Vintage Hand Knit in the Cowichan Valley of Vancouver Island, BC, CANADA. Cream and brown and oatmeal fair isle pattern. Pearl shawl collar and rib cuffs and hem. YKK 2 way brown plastic zipper. In great vintage condition.
Fits a size S or M mens or Women's M or ML depending on desired fit. Please see measurement for accuracy. Model is a size M and 5'8. Freshly hand washed and ready to wear. In great vintage condition.
Chest across from armpit to armpit: 20"
Length from centre back neck seam: 25"
Sleeve length from centre back neck: 32.5"
History of the Cowichan:
The Cowichan sweater is a garment created in Cowichan Bay BC with a distinctly patterned design knitted out of bulky-weighted yarn. It originated during the late 19th century among the Cowichan, a Coast Salish people in British Columbia, CANADA. Historically also called the Indian sweater or Siwash sweater (a derogatory Chinook word for Indigenous people), the Cowichan people reclaimed the name after the 1950s as a means of emphasizing their claim to the garment. The Cowichan name belongs to them and the crafts they produce. As our government recognized in 2011.
The popularity of the sweater by the mid-1900s thrust Cowichan sweaters into the world of international fashion, where they have been appropriated by non-Indigenous designers. Nevertheless, several knitters from various Coast Salish communities around Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia continue to create and sell authentic sweaters. In 2011, the Canadian government recognized Cowichan knitters and sweaters as nationally and historically significant.
The sweaters use from two to four natural wool colours cream, brown, grey, black and oatmeal/tan . The yarn is always sheep’s such as Dorset, Hampshire and Suffolk who thrive in the coastal climate.
The Cowichan is a Canadian national treasure and not to be confused with bowling, curling, varsity or Mary Maxim knits from the US.
