North Yorkshire Dales - Hand Knitted Woollens & Crafts

The history of wool and sheep farming in the Yorkshire Dales stretches back countless centuries and brought both employment and prosperity, especially to the post C11th Norman Conquest huge estates of the great monastic houses such as at Fountains Abbey in Wensleydale. But as well as these huge estates, the economies of the numerous villages, hamlets and isolated farms set amidst these North Yorkshire Dales uplands were also inexorably tied to sheep.

The sheep provided food and wool, the latter being made into hard-wearing felt in fulling mills, and also spun and woven into garments.

Another of these Dales industries was hand-knitting which continued to be important until the C19th when mechanisation of knitting became more cost effective and the tradition of hand knitting began to decline. Many cottages had at least one spinning wheel until the C18th-C19th and the advent of spinning and weaving mills, but hand-knitting remained a widespread activity for most of these rural populations.... and included men and children as well as women. These were the bygone days before the discovery and processing of oil and the manufacture of man-made fibres and textiles when traditional crafts flourished.

For many tenant farmers and lead miners life was hard and money always in short supply - so the cottage industry of spinning and hand-knitting provided a much needed extra source of income... so much so that all the family were involved and the children taught the skills at a very early age. Hand knitting was prominent everywhere in the sheep farming uplands of Britain, including the Yorkshire Dales, particularly Swaledale, Wensleydale and the renowned Dentdale where they crafts people were known as ‘The Terrible Knitters of Dent’ featured on another page.

There are some interesting displays and information about this traditional industry to be found in Wensleydales ‘Dales Countryside Museum’ at Hawes.

With sheep farming being such an important activity, it was logical that farmers would seek to breed sheep that were better adapted to the hostile upkland environments of Yorkshire. Remember, the climate was cooler than today with winters that were much more severe. Two such breeds are the hardy and common ‘Swaledale’ and the beautiful ‘Wensleydale Longwool’ very rare breed.

The ‘Swaledale’ breed is a hill breed that is very hardy. Its wool is ideal for such as carpets and upholstery as it wears well, whilst its undercoat is better suited for warm knitwear. The current ‘Swaledales’ originate from the historic medieval ‘Swaledale’ strain.

The ‘Wensleydale’ rare breed has a wonderful appealing fleece taht makes wonderful and exceptional woollens that can be worn next to the skin because of its softness and texture. The breed can trace its full parentage back to the birth of ‘Blue Cap’, the breed’s foundation sire, in 1839.

What will the future bring? We live in a world of automation, mechanisation and cheap overseas labour from such as China, resulting in a stereotyping of products. Certainly, to purchase a hand-knitted woollen using local wool and crafted in areas of traditional production will be more expensive.... but the distinct advantages are that you will have a unique and individual product lovingly created by an individual craftsman.... and that it will be exclusive and of high quality and value.

So why not treat yourself to a hand-knitted piece of rare and exclusive clothing - we all need to spoil ourselves and others from time to time..... and in doing so we can all help maintain an ancient craft that is part of Britain’s and Yorkshire’s rich heritage.

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