, but I believe their names are Jackie and Lizzie Sutherland. They were sisters and great-great aunts of mine. I met Great-Great Auntie Lizzie on a visit to Unst in July 1984. She was one of the sweetest and kindest people I have ever met. Sadly, Great-Great Auntie Jackie had died by then. Great-Great Auntie Lizzie has subsequently died. Even in 1964, they were getting on in years. I'm so glad I at least got to meet one of them.
My maternal grandparents, who were both from Unst, had accents much the same as these ladies.
Thank you. I'm so glad you've given these incredibly talented women a name.
They are such amazing artists... and seemed like absolute sweethearts!
That's incredible! Thank you for sharing their names with us. :)
What are the accents are they dutch or danish or something?
@@Padraigp The Shetland Islands are in the far north of Scotland, in the sea between Scotland and Norway, and the video says they're on the northernmost one.
Around 15 years ago I decided on a whim to knit a lace pattern meant for a sweater with the finest yarn I had… a love affair was born. I found books on lace knitting and traditional Shetland patterns. The world of gossamer knit shawls opened up to me. Shetland lace. Ohrenburg lace. Estonian lace with its nupps that are meant to increase the weight of the work as it used to be sold by weight and the nupps would make a finished piece heavier.
I’m working on a piece using Shetland lace patterns right now. The hardest part for me is sourcing the right yarn. I knit to ‘switch off’ from my day job and will often take a piece with me to knit during my lunch hour as it takes me only 10 minutes or so to finish my sandwich. Colleagues often wonder about the patterns and if it’s hard. “Not once you’ve memorised a pattern” usually is my answer. Doesn’t your thread break easily? “Not if you use quality yarn.”
One ot the reasons why I love lace knitting with good quality yarn is that it feels really nice in your hands while working it, and it’s so lightweight. One panel of a sweater makes my arms and shoulders seize up after a while. Lace knitting rarely does even when knitting a full-sized shawl.
To those who wonder: yes, they’re deliciously warm. 😊
Wow...I didn't know that about the nupps! I just started my first ever pattern that includes nupps. Some people that have knitted the pattern complain about the nupps, but they look so beautiful that I'm in it for the long haul, nupps and all! Ironically, the yarn I'm using is some of the best, finest yarn I've ever worked with. The colors are just spectacular, I can't wait until this one is finished!
@@DivinityBleu - That sounds so wonderful! Did you know that there are two kinds of nupps? The five-fold ones (five stitches from one) and the nine-fold ones (nine stitches from one)? I’ve never seen patterns with seven-fold ones. I’ve always wondered why… At any rate, I agree they’re beautiful and add wonderful dimension and depth to a piece! I’m guessing one of the reasons you do appreciate them as well is that you’re using quality yarn. That makes them so much easier to do. Or should I say “less hard”. A matter of how you look at them, probably!
I wish you all the joy in the world with your piece!
Cool! Glad to hear people still do this sort of thing and enjoy it!
Piękne szale, piękne koronki. Mnie też wydaje się, że najtrudniejszym momentem jest uprzędzenie tak cienkiej nici. Nie jest to wcale łatwe. Runo musi być naprawdę w doskonałym stanie. Samo robienie na drutach wzorów ażurowych nie jest już wcale takie trudne, ale wymaga skupienia i dużej uwagi by nie pomylić wzoru. Szybkość przerabiania oczek u tych pań jest niesamowita. Wspaniale ogląda się taki film z dawnych lat. :)
I can knit but can not knit lace.....I bow to you, you are the finest kind of knitter.
My great-grandparents were from the Shetlands. Great-granny was widowed in 1882 and raised her 4 children, my grandad being the youngest, aged 2, by knitting and selling the Shetland shawls and cleaning office buildings at night. (She had to move to Leith from Lerwick). My mom told me about the pulling of the shawl through her wedding ring to show that her work was fine enough. She provided for them all and they all grew up to be good people.
Thanks be to God. Thank you for sharing with us.
What a wonderful memory, thank you from the USA!
Merci 🙂
Don’t say Shetlands please, shetland isles
This reminds me of Kanjivaram silk sarees that are made from mulberry silk in my country. They are also demonstrated by putting them through a ring as the silk is so fine
Oh. My. Goodness! The speed of the knitting! The delicacy of the yarn! The beauty of the lace patterns! I'm beside myself with awe.
Incredibly beautiful aren't they? I watched a tutorial video only yesterday about Irish knitting and think perhaps that's also how these ladies were working? The left hand needle works into the stitches on the right and it looks incredibly fast although I've still to attempt it myself.
My mother knitted that fast. Not lace though! I can too but I don't do it often enough anymore.
@@famprima: There's another video on Fair Isle knitters where they are zipping across a row of a jumper in a minute or two. They're using knitting sticks (and the ladies in this video seemed to have something similar) and, by some magic I have not figured out, they've found a technique that eliminates the need to wind the wool around the needle to form a stitch, which is the thing that slows the process down. Again, the ladies in this video didn't seem to be wrapping the wool around the needle - but the complexity of the pattern was still slowing them down a little (compared to the Fair Isle sweater knitters).
Ont ne trouvera jamais plus des femmes faire ce jolie travail quel dommages j aimerais apprendre à le faire je m entraîne mais jamais je n aurais ce résulta très bien fait et fin
My jaw dropped when they zoomed in on one of the ladies knitting. I've been knitting for about 20yrs now (not with lace mind you), and I still cannot move that fast. Their skill and craftsmanship is immeasurable.
Its the same with doing bobbin lace by hand. You could never earn enough money per hour to cover all of the work that goes into it. These ladies are gold themselves, wonderful work.
Yeah.. money is such a ridiculous concept. It rarely adds up to what it’s worth, especially when it comes to time and effort. That’s why it stifles art, rather than innovates.
I have one Shetland “wedding ring” shawl but it cost me dearly and took me 45 years to find a lady who could make one. I hold it very dear indeed.
You are so lucky.
Sounds beautiful 🙂
I’ve got one
Many decades back I collected the Golden Hands weekly magazine of patterns and instruction for all manner of handicrafts.
The Shetland ring shawl pattern was in one part . I bought the single ply wool and set off but still haven't finished it.
@@lsmith992 I used to take that magazine and I think that is where I saw one first. I made enquiries about the wool but never bought any. I would be lovely if you could finish your shawl.
I’ve been lace knitting for decades and I’m proud to say that I’ve been able to show and teach others to do this.Its very addictive once you’ve mastered it.🐑
I would love to learn how! Where would you direct a middle-aged woman in California with 15 years of knitting experience to get started?
Where can I start please ?
Вы молодец!
This is my goal. I'm pretty much a brand new knitter, but I practice the basics every day, hoping to level up until I can do lace. Maybe, even fine lace someday.
These real, honest, gentle, kind documentaries are equally as precious
My mother knitted one for my daughter 30 years ago. It is still safely stored, with our now 125yr old Christening robe and 98 yr old Brussels lace Wedding veil.
Прекрасно, что вы храните такую память.
I knit my own Shetland lace shawl, called the Princess shawl by Sharon Miller of Heirloom Knitting, for my wedding day. It took me a year and a week, granted that was knitting between masters classes and a job! But, I love it and cherish it. Hopefully, one day, I'll be able to pass it down to a future generation!
Renee, I'm more impressed by your knitting than by your master's. I found that lace knitting boggled my mind. I think you must be a remarkable person.
I love their accents,even though Scottish myself,I think the island accents are so beautiful and unique,very different from our mainland accents. I could listen to them all day
Yes, me too!
They sound very Scandinavian
You can really hear the Nordic influence, can't you?
@@elizabethflynn8455 yes, you can! I thought so too as I listened to their answers.
@@annereidy7981 indeed.
I make these shawls all my grandchildren have one and I have made about 15 in the last 10 years!
Wow!
For centuries Scotland and England's largest cash crop was wool. The most expensive, luxurious wool in the world. So many traditions were created around the production of it.
I was born a brought up in Shetland. I remember my grandmother knitting these shawls.
I do recall seeing something similar in Malta
They make lace in Malta that is beautiful! I got a piece 4 years ago when there.
Some decades back, there used to be villages in Dalmatia where women would do this type of work too. Also from very fine wool. The big thing there was curtains. They used to make very fine lace curtains in all sorts of patterns. It was smaller sized curtains and household linens for the local homes but very large grand home lace curtains for export. It was mostly done by the women of the household as a way to earn some money to help out their families.
Sadly, due to the conflict in the mid-1990s that home industry has been mostly abandoned now, and the people scattered to the ends of the earth. Another artform lost :(
My late mother was an excellent knitter, and other knitters have told me that her knitting was so fine that it was hard to tell whether it was hand or machine knitting. She once created a christening robe for her niece's children, which was fine enough to pass through a wedding ring. I believe that she had seen a gossamer shawl, maybe on the original broadcast of this video, and had decided to design her own version.
Like these ladies, she did not use patterns for her most intricate. I was regularly given Aran sweaters that she had knitted, and it was not unusual for me to become aware of someone staring intently at the sweater to work out how it was created.
Mum died 13 years ago, and I still have the last one that she made me, but I no longer wear it for fear of damaging it. Unfortunately, my cousin split off from the family, and we discovered that she had binned the christening robe!
I do love the Shetland accent from this period.
They were using patterns, they were using traditional patterns. They just had them memorized.
So special!! Thank you for sharing. Also, your cousin is horrible!
mind-boggling! today, that £28 would be about £500. not nearly enough! thank you very much for this fascinating video. :)
Depends how you calculate it. If it is based on the Gold Standard a 2.5 Ounce shawl at twice the price of gold would = 5 Ounces of gold that's £7,500 approx today.
@@simonpeggboard4004 hi ya, simon. wow! that sent me back to google! i made my calculation based on currency, making the 2.5 ounce shawl (i couldn’t find the weight of an average shawl) a £1,250 purchase. the average annual income in uk in 1964 was about £1,000 for manual workers. so, even at £1,250, it’s actually not a bad price, speaking strictly labour, and not including skill and artistry. i do hope they actually got a price much closer to your calculation - those rich f*#&$ could afford it!
What’s sad is that you can stick a name brand on something these days with the same price tag and you’ll never achieve this beauty. Truly a treasure.
A very young Cathal O’ Shannon what a wonderful journalist he was & such a beautiful speaking voice .. These women were fantastic & earned their money the hard way …
The shawls are gorgeous we have one in our family and it’s very precious I had ancestors that came from the Shetlands turn of the last century and the shawl we have dates from the late 50s these shawls are a work,of art
I don't knit. I crochet, but I can appreciate these ladies work. I can relate to the comment, it's a relief when done. I usually have a few projects going on at once. 😃
I started out as a crocheter too. My Grandmother taught me how to do it when I was quite little. I finally decided to teach myself to knit in my 20's. You should take on the challenge, you'll love it. It's going to be really awkward at first, but some knitting patterns are just so gorgeous that you'll stick with it until you get it down. It's harder to keep track of so many live stitches at once and it's common to drop stitches when you're learning, but it shouldn't take you long to get comfortable with it. I tried both Continental and English styles....I'm a kind of English hybrid knitter, as I hold my needle like a pencil with an underhanded grip. It's the fastest way for me. I hope you eventually decide to give it a go...you can do it!
I'd suggest that you find a friend who is a competent knitter and see if you can get them to teach you some basics. One of the things that makes knitting a bit tricky for a beginner is that working that first row after you've cast on is quite difficult!
After you've learnt a few basics there are UA-cam videos, as well as lots of books and websites, etc, and you can use those to learn additional techniques or alternative methods and so on.
You'll probably also find that there are some sorts of knitting projects that you are more attracted to than others.
@@DivinityBleuI like knitting like that too. But if I’m just doing a lot of knitting and purling, or just knitting, I just do continental. If I want to speed up I may switch to that though. If I have to do a lot of purling, Portuguese is the fastest. I haven’t tried lace knitting yet.. I don’t know if I will, since it seems so time consuming and I like to be fast!
Their accents are fascinating, sound close to Scandi accents
The Shetlands were scandinavian longer than they were scottish, so their accent makes sense. If you are into your languages, play back the video and listen to the way they say the letter "o". That's a purely scandi sound.
The Shetland islands used to belong to Denmark and where part of a Danish princesses gift to the English crown as part of the bride gift
As a crocheter and novice knitter, I'm just in awe of those ladies! What beautiful shawls!
I was 4 years of age when that film was made, being born in 1960. I was Christened in the year of my birth, wearing a shawl knitted in Unst. We still have the shawl in the family and yes, it passes through a wedding ring quite easily. Thinking back, I personally can count that the 'Unst Shawl' has taken centre stage at 23 Christening's. Not bad for a wee purchase my paternal grand mother made on her trip to the island from what we called The Mainland, Shetland itself. This film is now going to be kept safe, along with the shawl!
I have never seen anything so beautiful. I don't think I could ever knit something so fine and so delicate. This was a really interesting video, I thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you.
Shetland lace is a wonder of work and design. So sad it is part of the list of craftsmanship in danger but I have heard that a few people are trying to make this last by making and teaching this art, so hopefully this beautiful skill will never get lost.
I am a knitter but I would probably never have the courage to work on such delicate, thin yarn - the amount of work is insane! I can not imagine the (well deserved) price such a piece would cost, even though I am pretty sure the price doesn’t align to all the hours and skill it involved.
Me Mom use to teach it here in Australia back in the 90’s she spent years knitting and writing down the patterns that Gran use to make to sell to tourists during the summer months just after the war. Like many from the Shetland’s, Mom started knitting as soon as she could walk, same with her sister too. The patterns they knitted were passed down from Mother to daughter. Unfortunately I was never able to knit for very long after I broke both of my wrists as a teenager, I do mostly crochet lace for under garments and fall/winter shawls, crochet is not as harsh on the wrists.non one of the many boxes of Mom’s things are all of the written patterns once I find them I will be sending them to me Aunty back in the Shetland’s
I don’t have the courage to do it either. Imagine if it unraveled, or snagged on something!
I was given a pack of knitting needles, passed down. There were some microscopic metal needles, very long, included. They must've been used for this. I dare not attempt anything with those, yet!
I have knitted two Shetland shawls and they go through my wedding rings.
Congratulations!
Rings ??
@@lydialily846 going through a wedding ring is a sign that the work is incredibly fine
@@starsonapollo5281 What wonderful women & what genius’s at work . Thank You.
Reminds me Kanjivaram silk sarees as they are also demonstrated with a ring
My nana talked of these beautiful shawls fine enough to go through a wedding ring.
She was a fine knitter too.
I just got my first spinning wheel not long ago and I can only dream of spinning that spider’s thread. I’m glad this art was preserved in at least this format for future generations. Maybe one day I’ll try and knit my own wedding ring shawl, just not with my own yarn lol
You know there’s rarely something that is so beautiful that literally takes your breath away. How extraordinary, what an amazing arts and crafts product right from the spinning to the knitting .
I just tried to do the conversion... If my math is correct, that 70 GBP gossamer Shetland shawl would cost over $1,814 in USD today (04/15/23). STUNNING work! Hugs to all!
These shawls looked so stunning! Massive respect to the ones who knitted and still knit them.
I have the patterns for several of these shawls. They are sometimes used as winter wedding veils.
It's absolutely amazing what simple folks like these can do.
Am spellbound!!.
And a little envious.
Oh my word! These are gorgeous! I’m a new ‘Covid Knitter 2020’! I would love to learn how to knit like this!!! I see they are flicking!!!
It looks like a variant of lever or Irish cottage knitting to me. It’s an English style where you throw the yarn with your right hand, but faster than typical English. I prefer Continental (left hand holds the yarn to pick stitches) myself, and it’s generally known as one of the quickest styles but honestly it just works with the arthritis better lol. Take time to experiment and see what feels best for you!
if you join craftsy there is several shawl tutorials to get you lace knitting and a tutorial for these shawls.
@@Betty_Virago thanks for that. I was just looking into crafty
The spinners are getting ripped off. 5 shillings per pound spun yarn. Yet the knitters make 28 GBP? Hm.... Luckily there are more than 6 spinners in the world who can spin such a yarn but I am not spinning it for pennies. I charge 25 cents a yard. (That include fiber prep and plying).
Now I finally have a steady image in my head when I read fantasy books that mention clothing spun/knitted from spider webs. This is incredible! It also made me a little giggle when she said they might sell them to someone in the colonies. 😊I'd love to go back in time and hang out with these ladies for a day.
I have been spinning for forty years and I make a mile and a half of 2ply yarn to make 5x5 shawl. Nothing like these women, that's another thing entirely.
Pure artistry. And no harm to the planet.
🙄 oh Jesus, leave off!
If I worked at that every day and lived to be 150 years old, I would never be able to make one of those shawls. They are exquisite! And worth way more than 70 pounds in my opinion.
Even converted to today's value (£1,376) they would be a bargain.
How wonderful are these ladies and their craft! The shawls are just stunning!
I sure do envy people that can knit these very fine yarns. I can't seem to knit anything thinner than a DK weight lol.
Look up square needles, that helped me go down in weights a lot!
@@sunheart_aquarelle : Oh? I've not heard of them!
@@resourcedragon Yes! They're really good. I have a set from knitpro, size 4. Super good.
@@sunheart_aquarelle I’ve never heard of that either! BRB gotta hit Amazon for a min
Finding the right wool is the hardest, so like many I make do. Once wool is sourced then, like a lot of others, I just love knitting them.
Look at that skill and workmanship so beautiful
The subtitles are golden. "A very fine gossip assault". Those ladies are precious and I hope they live in knitting heaven now!
For those interested this shawl cost 70 pounds in 1964, in 2023 money that is 1, 374 pounds more than monthly rent for my two bedroom flat.
I really enjoyed this video. He’s so respectful and honors these people and the craft.
The speed alone is both incredibly impressive and intimidating! WOW!
This is so fascinating and wonderful. They look so pretty on and I'll bet they're warm. Thanks David.
Who’s David ?
Exquisite ❤️
I’m a spinner and can truly appreciate this art.
that’s true, the spinning is crucial to end quality - not to forget the special wool from a particular breed of sheep!
Excellent interview, simply straightforward and down to earth information. Amazing ladies 🫧
Absolutely gorgeous! They are wonderfully skilled craftspeople!
Such amazing work.
Wonderful! Thank you.
Beautiful and so amazing.
Absolutely gorgeous work. I’ve been knitting and crocheting for years and can’t imagine the skill and time. I wish I believed I could actually make one.
I didn't get to move my spindle and stored my laces and patterns , I am proud for you I shall have plenty to catch up....
Wow! So very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
That’s amazing!! I hope the skill remains! Thanks for yesterday! ❤❤❤
Yes, it does. There are Shetland Lace knitting groups in FB with thousands of followers.
Such exquisite art! How gorgeous!
This spinning and knitting is very difficult to do. And absolutely stunning 😍 worth every penny
Converting the £70 to today's value (£1,376) would still be a bargain, in my opinion
Thank you so much for sharing this. ❤️
The most exquisite knitting in the entire world. I'm in awe of their technique.
Superb!
That's incredible. How terrible that there were only 6 people left who could spin it even then.
Me Gran use to knit shawls Le this she use to live in Lerwick, I still have my baby shawl she made for me 60 years, Gran would knit smaller shawls to earn extra money to supplement GrandPa’s wage, the wool was fine but not as fine as the gossamer shawls. These were sold to the tourist who visited Lerwick during the summer months.
Magnificent footage
Such a beauty! One day I will get brave enough to make one like this 😍 thank you for this video
Wonderful!
What a treasure!
That is some fast throwing! Wow!!!
Respect! So skillful!
Stunning!
That was fascinating!
Beautiful
In love with these marvellous ladies ❤
Love the video
Those ladies are delightful!
Beautiful work I can't knit so it's way out there in my book
BEST VIDEO IVE EVER SEEN ON UA-cam 💗🙏🏻💗🙏🏻💗
As a knitter I appreciate these traditional knitters God bless.
I like lace Knitting, too. And I hope that this art stays on earth forever. Thriving life to the grand daughters of the shetland island and to the sheep.
Incredible !❤❤❤
Merci beaucoup pour votre vidéo.
This is the sort of the thing the heritage funding should be investing in. Amazing!
Amazing
So beautiful.
These talents to make anything handmade are fading. I know women who cannot even sew on a button. What skill!!!!
I see what she means about the Spanish American influences, the gossamer nature and relatively open knit remind me a little of mantillas. Thank you for posting this!
I think she said 'Spanish Armada' but the lace patterns may still be similar.
That's wild, I had no idea. Thank you for teaching me!
@@algrant5293 Wouldn't it be unlikely that anyone with such skills, especially a woman, would be aboard a military ship engaged in an invasion attempt?
I'm not trying to be sceptical; as a New Zealander with a Grandmother of Welsh descent, I was told by my mother there is "Spanish blood" in the family, from Armada sailors who travelled North of Britain and then back South through the Irish Sea.
@@flamencoprof I'm a septegenarian (over 70 years old), and many decades ago, in a history class, I was told that, as the Armada ships fled, then ran aground in storms & broke up, many of the sailor's lives were saved by both these Islanders AND by some "mainlanders" of Ireland. People being and doing what people are and do naturally, it wasn't too long before there were families consisting of winsome blue-eyed, Island or Mainland lassies, happily allied with former Spanish soldiers - some of whom had Moorish ancestors from northern Africa, and who had lovely dark skins & curly hair. Hence the creation of what was called the "Black Irish," lovely babies who turned into handsome adults! SOME of _THEIR_ future descendants were born with very dark & curling hair, and surprisingly, BLUE EYES, thanks to the combinations of recessive genes! (Mother Nature has a truly wonderful way with hybridization, doesn't She?)
@@dixietenbroeck8717 NZ is a UK melting pot. I have brown hair and blue eyes, I have two daughters, one blonde, one a lovely peach/reddish blonde. My grandmother's kid brother was as red as can be, and his two sons were also freckly red-heads.
But I have a hand tendon mutation from my father called Viking's Disease.
Works of art!
Спасибо за такой рассказ. Красота.
Beautiful. My paternal grandmother made lace.
There's a fascinating video you might enjoy - it's on UA-cam, so easy to access - "Shetland knitters really did knit 200 stitches a minute!" Thecwoman who put it together has actual film footage from the very early 1900s showing just how fast women in some cultures could knit, and she does an excellent analysis of knitting techniques used back when it was a major part of the economy in the Shetland Islands.
Oh Lord I could never, my eyes would fall out of my head
So fine stitching and so delicate fabric and the finished one sooo beautiful. I always make mistake when I'm knitting and I'm using thick yarn 😂😂and I can't imagine myself doing this.
What a joy to see this. I have a shawl. I found it at a flea market being used to pack crocks. The dealer gave it to me. What a find. At least I could "save" it.
and i thought knitting with sport weight yarn was difficult😳 these ladies have ALL of my respect!
This is a great video, amazing to see such wonderful work. Please tell me there are still women producing these shawls!!!
Oh my gosh, how wonderful 😘😘🇬🇧
That £70 shawl equates to about £1137 today
and at 500 hours work even if only £10 an hour thats already £5000 just for labour in theory
those are crazy fast knitting 😱 almost like a machine!
They use a "knitting belt." It's a small leather pouch worn around the waist. It provides support, eases stress on the hands, helps tension the knitting, and makes those kinds of speeds possible.
Wish I knew about these shawls when I visited Shetland…only saw the fair isle sweaters