Knitting in Scotland

Lynn Abrams is Professor of Modern History at the University of Glasgow, UK and principal investigator of the AHRC-funded project ‘Fleece to Fashion: Economies and Cultures of Knitting in Scotland’.Sally Tuckett is Senior Lecturer in Art History at the University of Glasgow, UK. She is co-investigator on the Fleece to Fashion project.Marina Moskowitz is the Lynn and Gary Mecklenburg Chair in Textiles, Material Culture, and Design at the University of Madison-Wisconsin, USA. She is international co-investigator on the Fleece to Fashion project and an editor of Textile History.Roslyn Chapman was a Research Associate at the University of Glasgow, UK and on the Fleece to Fashion project.Lin Gardner was a Research Assistant at the University of Glasgow, UK and on the Fleece to Fashion project.

The product of extraordinary collaboration and expert research. Makes a compelling intervention, positioning domestic and industrial knitting as central to the histories of textiles, craft, and women’s labor and leisure.

• Preface and acknowledgementsAbout the Authors List of FiguresList of TablesList of AbbreviationsGlossary1. Introduction: Stories, objects, historiesPre-cursors of modern Scottish knittingThe modern knitwear industryHistories of Scottish knittingResearching knitting and knitwear2. GeographyA Scottish tour of knitwear productionKnitting traditions and place3. OrganizationCharity in the communityEducating the workforceBusiness structures4. FibreWool: provenance and supplyCashmere: luxury and heritageSynthetic fibres: novelty and opportunity5. TechnologyPlain knitting and shaping by machinePattern and textureElectronic machines and computer aided designShima SeikiThe pivotal role of programming6. MakingThe making processLocations of labourSkill: specialisation and flexibilityGendered divisions of labourGendered remuneration for labour7. MarketingLocal products, global competitionThe work of selling knitwearCompeting for markets: the tale of TwomaxThe power of retail contracts: the Marks & Spencer effectTrading on tradition: Shetland producers8. DesignThe vagaries of fashionForecasting fashion: PringleConsolidating classics: Peter ScottDesign-led interventions in Scottish knitting9. CommunitiesFactory communities: ‘like a family’Mutuality in an island communityA community of practice10. The Usable Past of Scottish KnittingNatural historiesHeritage of craftsmanshipKnitting as Scottish HeritageBibliographyIndex