Islanders fear losing the stitch in time

FROM lamb to loom, it is a tradition which has been passed down through the needles of generations of islanders.

But the historic art of Shetland knitting and the future of traditional Fair Isle sweaters is under threat, with the local authority preparing to end free classes in the craft across the island schools.

The unique craft has been taught to primary age pupils for decades, ensuring patterns dating back centuries live on. However, faced with the need for budget cuts, Shetland Islands Council, which covers Fair Isle, has decided it can no longer fund the "discretionary service" at a time of financial pressure.

It is to offer voluntary redundancy to its 14 knitting teachers, many of whom learned from their mothers and grandmothers.

Helen Budge, the council's head of schools, admitted there is a "political risk" to the decision, given it "could be seen as detrimental to the cultural tradition of Shetland." Nevertheless, she expects the move, which will affect 24 primary schools, will save her department nearly 130,000 a year.

Exponents of the tradition have warned that it would be a "tragedy" for Shetland culture if hand-knitting was no longer taught to young islanders.

Kathy Coull, who runs a textile workshop on Fair Isle, said yesterday the cuts would serve to "wipe out an entire generation of knitters."

She said: "The schools programme is essential to keep the skills alive as it is getting the young ones interested that's important.

"Considering the amount the council will save, it'll do severe damage to our heritage."

At present, every pupil on the islands is taught throughout their primary education, giving them a grounding in basic techniques, and a taster in knitting Fair Isle patterns and lace. Until the 1970s, knitting was only offered on an occasional basis to girls by domestic science teachers.

However, as the industry began to exert a greater influence, an enterprising art teacher recognised the benefit of introducing knitting instruction to the curriculum. It is now taught to both boys and girls, and a remains a mainstay of the Fair Isle economy.

Susan Johnson, secretary of the Shetland Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers, which seeks to preserve and extend the knowledge of the regions' traditional handcraft skills, said the continuation of the knitting classes was vital.

She said: "It would be a tragedy if the teaching of handcrafts was given up altogether in the schools. There are a lot of children who are maybe not academic, but can make the most beautiful things with their hands. It's a tradition that is not being taught at home so much now.

"I know that a lot of the knitting teachers find it very difficult to do their job already in the time allowed. They're having to travel from school to school, and they just don't get enough one-to-one time with the children."

Johnson, whose organisation is being visited this summer by a contingent of US knitters eager to learn the secrets of the craft, added that the decision to end the classes comes at a time when enthusiasm for knitting is strong.

"There's been a real resurgence of interest in knitting over the past three or four years," she explained. "You couldn't get hold of any knitting magazines a while back, but now you can't move for them. There's a very big interest in it."

While it is now a worldwide term which often refers to mass-produced alternatives, the idea of the Fair Isle knit remains a unique style to the small island which lies between Shetland and Orkney. The designs date back as far as the 17th century, when local knitters discovered that fine yarns stranded into a double layer produce durable, warm, and lightweight garments.

For hundreds of years the demand for hand-knits kept the womenfolk of Fair Isle occupied. Islanders traded with passing ships, bartering home-made textiles for exotic goods.

Many theories abound as to the source of the designs, including that the patterning was taught to Shetlanders by shipwrecked Spanish sailors.

The decision to cease knitting instruction in schools will be ratified at a meeting of the council's services committee on Thursday.

The decision follows an equally contentious move to end free music tuition on the islands, which protesters believe will inflict similar damage on Shetland's cultural life.

The plan to introduce the 160 annual charge has attracted a chorus of opposition, with a Facebook group attracting more than 3,000 members to date.