How to care for your Aran Sweaters

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The majority of our Arans are made using 100% pure new wool sourced in Ireland. We always advise customers to handwash their Aran in tepid water, using a generic hair shampoo and conditioner to keep their garment soft, it is wool after all which contains oils so think of it like washing your hair, be gentle to it and it will stay soft! Drying is best on a flat surface over a towel placed on a table. If you want to stretch your sweater put it on a hanger but be warned it’s very effective!

For Merino wool sweaters, some manufacturers say they can be washed in a wool cycle on 30 degrees, as do some pure new wool manufacturers, but we would always advise handwashing just to be sure.

By following the above guidelines it will help keep your Aran Sweater looking newer for longer.

GRANDFATHER SHIRTS

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We have been selling grandfather shirts steadily since we opened the shop in 1995. Hailing from Lee Valley in Cork, the collarless shirt gets it’s name from the oldest working member of the family.

Made using either 100% pure cotton or 100% pure flannel cotton, linen and cotton/linen mix. The flannel cotton is extremely soft to the touch, very comfortable to wear has proved to be the most popular style, particularly the blue and white stripe known as the LV2. The flannel shirts have buttons going only half way down the shirt giving them a distinctive look, and are one of our best selling online products.

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The History of the Bodhrán

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The Bodhrán (pronounced bod-ran) is an Irish frame drum. They can range anywhere from 10 to 26 inches in diameter, and are composed of the frame itself, with an animal skin (usually goat) stretched very tightly across one side. The other side is left open, where the player can place his or her hand, which will enable them to control the pitch of the drum. Occasionally, there may be a cross bar inside the drum, which will enable the player to hold the drum. Some of the modern drums will have a system in place, similar to modern drums that allow tightening or loosening of the skin, in order to “tune” the drum to the desired settings. This is usually done with a special key, or a screwdriver.

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LAMBSWOOL THROWS

One of our best selling wool throws on our website has been the sage and green 100% pure lambswool , it is soft to the touch, large in size and measuring 137 x 180 cm, so it’s a very practicable throw for anything for the back of the couch to a end of bed blanket. Perhaps the reason for it’s popularity is it’s colour, the sage and cream tends to blend with most decors, we recently saw it in a staff members sun room, adding a lovely warmth and colour to an already peaceful place.

Wool throws have that element of comfort to them, to curl up with one on a couch or just throw over the bed on a cold night.

Handwoven in Tipperary by third generation weavers John Hanly and Sons.

History of The Aran Sweater

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The Clancy Brothers

The Clancy Brothers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Aran Sweater takes it’s name from the small cluster off islands off the west coast of Ireland at the mouth of the Galway Bay. The islanders were mostly fishermen and farmers, with relentless weather and harsh winters, the heavy handknitted Arans evolved to cope with the these harsh conditions, keeping them warm and dry (originally some Aran sweaters would be made using oiled wool, where the natural oils were left in the wool, producing a waterproof effect). Alongside this, saw the evolution of the individual family stitches that would identify different clans or families.

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Welcome to The Donegal Shop Blog

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Hello there and welcome to the Donegal Shop blog. We’ll be adding posts regularly on topics relating to Irish knitwear and craftsmanship so keep an eye out!