zebedee Posted December 12, 2010 Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 Should we be looking to try and protect Fair Isle knitwear? These articles have appeared in the National press recently: http://www.economist.com/node/17581676 http://blogs.ft.com/material-world/2010/12/01/the-economist-fashions-a-cause-for-scottish-knitting/#more-3876 And it would seem that there would be some national interest should a campaign be brought about. What form would such protection take? Would it be purely for the residents of Fair Isle to take up the case and protect if for that isle, or should it be Shetland-wide? The Harris tweed spec seems to be “hand-woven by the islanders at their home in the Outer Hebrides and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebridesâ€, so not specifically in Harris, but it doesn't protect against the style being used afaik, just the name.Given the vogue for fair isle patterns at the moment, I think this could be an interesting case, maybe worth campaigning for? Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted December 12, 2010 Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 Couldn't agree more.... Shetland lamb is protected (PDO)... so I would hope Fair Isle knitwear could be too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuckleJoannie Posted December 12, 2010 Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 Maybe the EU can succeed where others have failed. An attempt was made to protect the names Fair Isle and Shetland in the 1920's but it failed, partly I believe because the local manufacturers couldn't put up the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAStewart Posted December 12, 2010 Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 I love Fair Isle knitwear but I'm concerned about *how* you can 'copyright' or protect it, really? How much of a pattern can really be described as 'Fair Isle'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebedee Posted December 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 It's protecting the name rather than the pattern, as I understand it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairislefaerie Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Sadly, to do so would involve serious cost & much litigation. Firstly you'd have to stand up and scream from the rafters that real Fair Isle is actually a defined way of knitting a garment, it is a definate pattern style that differs from Shetland knitting to the point that you notice the difference straight away. Shetland knitting has repeats, Fair Isle does not. Trying to seperate the two means battling your way through one or 2 generations of knitters & designers who have over time picked up the term Fair Isle as a generic term under which to dump all styles of stranded knitting regardless of it being in trad Fair Isle style, Shetland, Nordic, Icelandic etc, these days anything that involves working with multiple strands of yarn for anything other than a large single motif pattern is lumped under the term Fair Isle, with every outlet claiming to sell the one and only authentic genuine garment, which if we are to split hairs and really nail things down, the only authentaic Fair Isle are those produced on Isle in our traditional format & labeled as such. For the matter of nit picking, last time I was out on the mainland, I did the wander through the shops selling *Fair Isle* and found multiple Shetland Style garments, nordic style, icelandic style, but not a single garment knit in the traditional non repeating pattern bands as traditionally worked on the isle itself. Then we have those outlets who feel they have to go one step further and put the thought into the customers mind that there is a link with this company and the knitwear it produces with the Isle itself, photographs of the isle used as missleading advertising, garments labeled authentic home produce fair isle etc etc, in the past there was even 1 company claiming that some of us on isle produced garments for them when here on the isle, the garments we produce can only be purchased on isle or via mail order direct from us. As was said before, an attempt was made to secure the name Fair Isle in direct relation to the tradition of the garments produced on isle but the lack of support from the council at that time resulted in everyone being grubbed under the term *Shetland Knitwear* and thus the name as something that meant something very specific within the knitwear industry was thrown out to the wolves to be abused the world over, the result being that these days Traditional Fair Isle has almost lost its identity and individuality. Its a sad state of affairs, esp when local councilors are quoted in the press as having little support for an action to retrieve the identity of a very individual style of knitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baie Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Thanks for the prompt response fellas- The shetland-knitwear fair isle was the one I saw on here before ...... Now all I've got to do is scrape together the £63 !!!! Embarrassed Very, very nice - seem to remember the inimitable ( Wink) Paul Weller wearing a very similar affair a few years ago .... you can take the man out of the 70's - but you can't take the 70's out of the man ! Cheesy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shetlandpeat Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 If you search on Ebay, you can see how easily folk attach the Fair Isle tag to any garment.I think the other post is correct about lack of support, it was even noted with some anger in a book by Moffatt in the early thirties, to no avail. Time for action, you will need to get onto the big chains and ask them how they categorise Fair Isle, then move from there. It would be too much to go back to its origins, ie reports that the patterns were of Spanish influence.The type of knit may be the bench mark. Many adds do say Fair Isle Style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuckleJoannie Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 Native Shetland wool secures protected status http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-15696331 Native Shetland wool is set to secure protected status, following a six-year battle by local crofters and farmers. The wool is to be granted Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) under the European Union's Protected Food Name scheme. It will become the UK's first non-food and drink product to be registered under the scheme. Formal legal protection for "Native Shetland Wool" will come into force before the end of November. The designation will give consumers a guarantee they are buying a genuine, premium product from Shetland. The wool joins products such as Shetland Lamb, Cornish Clotted Cream and Blue Stilton Cheese in receiving PDO accreditation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shetlandpeat Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 About time. There will still be imposters, purely because it now has status. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ina Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Does anybody know whether it has to be from Shetland sheep, or just from any sheep in Shetland? The BBC don't say anything about that. Could make a massive difference in quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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