The Makkin (Knitting) Belt

Well, it's almost 3.30am and as usual I'm up and about amusing myself til' sleep finally takes over again! So I thought I'd keep to my promise and tell you a little bit about the 'makkin' or knitting belt that we Shetland folks use. (Makkin is just our local dialect name for knitting).
Here's a photo of my one. (Also seen in my blog header.)



My one is actually a child's one! I haven't had it since I was a child. I just happened to find it in a charity shop and I've added another belt to it so it can fit me!!
Makkin belts are made of leather, stuffed with horse hair and tightly stitched around the edges to make them very strong and to keep the hair in. The belts are worn on the right hand side of the knitter, who will then put their knitting needle (we would call this a makkin wire) into one of the many holes that are put on the front of the belt. Here's another photo so you can see how it works.....

link to original image

Makkin belts are particularly helpful when knitting socks and Fair Isle jumpers as they are most often knitted 'in the round'. By placing the makkin wire you are knitting with into one of the holes, it immediately stabilizes the wire and the garment being knitted, thus making it far easier to keep the tension on the makkin continuous and stopping the garment from moving around too much.
The older generations of Shetland women would really have been the ones to benefit most from these belts, and of course they date back a long way. You'll see what I mean by this next photo........

An old Shetland postcard
A hardy breed indeed!
This woman has probably walked all the way to the peat hill and back, knitting as she went! It was normal for the Shetland women to do this as their husbands, brothers or fathers were away at the fishing, often for very long periods of time, so they had no choice but to take care of everything else. You can see just how tough these women were. Their hands were the hands of workers. No acrylic nails in those days! Probably no nails here and there!
Here's two more hardy women makkin, 'yakkin' and 'takkin' the peats home!

An old Shetland postcard
Can you just imagine walking, perhaps miles, over a rough track with a 'kishie' of heavy peats on your back, knitting an intricate Fair Isle pattern as you go? No wonder they all had their makkin belts to help out. And remember, it was necessary to be knitting all the time as this was a source of income for them while their men folks were away at sea. Plus, some of the garments would be for the men at sea to help add an extra layer when exposed to the wild Shetland elements. Interestingly, the sleeves of fishermen's jumpers were made a little bit shorter than normal so that the arms could be kept drier and warmer. This was especially necessary in the icy cold waters of the winter season, although thick gloves would have been worn too.
Well, I'm just going to finish off with a cute little photo that I hope will make you smile. I also hope you have found this post interesting and informative. As always, if you have any questions or want to know more about the fascinating islands of Shetland, please comment or email me and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

link to original imageI love this photo!

World's Fastest Knitter Comes from Shetland!

Knitters to Know – Speed Knitting Champion – Hazel Tindall

Hand knitting at great speed, Hazel won the world speed knitting championship with an eye-popping speed of 255 stitches in 3 minutes.



















Hazel proudly holds up the Shetland flag!!

When did your your love affair with yarn start?
From first days as a baby I was surrounded by three generations of knitters as the ladies of the household, my grandmother, mother, aunt and older sister, all knitted. All neighbours and visitors also knitted. Everyone knitted quickly. There was great excitement when a huge bag of coloured hanks of yarn arrived some weeks after our own Shetland wool had been sent to the commercial spinner.

What are your 3 favourite yarns and what do you like about them?
Shetland yarn from Jamieson’s or Jamieson & Smiths. I like the way the wool handles and I know I will always get good results as well as light weight garments. Don’t often use anything else.

Who taught you to knit/crochet?
I don’t remember learning to knit so I guess I learned from my mother, or perhaps my older sister. I taught myself to crochet by following pictorial instructions in a book.


What’s the favourite thing you’ve ever made?
I have so many favourite things!
Here is a photo of one of my most recent creations.









What else do you do for love? (Any other hobby?)
I play cards at least twice a week in winter. I enjoy spending time with my family, especially my grandchildren.

Favourite book/film?
I enjoy autobiographies and biographies. Rarely watch films.

Is there a knitting/crochet tip you’d like to share with us?
For someone who wants to learn: watch others knit or crochet and if their actions look comfortable and ‘flowing’, that’s the person you should ask to teach you.
For everyone else: make sure you finish off the work carefully and neatly. A poor finish can spoil an otherwise beautiful piece of work.

If someone wanted to start knitting, what would you recommend they attempt as a first project?
At school, we always started with a hot water bottle cover! I guess an oven glove or a pin cushion would be just as good as a starting project – or a cover for a Kindle or mobile phone.

What do you like most about knitting?
The magic of converting beauty from long lengths of yarn, as well as the relaxation from the rhythm of knitting.

Knitting’s taken me to America several times to demonstrate, teach and give short lectures. The last speed knitting competition was in America where I met the Guiness World Record Holder, Miriam Tegels; she took second place. Winning that competition led me to being invited to appear on Weakest Link (along with other ‘alternative’ champions) and I feature in a new book “Significant Figures in Art and Craft Today” (a great honour).
In Shetland I have taught evening classes in crochet, and a few short Fair Isle knitting courses. Demonstrating knitting is always enjoyable. I’ve rarely had the opportunity, or invitation, to teach or demonstrate elsewhere in the UK – disappointing but travelling between Shetland and mainland UK is expensive so I guess that’s one reason for few invitations.

What do you admire most in the knitting community?
Willingness to share ideas.

How did it feel to represent the UK overseas at speed knitting and then to win?
I felt I was representing the many generations of Shetland knitters who had to knit quickly in order to get food for their families. Up till World War II, knitting was bartered at local shops for basics such as tea and sugar. For many families this was their only source of income. The ladies I watched as a young girl were always knitting at speed so it doesn’t seem anything unusual to me.

Will you be competing again, and if so when and where?
If invited I’ll compete again but have no idea when or where.

Fair Isle Jumper for Sale

Hi again folks!
For anyone following the progress of the shawl I am knitting in natural shades of Shetland wool, I am happy to report that I am almost finished the third quarter so it may not be too long before it's finished and on the stretcher. But I have several appointments this week that will very annoyingly keep me from my needles!!
However, I would like you to feast your eyes on this gorgeous HAND KNITTED Fair Isle jumper made by my very talented niece Victoria.



Victoria, who is also a brilliant artist, has an exceptional eye for colour blending as this beautiful garment shows. I have never actually seen these colours used together on a Fair Isle jumper before. It is finished to a high standard, both inside and out.
At Victoria's request I am offering this jumper for sale for the very reasonable price of £180. If you do an online search of HAND KNITTED Fair Isle jumpers you will see that they can sell for a much higher price. Machine knitted ones are cheaper for obvious reasons.

The measurements are as follows:-
Underarm to underarm (or as we say in Shetland "oxter to oxter") - 20 inches
Oxter to rib - 14 inches
Back of neck to rib - 26 inches
Oxter to cuff - 21 inches

Here's a closer look at the colours and pattern..........



And I love the way the rib, neck and cuffs are worked..........



The jumper can be sent to anywhere in the world but please contact me if you are interested in buying so I can let you know the postage and packaging cost for your country. And of course because this is a one-off garment it is being sold on a "first come first served" basis so the first person to email me will be given first offer.
Should you have any questions at all please email me by clicking on the sign at the top right hand side of my blog.
Please also let your friends and relatives see this jumper. Someone would LOVE it as a birthday present!! Or even a Valentine gift!
Catch up with you soon. Hopefully with photos of my shawl on the stretcher!
Thank you for popping by. Feel free to leave a comment to say you were here and follow to be kept up to date with all things "woolly Shetland"!
Until next time, keep on clicking!

A Fair Isle Recipe ( Of Sorts!)

Hi again, if this is your first visit to my woolly blog then a very warm welcome. If you are a follower or regular visitor, then thanks for popping by again. You are always welcome back!
Anyone who knows me will be aware of my love of books and my inability to pass by an old Fair Isle garment knitting pattern and I have a great one to share with you today.
Here's the front of it.....



I found this one on a well-known online auction site and just HAD to buy it.
You know how it is!

There are three things I really love about this little leaflet.
First of all, it has those three gorgeous child's beret designs to choose from.
Secondly, there are NO CHARTS!
I know some people are great with knitting charts and even prefer them to knitted instructions, but for me a chart is a little bit like reading ancient history. It's all Greek to me!!!
And finally something that made me smile. I think this is so cute! Look at the picture below and see what they call the 'instructions' for the patterns.....



RECIPES!!!
Isn't that just fab!
I've never seen knitting instructions being called 'recipes' before! But I think it's just so delightful and amusing.

On the back page of the leaflet they advertise 4 other leaflets. Here are the designs for those, plus a close up of the three beret designs.












If you'd like any information on these please email me and I will try to help you out.
I hope you're enjoying my blog posts. Please tell me if there is something in particular you would like me to write about on the subject of Shetland or Fair Isle knitting, wool and sheep.
Until next time, stay on the creative side of the street!!!