Shetland stole

Another interest of mine; lace-making - knitted lace, crocheted lace, needle-made lace. This stole is knitted in fine 2-ply wool, using No. 10 needles(UK), so it's not the finest Shetland knit. The diamond-shaped motifs at each end are known as shells and, traditionally, these borders differ in knit motifs from the centre. Dimensions are 2' x 5'.

It's from a traditional Shetland pattern from the 1940s, but with a different edging and more faggoting (the lines of criss-cross, very open stitch just above the edging) created by using herringbone stitch to fix the edge to the body of the stole.

The history of Shetland lace is interesting. Although Shetlanders had, for some centuries, knitted stockings and gloves for export, some lacy, some not, the finest lace knitting using delicate homespun yarn didn't really get going commercially until about 1830, when it started to be sold on the mainland. It turned into a cottage industry and knitters from all over the islands supplied Queen Victoria's court and other wealthy buyers with shawls, stoles, christening gowns, caps, gloves, socks, stockings and other items until the early part of the C20th. It then fell out of fashion and the art was in danger of being lost until the latter part of the century. Now, there is growing interest in this kind of lace which means that trade, too, is beginning to pick up.