Sources: Louise Irvine

The late Duke of Windsor, when still the Prince of Wales, made an effort to help the economy of Scotland's remote Shetland Islands by wearing a Shetland "gansy" when he played golf at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in the 1920's.

Later, for a portrait painted by John St. Helier Lander and pictured at the left, he wore another hand knit jumper in the traditional Fair Isle colours of madder, indigo and "scrotie" (a natural yellow dye from lichen) mixed with the natural colours of the local Shetland sheep.

Today, Louise Irvine continues a Shetland custom that began around 1850, offering hand-made knitwear to order in a variety of Fair Isle patterns as well as solid colors. The knitting is done by local women in their homes (mine was knitted by Joan Shewan of Scalloway) and requires as much as 100 hours for a piece, with prices around $200 for a slipover vest and $300 for a crew neck. In addition to the hand-knitted items, Irvine also offers a small range of hand-spun knitwear in natural wool colors. Hand spinning adds an additional 100 hours to the work, and more than doubles the cost.

Whether hand spun and knit or simply hand knit, each piece is made to order and you should allow four to ten weeks. Email correspondance can take a day or two but your efforts will be rewarded. I know of few comparable opportunities to obtain an affordable garment of similar quality, with a personal connection and a hundred fifty years of history woven in as well.