Comments on: Fall Etiquette : Cowichan knits

By: girdl

girdl — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:13:30 +0000

jeez, i feel a little obsessive reposting on here, but i just wanted to mention that granted does not sell authentic cowichan sweaters. they appropriated the traditional design, as happens quite often.
there are some pictures on the wikipedia page about cowichan sweaters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowichan_knitting

By: girdl

girdl — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:03:46 +0000

holly… the authentic sweaters are made by men and women of the Cowichan tribes, on an island in british columbia, bc. there is no company that makes them- there’s a loose association formed by the leaders of the tribe to help a few of these people get their business together, but most of these sweaters are made by little old people living below the poverty line on reserves. they were taught how to raise sheep, spin wool, and knit by the white colonists and preachers who came to the area around 200 years ago. they don’t have the land or resources to raise their own sheep these days so they buy virgin sheep’s wool from shops on the island- i work at one of these shops- and they bring the wool home to spin on a machine they have usually jury-rigged from an old sewing machine, or a pedal-powered spinning wheel. they try to teach their children and grandchildren how to knit but there isn’t much of a living to be made by the sweaters, and it isn’t too cool to knit in their culture.
not to stereotype, but i’ve lived in cowichan and am actually descended from a group of related first nations people who speak the same traditional language- hulqu’minum- and most of the people from the cowichan valley are sweet, shy and soft-spoken people who have suffered incredibly in the past few hundred years. i love almost every one of the people who come into my shop to sell sweaters and buy wool and a lot of effort goes into their work.
in the fifties, the sweater became popular in north america and a knitting pattern company made good business selling patterns for imitations. a lot of the sweaters accredited to the cowichan people are imitations and you should not buy the first sweater claiming to be an authentic cowichan sweater. most of the time you can tell an authentic sweater from a fake by looking at the way the shoulder is sewn. fakes usually have a more-flattering raglan shoulder (yes, i will admit that the fakes are often more flattering, since the design is slimming, but i’d really rather have the real thing even though it doesn’t look too good on a “generously proportioned” woman), where the real thing’s sleeve is straight across the arm. the shoulder is sewn across the top, and the body of the sweater is knit all in one piece, not in panels. old sweaters were made out of sheeps wool, almost always out of natural colours, but they started to buy a specific brand in the mid-century called buffalo wool. they’re back to buying virgin sheeps wool and that only comes in sheepy colours, like black sheep, grey sheep, white sheep. i’ve seen the occasional non-natural wool sweater but that’s very rare and it’s usually when a knitter is too poor to buy the more-expensive real wool. real wool is the best choice for here on the west coast because it’s relatively rainy and just cold enough to need something as warm as a cowichan sweater. a lot of the people here used to be fishermen until the stocks depleted and a cowichan sweater was just what a fisherman needed. virgin, undyed sheep’s wool is water-repellent thanks to an oil called lanolin that is secreted by sheep.
in case you wanted to buy a sweater it’s simple to google a shop that sells the authentic sweaters. there are a few on vancouver island and they ship worldwide. you just have to provide your measurements. it’s nice to buy a secondhand sweater on ebay but buying a new, real sweater supports a cottage industry and the business is genuinely appreciated by the knitters.

By: Holly

Holly — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:25:36 +0000

but where is this cowichan sweater from?? what company?

By: Canadian

Canadian — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:55:21 +0000

While these sweaters are cute, they are NOT Cowichan authentic. First, Cowichan sweaters are specifically from the west coast of Canada, named after a tribe who reside in the Cowichan region. There are specific methods to making the sweaters, using specific wool. You should not represent these as being “authentic” as they are far from it.

By: JKISSI

JKISSI — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:46:47 +0000

The Cash : Thanks brother

By: The Ca$h

The Ca$h — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:57:11 +0000

Ayo Kiss
These’s sweats look great.
The designs and styles are amazing
I love your scene of fashion

By: JKISSI

JKISSI — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:18:34 +0000

Snoblak : Oh nice I thought you were originally from the UK that’s great to know, yeah if you click the link they have some specially made for women I know you can def pull this off :d

By: Snoblak

Snoblak — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:50:21 +0000

I never thought I would like knit sweaters like these. But what’s also an added bonus is that the Cowichan people are from British Columbia, Canada where I lived for several years before making my move here to London. I have not looked at the link yet but I assume they make them for women as well?

Natasha Ndlovu.

By: JKISSI

JKISSI — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:39:19 +0000

Phil : Thanks a lot brother Phil , yes people will be shocked at what we all have in stored on our different respective paths!

Keith Brooks : Very much appreciated for the good words

James : Yes I agree with you I have had them for over a year now it seems Sprry site has seemed to restock them on the site with a new color addition also check it out

http://www.sperrytopsider.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=1105&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=143&iSubCat=171&iProductID=1105&sColor=798

Cyrax : My APC jeans are a size 29 I had to size down two from my normal size of 31 , they fit real snug but thats how I like them to fit, they are starting to fade slowly so I’m excited about that like I said above I havent worn them as much as I like but will do.

Tailored Society : Nice blog you got there , some interesting reads keep it up I will also visit it again.

By: TAILORED SOCIETY

TAILORED SOCIETY — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:10:38 +0000

Fantastic blog, I’ll be back often! Keep up the good work.

You might be interested in my blog too, we highlight young fashion designers and up-and-coming brands. Check it out if you get a moment!

Best,

TAILOREDSOCIETY
http://www.TailoredSociety.com