The Aran sweater or jumper is a definitive style of knitwear, traditionally an off-white in colour with distinctive cable patterns on the body and sleeves of the garments. Originally knitted with unscoured wool, a fibre containing lanolin, that has its own natural oils, and made the finished garments water-resistant which meant they could be worn even if wet. This traditional Irish sweater has its origins on the Aran Islands situated off the west coast of Ireland. These popular knitted garments can be sourced from a company such as https://www.shamrockgift.com/aran-sweaters/mens-aran-sweaters/.
The Irish word for jumper is “Geansai ” and these very popular, traditional knitwear garments were originally made from”Bainin “, an undyed, cream-coloured yarn. Each individual sweater has 4-6 distinctive texture patterns of about 5-10 cm in width and columns that go from the top to the bottom. The patterns are normally symmetrical to a central point and continue down the back and front panels. These same intricate patterns are used to make hats, socks, skirts and vests and in the past every garment would have been knitted by hand!
Nowadays, these very popular sweaters etc are made using a modern knitting machine or hand loom. Using a machine means that a much finer wool, synthetic yarn or cotton must be used, and the patterns created are much less complex because the machines can’t reproduce the traditional stitches. The finished item has a much looser knit and may stretch when worn so it is advisable to buy a smaller size.