As a kid I loved and lived in woolly jumpers. I even saw gnarly 1960's mountaineers knock off high mountains in Aran sweaters and Dachstein mitts.
And then Noel Edmunds went and killed my dreams in the 80's, by making woolly jumpers unfashionable. Also a man-made fabric called Fleece became the new kid on the block and I wore nothing but this synthetic garment for decades.
Well, the times they are a changin.
On Christmas Day she-who-must-be-obayed got me a bog standard navy blue woolly jumper from Matalan. Nothing exciting with a simple knit pattern, but I can't believe how warm and comfortable its been. The woolly jumper hasn't left my back for a couple of weeks.
The Grinch inside me is beginning to stir , when I see advertisements of trendy fleece garments made from a couple of recycled water bottles commanding price tags close to three digits.
Anybody else fallen out of love with wool, and fallen back in love with it?
I have an ancient wooly jumper which for a while was my standard cragging warm wear. It made me look like the old bastard that I now am. I used it for winter climbing a few times, under a hardshell. It was great until it got wet, when it then weighed a ton and I decided that modern synthetic fabrics are vastly superior.
I still wear it on a regular basis though. If I don't wear it for a while it makes me sneeze, but I get used to it.
Years ago the Edinburgh Woollen Mill (or one of its imitators) in Pitlochry/Fort Bill/Oban/Callander etc would be visited towards the end of a Scottish hill bagging trip. The 'sales' would be on 52 weeks of the year. Whatever 'bargain' I got they always ended up the same with the sleeves shrinking. I don't think I have a woolly jumper any more. Their last function was usually to provide a shroud for a dead cat.
Not sure I would go back to wearing them on the hill, but have fallen back in love with wooly jumpers for the home - perfect for keeping comfortable and the thermostat low when WFH.
I was out on Scafell yesterday in snow and was beginning to think it was time to get another pair of Dachstein mitts...
And yes, I'm starting to wear wool again. Mac McDermot in 'Mountaineering' is still how I like to imagine myself looking!
I'd love to wear wool, but itches and rashes on me (even expensive low prickle factor wools), unfortunately I can't wear it. But if I could I would. I'd treat it with (don't get ant-fleece angry!) Nikwax polar proof and use as mid layer or when not wearing a jacket over it I'd call it "softshell" to be extra annoying. Sadly allergies interfere with this plan. But good on you questioning the Emperor's new clothes BS that other take for granted: that it's "essential" to wear some £200!!!! fleece on the hill.
> Not sure I would go back to wearing them on the hill, but have fallen back in love with wooly jumpers for the home -
I too would not wish to wear wool on the hill. I will leave that to the sheep, who have got evolution on their side to get the full benefit of their fleece.
However around the house or the urban environment, wool is fine by me.
pretty much all my trips out in the Dales and the like I wear wool - baselayer, shirt and jumper. Its not high mountains, cuttingedge isn't needed.
Several items are over 20 some 30 years ol - makes economic sense to
Makes layering easy - lots of control
> Several items are over 20 some 30 years ol - makes economic sense to
But not capitalist, consumerist economic sense where obsolescence is factored in to a product to ensure that you buy more things.
> ... but I can't believe how warm and comfortable its been. The woolly jumper hasn't left my back for a couple of weeks.
I was wondering what the smell was
Same as you, I used to find wool itchy and came of age as a climber when fleece was fashionable.
I've got some Icebreaker base layer stuff, but wouldn't otherwise consider wearing wool for anything else outdoors.
Otherwise, I've got a growing collection of merino jumpers/scarfs and even a cashmere one from M&S and White Stuff for casual and work.
Having a bad neck, 3 prolapsed disks, I love my Cashmere scarves.
I have a woolly scarf but I am more selective when I chose that one.
A few Christmases ago I got one of Alpkit wolly jumpers (not a cheap option) and it has been great. It isn't itchy, feels really nice, and is super warm. has been my go-to home office top for the last few years. I haven't tried it for a proper hill day but it seems to perform reasonably well under a water or windproof layer when walking the dog. definitely breaths better than a cotton based hoody and doesn't seem to get as stinky as fleece. Overall I'm a fan
I'm a heavy woolen jumper devotee. I have quite a few
I habitually wear an experienced cashmere jumper underneath a windproof when cragging. Warm, light, stretchy and toes easily around the waist when not needed
> Anybody else fallen out of love with wool, and fallen back in love with it?
Wool is best, ba-ba-bar none. But some shops e.g. in Ambleside really fleece you for wool products: the shear cost is awful. People still flock there, though. Graze my favourite colour, how about ewe
> Wool is best, ba-ba-bar none. But some shops e.g. in Ambleside really fleece you for wool products: the shear cost is awful. People still flock there, though. Graze my favourite colour, how about ewe
I had a wool jumper with a windproof outer layer but it lamb-inated off ...
> Not sure I would go back to wearing them on the hill, but have fallen back in love with wooly jumpers for the home - perfect for keeping comfortable and the thermostat low when WFH.
I've been wearing three wooly jumpers at home that my mum knitted about 30 years ago (well, two of them anyway) like a Russian doll. But it's still three synthetic belay jackets like a Russian doll on the hill when standing around.
Wool makes me want to itch my own skin off, hateful stuff, it's a no from me!
Love wool. Currently sporting a tattered Guernsey with a merino/possom cardie on top over a t-shirt. Good down to -5.
As for the hill, if wool gets soaked, squeeze it out and bang it on a rock or a tree and it'll still keep you warm better than any fleece.
Never stopped wearing woolen jumpers. I knitt them myself. I generally start wearing my current Icelandic jumper at the start of November and it stays on until March. Gets washed about once year and only if I manage to spill something on (mostly caused by missing my mouth whilst eating soup).
I'd recommend it on the hill too. Warm when wet is a major advantage.
Just make sure to keep the moths away from your new love or you'll have a holey new problem.
Just looked at the Alpkit ones, they look great. Will order one now!
Not even slightly a wooly jumper but the other day I saw a man, with 70s/80s mountaineer beard (as opposed to current hipster beard) wearing an immaculate blue Javlin fibre pile jacket. Know idea where he cold have got it from. I'm guessing he just bought a good stock of them back in the day.
Fibre Pile is where it is at.
> Just looked at the Alpkit ones, they look great. Will order one now!
Time to geek out on specs
https://alpkit.com/blogs/spotlight/whats-so-wonderful-about-wool
Got some dachsteins which are great.
Bought a Norwegian wooly jumper from that shop in Keswick. I rarely take it off in winter around the house. It’s too warm for walking the hills in.
Norwegian wooly hat. Thick and amazingly warm. Again too warm to walk in unless it’s very cold, but then I prefer a balaclava,saving the hat for the car and the pub
> Got some dachsteins which are great.
> Bought a Norwegian wooly jumper from that shop in Keswick.
You'll have to be a bit more specific. There are a lot of shops in Keswick
George's shop?
How much?
https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/p/fjallraven-mens-oevik-knit-sweater-A17540...
If you can find one... A single ply Shetland with lighter and warmer than a fleece. And breathes better.
I've an exact copy of the 1952 Everest ones, from the orginal maker..... Perfect for layering or when heavy weight is too much.
And looks much smarter than a fleece. Fell to office and back with out changing
Any recommendations of companies that sell woolly jumpers, besides Alpkit please?
It’s along from the Dog and Gun just past the Rohan shop and opposite Nordic Outdoors.
Its called Norwegianstore I think and is obvious by its woollen apparel in the window.
The owner is a lovely bloke and will spend time selling you the correct woollen.
I think mine is a Devold Nansen crew neck, which is a heavy jumper. They do high necks too but they could be itchy. I think it cost £120 but is well worth it in my opinion.
Cheers
A pleasure, it will be a joyous shopping experience, there’s so many to choose from. He’s almost like a ‘suits you sir’ tailor.
Arthur Beales yacht chandlers
https://arthurbeale.co.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAiAk--dBhABEiwAchIwkZSR9IC2CAEbr8DImu...
I'm wearing a Marks & Sparks 80% wool "Heritage" jumper I bought from a charity shop for £4. I've got a box full of chuck-ons that I dip into whenever I'm off to the hill. Old fleeces that won't wear out and bargain aisle base layers underneath a second hand woolly. How can you go wrong? There's never anybody up there when i go out so who cares what i look like.
I bought a Nordlys Norwegian gansey in Norway which I'm stupidly proud of but it is strictly for the pub.
British wool and British made.... Wearing one at the moment
https://www.glencroftcountrywear.co.uk/product-category/jumpers/
Single ply....
https://www.bosie.co/shetland-shop/harley-of-scotland-everest-shetland-undy...
A quick Google for British wool jumpers brings up a number of makers - all from British wool and spinners. Not as fashionable as Alpkit..... But more local and sustainable
A new to me term in that link - athleisure.
I’ve still got many wool baselayers and jumpers and still might have woollen gloves, hat, and socks somewhere forgotten about in cupboards! Heaviest weight I’ve got is a Norlender jersey from Norway and that one has a very high zip neck and long length, if you are looking to protect the neck and back. Many years old now, but still looks in good condition.
If you like woollen products otherwise, check out wool filled pillows; I got two I’ve use for many years. You can also get wool filled duvets but I’ve not used them.
I like wool and still wear it. However so do the offspring of our moth population.
Sherpa do a range of wool jumpers, I have one and it's a pleasure to wear. They aren't cheap, but then they'll outlast most of us provided the moths don't get them. You can also buy from Sherpa knowing that much of the profit goes to good causes in Nepal.
I definitely have a woolly problem. After starting with an innocuous jumper 20 years ago I progressed onto multiple merino t-shirts, jumpers, base-layers, socks, gloves, sheepskin slippers and recently got a sleeping bag liner.
The only issue is the perpetual battle with clothes moths in my house.
wow... I am impressed. Do you have a knitting machine, or do you actually hand-knit them?
Starting to wonder, perhaps slightly seriously if a very strongly ribbed wool cardigan made from a hollow haired wool (like camel, llama, alpaca as warmer/lighter than sheep) as lining inside a pertex (or similar) jacket. If it could be made looking something like a rab microlight alpine or a TNF thermoball and be the next hot fashion in eco-performance-technical... priced accordingly. Someone might "fleece" (sorry - I just couldn't resist) the market making it the must have ski/posing wear.
I bought a couple of Devold Nansen jumpers this winter, after years of pondering. No regrets. Heavy, comfortable and very warm.
No, I handknit everything. I was taught by a Scottish woman how to knit in the round. So no seams or stitching up involved. Once you learn the technique you don't ever want to work on straight needles. They seem a real faff in comparison.
The Icelandic jumpers are ridiculous easy. I can knock one in 3-4 evenings. I'm currently using up a lifetimes Shetland 2 ply wool stash. I've set my self a target of making 50 Fair Isle hats. Now on 37/50. Here's a sample.
edit : or do you have 50 grandkids?
> They look great . I don’t suppose “somebody” you Know would sell one of those ?
> edit : or do you have 50 grandkids?
The plan is to sell them when I've reached my total. I'll let you know. Got a couple of other projects on simultaneously.
M
I would also love to buy one of these if you are looking to sell them
Ooh. If they're not all accounted for, I'd like to join the queue for one of those too please.
Gorgeous hats! An occasional knitter here - good for stress. First jumper I made (like you, in the round - steeks for arm and neck holes) - like an aran gansey.
Nice gansey. Some complex cabling there. Must have been a satisfying project.
>Its not high mountains, cutting edge isn't needed.
Ssssssssssshhhhh!
There's a whole outdoor kit industry that needs to be kept going!
;p
Hopefully, as I'm the OP, I'd be allowed to try and purchase a hat, should you sell a few?
Lamb's wool is warmer when wet than anything else, and I wore jumble sales finds when canoeing on those days when the ice shelves protruding from the bank are 3 inches above the water.
As an added bonus my jumble sales treasures had the lingering smell of old lady face powder that reminded me of my gran.
> Hopefully, as I'm the OP, I'd be allowed to try and purchase a hat, should you sell a few?
Your name is on the list.
They are beautiful work
Stick me down as well. Really like your colours.
I don't wear hats, but if I did, it would be one of yours.
I'm still after one of the peaked wool balaclava that Joe Brown used to sell
Minimum number is 1 hat per month, plus a few old favourites plus spares.
And hillwalking hats are in addition.
> I was wondering what the smell was
Not the Lemming, wool is naturally antibacterial. I wear a Guernsey daily at work and wash it once every 6 months.
> Any recommendations of companies that sell woolly jumpers, besides Alpkit please?
If you want a proper Guernsey (which is drizzle/showerproof, reversible for extra wear and knitted with 5-ply worsted wool which is relatively pull-resistant), then either Le Tricoteur https://letricoteur.co/en-gg or Guernsey Woollens https://www.guernseywoollens.com/ are the only manufacturers left on island. Channel Jumper in Alderney also make decent ones https://www.channeljumper.com/. There are also other places that will sell you Guernseys, but they're not made here. Navy blue is the classic colour.
One of the things I love about UKC is the way all kinds of unexpected skills and knowledge can turn up!
> If you want a proper Guernsey (which is drizzle/showerproof, reversible for extra wear and knitted with 5-ply worsted wool which is relatively pull-resistant), then either Le Tricoteur https://letricoteur.co/en-gg or Guernsey Woollens https://www.guernseywoollens.com/ are the only manufacturers left on island. Channel Jumper in Alderney also make decent ones https://www.channeljumper.com/. There are also other places that will sell you Guernseys, but they're not made here. Navy blue is the classic colour.
I once knitted an Eriskey gansey in 5 ply worsted Guernsey wool. More of a project than a practical jumper. I was wearing it once on the Lismore ferry and one of the ferrymen, Kenny, spotted it. He's from Eriskey, his mother used to knit them..
I have a pullover bought from a market stall in Tallinn some 20 years ago which I rarely wear as its so warm. Looks a bit like the traditional Norwegian models from companies such as Devold but apparently there are differences in the patterns. I was once wearing it at a conference somewhere in northern Europe when an Estonian approached me to ask if I was from a particular village - seemingly the patterns are often related to place. He seemed disspointed to find I'd just picked it out of a pile on a market stall.
Just looking at those links - how on earth do they keep their prices so low? The kilo of aran weight (Leicester blackface and Masham) for my sweater cost around £100, and that was wholesale.
As an aside, I expect you know this guy's website?
> Not sure I would go back to wearing them on the hill, but have fallen back in love with wooly jumpers for the home - perfect for keeping comfortable and the thermostat low when WFH.
I think I might reassess this position.
My memory of the good old days in wool on the hills is going to be heavily clouded by the fact that waterproofs were non-breathable and leaky; the big leap forward in comfort was the waterproof layer, not what was underneath.
Moving back to more natural fibres for the outdoors is the more ethical thing to do, and I don't do cutting edge alpinism where every gram or CC in the bag counts, so is there any genuine reason not to?
Wooly jumpers are great. New, there's the lovely 'wool' smell, and well used jumpers have their own lived-in pong. Joyous.
My house jumper was knitted by mum 40 years ago: shapeless, cuddlesome and warm - it's my go-to winter housewear.
For outside I sourced a lovely merino wool, high neck (with zip) jumper with thumb holes. Made by Ulvang; Swedish I think.
'Outside' jumpers and my Dachsteins get a wash when needed (once in 25 years for the mitts) in a lanolin shampoo.
Wooly jumpers rock ! 😀 🐑
> Moving back to more natural fibres for the outdoors is the more ethical thing to do, and I don't do cutting edge alpinism where every gram or CC in the bag counts, so is there any genuine reason not to?
if your natural fibres get wet they absorb water, whereas artificial ones generally don't. Thus natural fibre garments take longer to dry out, are more likely to act as an evaporation fridge (which you don't want in poor weather), and are heavier when wet. Wool tends to be weaker when wet as well, especially Merino.
Never been in love with wool. Just makes me think of scratchy childhood jumpers in the '80s. I don't think merino counts, I've got a few merino/merino blend things.
However I'm using a touristy trip to Iceland as an excuse to buy a couple of new things and a wool jumper rather than yet another fleece was on the list.
Bagged myself a nice British wool British made jumper from a company called Peregrine. A nice neutral oatmeal colour with fetching orange shoulder patches. Smells absolutely lovely.
As another UKC knitter I've been on the woolly bandwagon for a while. Currently sporting a handknitted tunic dress, yesterday I had on one of my aran weight colourwork jumpers and Monday I wore my merino bumwarmer and a thin knitted lacy top over a vest. Usually accompanied by my fingerless gloves, woolly hat and supremely cosy Shetland laceweight shawl for the commute. This time of year and this sort of weather is basically heaven for someone with an enormous pile of handknitted stuff! Oh, and the socks, forgot about the jobs of handknitted socks. My colourwork socks are the warmest things I've ever put on my feet and I often wear them under my sealskins when I'm MTBing.
I love everything about it - the warmth, the feel and especially the smell of undyed or minimally processed wool. And the lack of plastics - I like wearing stuff that's robust and well made, will last me for years and years and will rot into nothing when it finally dies. Obviously the downside is the handwashing but tbh I tend to only wash stuff infrequently as wool is naturally odour resistant and a decent airing tends to keep it from getting whiffy.
Good to now that I'm not the only who can turn a heel, so to speak. The socks sound interesting. Been a couple of years since I knitted any.
Like yourself I'm loving this cold weather and pilling on the woollens. Just off for run over the local hills wearing additional Alpaca wool hat and neck warmer.🏃🧶
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