This is a Black Sheep Wool Hand Knit Aran Cardigan all knitted by hand in County Donegal. When you compare a machine knit Aran to a Hand Knit Aran the first thing that strikes you is the weight. Not that there is anything wrong with a machine made Aran, we sell dozens of them everyday. A Hand Knit is something really special. Hand Knits can weigh up to 2 kilos with most weighing around 1.2 kilos.

This Brown Colour is the natural colour of Black Sheep Wool, a really popular option in store. The combination of stitches in a Hand Knit are always more usual with different combinations such as the diamond and Trelis stitches shown above.

A Hand Knit can take up to six weeks to make, between the labour and the wool you can understand their sale price can be up to €299. The prices insures the Knitters are given a fair price for their work. Our Hand Knits are made by local Donegal Women for Magee Knitwear . Each Hand Knit is signed by the person who made it for that stamp of authenticity.

In this shot, Roisín is modelling a beautiful hand Knit ladies cardigan by Kennedy’s of Ardara who have been hand making knitwear for three generations in their business in Ardara town a beautiful place in North West Donegal . The Blackberry Stitch really stands out on this piece. Kilcarra Oatmeal coloured wool was used in this. All the wool is 100% Irish Pure New Wool.

Any questions just email us info@donegalshop.ie

We get asked everyday what’s the best way to care for your Aran Sweater. As most of our Arans are made by Merino Wool some labels will say they are machine washable. It all depends on the machine and it’s wool cycle whether or not it is really cold.

We always say hand washing is best. Use tepid water, really luke warm. You can also use some generic hair shampoo and conditioner and wash your Aran as though it were like hair, it is full of oils after all and this approach will keep the wool nice and soft.

We also sell 100% Pure new Wool Arans such as the one pictured above and the use of shampoo and conditioner will increase the softness of this wool which is not as soft to the touch as Merino wool can be.

Rinse out by hand be careful not to ring out to hard and damage the stitches. We then lay out our Arans flat on a table over a towel and let the garment dry naturally.

The best way to care for your Aran is really not to wash at all, baby wipes can be used to clean away small stains. Wool Lite can be used in place of Shampoo and Conditioner.

We hope this is of some help any questions just email us info@donegalshop.ie !

We’ve been selling Aran Dog Coats in our Dublin store for a number of years now. Hand knitted by Joan our very talented Knitter based in Longford Joan knits at home and makes the most incredible wool blended dog coats. Hugely popular for tea cup chihuahua  breeds or Yorkshire Terriers who feel the cold.

This is one of Joan’s creation on Jojo our little pet who went to doggy heaven we still miss her!

Our hand made dog coats can be made to measure if you measure your dog’s tummy, back and neck and email them to us at orders@donegalshop.ie each coat will be knitted by hand and feature original Aran Stitches throughout. They are made using a 25% Wool Mix yarn so suitable for machine washing, we know what a pain hand washing can be.

A customer sent us in this picture of her own handy work ! By the very talented @Beretlanticyarns

Introducing our machine made Aran Dog Coats now online at http://www.thedonegalshop.com available in three sizes, dimensions on our website just email us at orders@donegalshop.com if any questions. Have a great weekend!

We were delighted to be re-introduced to Áine Knitwear this year at Showcase Ireland.

Áine Behan the woman behind this beautiful brand. Áine grew up on the West Coast of Ireland surrounded by a family of knitters and crafters. Growing up and Watching her family members knitting Aran Sweaters from instincts rather than patterns from a young age had a huge influence on her and encouraged her to turn this into a very creative and successful career.

We love her use of Donegal Yarns in The Kilcarra Range that uses the best of Donegal yarn to make the red Harlequin Wrap featured above.

The Signature Lambswool Range features some incredible soft lambswool in stunning Hat and Neck pieces finished with a delicate strip of Donegal Tweed at the base.

This is the Floral Poncho in Feather colour, this style has been very popular in store for us. It makes a great gift as it’s one size and tends to suit all heights and sizes, with the neutrality of the colour suiting all skin tones.

It’s an elegant warm and soft addition to any wardrobe.

If you looking for something you can wear all year round, either as a jacket or cardigan the Kilcarra Jacket is a beautiful piece. It’s a smart and elegant soft Cardigan with added length with the distinctive Fish Scale effect that is so distinctive to Áine Knitwear.

Each garment is made in Ireland and lovingly finished by hand, any queries just email us at orders@donegalshop.ie

Just in stock now and in time for Spring are some beautiful pieces of Aran Knitwear by The Aran Woollen Mills, a family business based in Westport County Mayo, not far from The Aran islands.

Set up the Hughes Family the business over 60 years the business is still family run today with Vincent at the helm of the manufacturing end of thing.

Everything is made on site in their factory in Westport using high tech power looms with great attention to detail finishing each garment by hand maintaining the tradition of the Aran style of sweater on for more generations to come.

We have been stocking Aran Woollen Mills products (formerly know as Carraig Donn Knitwear) since we opened in 1995 for their quality and style. They can keep the Aran sweater in it’s traditional form but take it to new levels with colour, style and fabric.

Such as this beautiful Super Soft Pink Merino Wool Aran cardigan now in stock and online at http://www.thedonegalshop.com a stylish comfortable cosy cardigan and incredibly soft to the touch.

They also do a fabulous range of home ware accessories such as a the Merino Wool Plait throw pictured above. Now who wouldn’t like to be sitting on an Irish Beach staring out to the sea maybe even catching a glimpse of the Aran Islands out to see on a clear warmish day, it’s Ireland after all! magic

We were on location in Phoenix Park yesterday for our Autumn Winter 2016 shoot , it was a windy sunny day, the long locks were flying and our models were glad of their Aran Sweaters to keep out the cold.

Delighted to showcase our suppliers new styles, some traditional takes on the Aran and some very contemporary looks such as the cardigan on Roisin just above.

The Autumn Winter collection has some new really bold colours to brighten up your winter wardrobe, all made in Ireland using Merino Wool, a soft breathable luxurious wool.

We kept some classic styles of Aran Sweaters we are excited to launch our Donegal Hand Knit Arans online next month, as well as our Donegal hand loomed sweaters and machine made ones.

It’s hard to believe we were only a mile or so from Dublin City Centre, Phoenix PArk is an oasis of calm , full of beautiful open green spaces and forrested areas , also lots of deer to be seen.

We will also have our full kilt range coming online soon, we have to say our model Shane certainly wears this outfit well!

The best way to wash your Aran Sweater? Don’t wash it at all! Wool is full of natural oils and like our hair it is better off with the less washing the better. We are all so use to throwing our clothes in the wash after one wear , hitting the 40″ degree button and goand we have an idea what size they will be when they come out.

With wool , it needs care and attention. When you do wash your sweater, use a very mild detergent, we always suggest a generic shampoo and conditioner instead it’s much milder and it has a better chance of retaining some of the wool’s natural oils after washing.

Some Merino Wool labels state they are machine washable, use a cold wash on your machine in these circumstances.

I’ve only ever washed my wool scarves and do so in the bath, let them soak in tepid water with a bit of hair shampoo , wring out by hand and dry naturally on a towel over a table.

I’ve never washed my Aran, I use baby wipes to spot clean any marks, always wear a t-shirt underneath, I never want to change it’s look or feel.

Any questions just email us at orders@donegalshop.ie

Thanks to Cherish Photography for the image we got a huge response to this on our Facebook page recently and we can see why! Culturally the Kilt has it’s roots in Gaelic tradition worn in Scotland since the 16th Century and in Ireland from the 19th Century this traditional form of dress has now made it’s way to a more everyday .

Be it for weddings, special Celtic celebrations and a lot of musicians, we are delighted to stock 100% Irish Lambswool Kilts made here in Dublin by O’Neills.

O’Neills a family business are based in the Temple Bar area of Dublin in Copper Alley the historic heart of Dublin’s old city dating back to the 16th Century Copper Alley was the centre of tailoring in Dublin for the Upper Classes and Gentry. They must be the only manufacturer left there now amongst Galleries, artisan bakers and cafes and of course pubs but that’s the new part of Temple Bar across the street, you should walk through this area in Dublin when visiting.

We are also now delighted to stock Sporrans By Shyne Ltd. Oour favourite is the Celtic Leather Sporran above, for those going for the classic Kilt look. It is also extremely handy for wallets and phones!

Kilts are all a standard length of 58cm, it’s the waist measurement that denotes the size see our site for sizes and tartans available.

Royal Stewart and Blackwatch are the two most popular tartans, we have more in store email us with any enquiries at orders@donegalshop.ie

As we draw closer to the end of summer we will be having a massive summer blitz sale instore this weekend with up to 50% off some lines to make way for new Autumn Winter 16 ranges.

The one button Aran cardigan normally on sale for €79.99 will be reduced to €50 for this weekend only. It’s a way of us saying thank you to our loyal customers who keep returning to us over the last 21 years we have been in business.

We will also have a range of Arans available in a range of colours for €50 this weekend.

This men’s half zip in a limited range of sizes and colours will also be reduced to €50.

For our online customers, there will be an online sale on all products this weekend from Friday the 12th until the 14th just just the code PROMO at check out.  If you are in Dublin this weekend be sure to drop in and say hi we’ll be running promotions on the ground floor with lots of freebies and spot prizes!

We’ve another month of summer and festivals to look forward to . What perfect piece for your summer wardrobe than the trusty Aran. We’ve been lucky with some beautiful days in Ireland this summer but they’ve been quickly followed by wind and rain!

The Aran provides the perfect warmth you need as the evenings draw in and you want that go to sweater or poncho you can wear over everything and keep warm.

Teamed with a pair of distressed jeans it’s a great look and comfortable too, we’d be more into a pair of trainers than a pair of heels here though!

Electric Picnic will be on next month and we’ll be offering a festival special Aran for only €49.99 in our Dublin store.

Denim and Aran you can’t beat that look! Any queries just email us orders@donegalshop.com