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.

Welcome To My Knitting Blog!

I decided to start a knitting blog because I aim to work mainly in Shetland lace and other Shetland wools and I thought others may find that interesting.
But let me begin by showing you a couple of reprinted Shetland postcards depicting hardy Shetland women from generations back,walking home from the peat hill with a "kishie" of peats on their backs and knitting their Fair Isle garments or lace scarves or shawls as they go! These women were certainly a breed all their own! I can't see many women or young ones today being able or willing to tackle such chores in this way, but to them it was a way of life. It was all they knew. Their husbands would have been away at the fishing or perhaps the whaling and they were left at home to see to the children (often large families too!), making sure the winter fuel of peat was safely taken home and then they also earned a little extra money by way of knitting, or 'makkin' as it is known in Shetland.
Here are the postcards.......



My current project though is a gilet for my hubby. He chose the pattern and the wool and I should be able to finish it in the next few days. This is the pattern and wool. The colours are gorgeous and very suited to this time of year as we seem to be saying goodbye to the summer we never had and are being blown quickly into autumn!!



Once I finish the gilet I am going to start learning how to knit a Shetland shawl. I think the pattern below is the one I will use. It's beautiful and will look stunning in the natural shaded colours of Shetland wool.

What do you think?





Off now for a cup of tea and to knit a few rows on the gilet.
Please call back or start following now to keep up to date and find out more about Shetland and it's world famous wool!