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WHO SAID ARANS ARE ONLY FOR WINTER WEAR

24 Thursday Jul 2014

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We have been selling arans the whole year round for many years now. You would think in the middle of a balmy Irish summer, a wool sweater or cardigan would be the last thing you would have in the wardrobe, but in fact they are perfect for those long evenings in the garden when the sun has gone in and there’s a wee chill in the air.

They are also the perfect accessory for festival goers, they are warm, brreathable and they can be a little water proof! Our lightweight aran was a very popular piece for The Electric Picnic festival last year.

Roisin here is modelling a variation of the Aran Cardigan that works just as well for summer as it does for winter made of 100% lightweight Merino wool cardigan over a pair of jeans which gives a lovely casual look .This cardigan is in a cropped style and in this light grey colour suits alot of colourings and clothes.

So don’t rule out wool for the summer, think of it as your summer jacket, it’s breathable, warm and you can see how chic they can look with a pair of jeans!

What Makes Grandfather Shirts so Popular?

27 Friday Jun 2014

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We’ve been selling Grandfather shirts in the shop since we opened in 1995. Their appeal has a number of factors. They never date, they are of a very high quality and they are hugely versatile.

They have been bought as work wear, casual wear and even for weddings. A crisp white grandfather shirt looks great under a tweed waistcoat and over a kilt for that very traditional look for a wedding. For those working outdoors a flannel shirt is hard wearing and comfortable, and over a pair of jeans has a great on trend look.

Granfather Shirt

The collarless shirt gets it’s name from a time where the head of the house who was usually also a grandfather would be the main breadwinner and out working everyday, and would change the collar each day but not the shirt, before the age of washing machines & tumble dryers.

Today they are worn by all ages. We have had a lot of women buy them as nightwear or as something to wear to paint in, they’ve proven very popular with artists!

The traditional grandfather comes in 100% cotton flannel which is soft to the touch but prone to shrinkage in the first wash usually ¾%, so they seem extremely large in size but this is necessary for the shrinkage.

They also come in regular cotton in a range of colours, as well as pure linen and a cotton/linen blend.

Genuine Hand-knit Aran Sweaters

17 Tuesday Jun 2014

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If you looking out for indicators of a genuine Irish Handknit Aran Sweater, the first thing to look for is weight. Anything from 1-2 kilos of wool can go into the knitting of a genuine Aran Sweater, the intricate cable patterns can require a large amount of wool. So just by picking up a Hand-knit Aran and a machine made one, you will immediately see the difference.

Blue Aran Sweater

Traditional stitches such as the honeycomb and cable stitches for example, cannot be recreated with the intricacy of a genuine Aran sweater, so the devil is in the detail, and the level of detail in a hand-knit is not comparable to a machine knit.

The tension in a hand-knit is far greater than any that can be achieved by a machine knit Aran, which means it holds it shape for longer instead of getting bigger and baggy. We have customers in the shop who say their mother knit them an Aran 30 years ago and it’s still in great shape!

Traditionally undyed and untreated wool would have been used to make a hand-knit, the oil was left in the wool , giving it that yellowish tone and mild oily feel, also making it waterproof , with it’s origins as a fisherman’s sweater, we can see how practical this was.

In more recent times, there has been a demand for softer treated wools such as Merino which are extremely popular for the machine Arans, we generally don’t sell merino wool Hand-knits as we prefer to stay with the traditional pure new wool.

Lastly , the price, if it seems cheap for a genuine hand-knit Irish sweater, it’s probably not the real deal! We keep our prices so the knitter gets a fair wage for what could be 3 weeks work and the cost of the wool is covered.

We stock genuine Irish hand-knit sweaters from Magee of Donegal.

Traditional Irish Clothing With a Modern Twist

28 Wednesday May 2014

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Recently while doing a new photo shoot for the website, we were teeming up different garments for different shots, and looking at how some things went so well together, and how modern the Aran Sweater and Grandfather Shirt could look despite their at times old fashioned image.

Aran Sweater, Grandfather Shirt, Jeans and Hanly Cap

Aran Sweater, Grandfather Shirt, Jeans and Hanly Cap

With the beautiful Wicklow countryside in the background we wanted to show the versatility of the Aran, and how great it can look over a flannel grandfather shirt with a pair of jeans.

This Aran range is the new Carraig Donn Merino range, soft to the touch with warm earthy colours, it’s also a unisex garment stating in xsmall up to XXL.

The Grandfather Shirt has a very classic Irish look with the blue and white stripe, it buttons half way down the front, looks great under an Aran or a waistcoat and our model Stephen gives it a very fresh modern look.

The look is finished off with a woven cap by Hanly of Tipperary, made using 100% wool, in a great earthy brown to compliment the Aran.

Everything is available for purchase online at www.thedonegalshop.com

Top 5 Genuine Irish Gifts

16 Friday May 2014

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With baggage restrictions as they, for those travelling around Europe, weight is an obvious issue when it comes to buying gifts. If you are looking for something light, genuinely Irish, then scarves, socks and ties and caps definitely come into our top 5!

They also have the added benefit of fitting everybody. With our wool sock range, they come in 2 sizes, men’s and women’s, also in variety of wools, wool combinations, be that 100% wool for the person who really feels the cold, 80% Wool for those who hill walk and like to be able to throw them in the machine afterward.

Most of our socks are made from Donegal Wools, come in a variety of colours, and make a great present for all ages, and all seasons.’

Donegal Wool Socks

Donegal Wool Socks

Scarves are a huge seller for us online, we sell a huge amount of replacement scarves too, for all of our in store visitors who have left theirs on a plane, train or in a pub along their travels! We stock the traditional Hanly wool tartan scarves, the funkier wool Suantrai Scarf and the very special McKiernan Scarf made on a 19th century Loom in County Limerick , one of only it’s kind, as well as an extensive range of other brands.

Irish Wool Scarf

Irish Wool Scarf

Tweed caps have long been the first pick up for visitors and Irish customers alike in our Dublin Store, they are hard wearing, last for years and they are an absolute classic, all ages buy them, we even do kids tweed caps, men and women alike love them. In a variety of tweeds, plain or patch ranging in size from small to x-large, all that’s needed to size one in the circumference of the head.

Tweed Cap

Tweed Cap

Again tweed ties are a one size fits gift, something that lasts for years , nice and light to pack or ship and have that genuinely bought in Ireland look. We also stock a range of silk ties inspired by the Book of Kells, with beautiful intricate tri-spiral designs or latin script.

Most visitors to Ireland don’t leave without an Irish linen t-towel, now they are mostly linen union made up of 55% linen and 45% cotton, they make an excellent light gift and come in nice double presentation packs, which we will have back in stock in June.

Irish Linen Tea Towel

Irish Linen Tea Towel

 

 

How to Choose The Right Wool

30 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Knitting Wool

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We have been stocking knitting wool for a number of years now. We found there a has been a huge resurgence in art of knitting , it’s thereaputic, a great way to relax and and a great way to customise an outfit with a handknit scarf or hat.

There are a number of great knitting workshops held in stores in Dublin, with the likes of This is Knit and The Constant Knitter providing in fantastic in-store classes.

As well as stocking the finished product, we stock a large range of Donegal Wool, Kilcarra Homespun Wools, Tivoli and Cushendale Wools.

Kilcarra Homespun wools from Kilcar in County Donegal have long since been suppliers of wool to great Manufacturers like Rossan Knitwear, Carraig Donn and Arancraft knitwear, all which we stock, now you can purchase the wool to make products yourself.

Kilcarra Purple Wool

Kilcarra Wool

Studio of Donegal have a wonderful range of 100% pure new wools for the authentic wool feel, pure Merino soft wools for that more luxurious feel and and soft Donegal wool in the 50g balls are probably our most popular products.

Tivoli Wools from County Cork, make great wool blends, very reasonably priced, easy to work with and all machine wash friendly. Many of their wools come with free patterns for comtempory hat, scarf and sweater sets.

Tivoli Green Wool

Tivoli Green Wool

Cushendale Wools based in County Kilkenny have a fantastic knitting kit called the one ball wonder containing 100g Wool/Mohair, a pair of chunky wooded needles and a knitting pattern for a snood all for €20, a great starter kit for beginners or a re-introduction for those who haven’t knitted for a while in a range of vibrant colours.

Cushendale Wool

Cushendale Wool

We are currently selling 1 kilo bags of Kilcarra wool for €50, enough to make a large sweater or many accessories. If you want to get an idea of how much wool something needs, just weigh a hat or scarf and this will give you a rough idea or ask one of our members of staff for advice, they are all great knitters!

How to Tell a Genuine Aran Sweater

14 Monday Apr 2014

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With the progression of technology, the knitwear manufacturing industry is capable of producing Aran jumpers on a mass scale.  Some of the jumpers look very similar to the real deal, with machines able to knit a range of designs at the rate of millions of stitches per minute.

However it is impossible for machines to make an exact replica of a genuine Aran sweater. Here are just a few ways to spot an authentic Aran jumper.

  • machine knit jumpers use finer wool. A genuine Aran sweaters should feel heavier than you expect when you pick them up
  • traditional stitches cannot be recreated by machines, therefore only on authentic Aran jumpers are the intricate historical stitches truly visable
  • mass produced Aran sweaters loosen with wear. Hand knit or hand loomed Aran jumpers are more tightly knit making them longer lasting
  • although in the past Aran sweaters were made from untreated undyed sheep’s wool, these were found to by itchy and uncomfortable. Now it is more common to use treated and dyed pure wool which is tightly twisted and not too soft to the touch. Machine knit jumpers use softer wool which will lose stitch definition over time. This will not happen with real Aran sweate

Knitting Wool & Yarn

18 Tuesday Feb 2014

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Here at the Donegal Shop we stock a large range of knitting wools and yarns in store and online. Knitting has made something of a comeback the last few years and we have found that customers of all ages are getting into it or rediscovering it again.

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